Ronda Rousey-Gina Carano Fight Draws Backlash for Quick Result
Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano went head-to-head in a battle years in the making, featuring two women’s MMA pioneers and legends.
With weeks of hype and buildup for Netflix’s MVP MMA main event, many fans became heavily invested, but the fight delivered way-too-quick a result.
Both came back after years away from the sport, with Carano having gone away for acting roles on television and in movies, and Rousey pursuing a career in professional wrestling with WWE.
Still, Rousey came in as the more experienced and accomplished of the two fighters; her 10-year hiatus was lesser than Carano’s 17-year hiatus from fights.
And after several entertaining fights on the card, solo video packages about Rousey and Carano, and entrances to the hexagon, the fight lasted a mere 17 seconds.
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Carano pulled Rousey down to the mat on top of her, attempting a submission move quickly. However, Rousey quickly fought out of it, delivered a series of punches, and locked in an armbar submission on Carano for the quick tap-out.
Many highlight videos of the quick result, along with memes and posts about the two fighters, hit social media soon after.
As one might imagine, fans vented immense frustration at how this fight played out, leaving critical comments on X about the result and highlight clip.
“I’ve never been more convinced of a fixed might in my entire life lmao,” someone wrote.
“I’m sorry but if you build a fight and train , do media for 4 months to build a fight and tap in 5 seconds you shouldn’t get paid. Embarrassing all around,” someone commented.
“That was the most pathetic thing I’ve ever seen. In fact, it was so pathetic that I’m never gonna tune into another MVP Netflix live event ever again…. Never again,” a frustrated commenter wrote.
Other commenters said: “This was a publicity stunt, not a real fight,” and “The walkouts were literally longer than the fight.”
Rousey reportedly made $2.2 million for the fight, while Carano took home over $1.05 million for her part in tapping out after 17 seconds.
That would certainly have fans feeling robbed of their time, and those who paid to attend might be unhappy about buying pricey seats to see such a short main event.
Several undercard matchups seemingly brought some carnage and excitement. Mike Perry defeated a bloodied-up Nate Diaz via a TKO stoppage after they called the fight in the second round. Francis Ngannou also hit a knockout punch to defeat Philipe Lins near the end of the first round in their fight.
It certainly felt like another money grab, similar to Jake Paul’s various hyped-up Netflix events, in which he defeated older boxers, including Mike Tyson.
Unsurprisingly, Paul runs Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), which put on the Rousey-Carano fight, so this was likely something to pass the time until his next boxing bout after recovering from a broken jaw in his previous fight.
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This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 1:49 PM.