Ronda Rousey submits Gina Carano in just ‘17 seconds’ on blockbuster MMA return
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Ronda Rousey submits Gina Carano in just ‘17 seconds’ on blockbuster MMA return")
Ronda Rousey submits Gina Carano in just ‘17 seconds’ on blockbuster MMA return Photograph: (AFP)
17 seconds is all it took! Ronda Rousey locks in her signature armbar to submit Gina Carano in a historic, blockbuster MMA return live on Netflix.
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) queen and former WWE women’s champion Ronda Rousey returned, donning her fighting gear and did so in style. The trailblazer stunned her fellow champion, Gina Carano, in just 17 seconds, securing a win in this highly anticipated, non-title comeback bout headlining Netflix's historic live MMA event. She applied the armbar on Carano, 44, and made her tap out.
The American MMA stars are the pioneers in this combat sport, helping to bring the women’s division into the mainstream decades ago.
While Carano, who last fought in 2009, made a career in Hollywood, appearing in several action movies since, Ronda, who tasted massive success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), called time on her glorious career after suffering successive defeats against Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm. She, however, expanded her career into pro wrestling, joining WWE sometime around then, winning the women’s Royal Rumble in 2022, and later becoming the champion.
Meanwhile, the two returned to the MMA cage for the first time in a long time for Saturday’s card at the Intuit Dome, pocketing several million dollars from the streaming giant. Following a massive hype around two champions returning to doing what they do best, Ronda made light work of her opponent, flooring Carano almost immediately before locking her into an armbar to wrap up the fight. Rousey insisted afterwards that her return to the ring was a one-off and ruled out the possibility of fighting again after paying tribute to Carano.
WATCH VIDEO -
"Gina is the only person who could have brought me back into MMA -- she's my hero," Rousey said. "She changed my world, and we changed the world, and I'll never ever forget that or be able to pay that back enough.
"I'm so glad we finally go to share this moment."
Asked about possibly extending her comeback, Rousey added, "There's no way I could have ended it better than this. I want to have some more babies, got to get cooking."
Carano, meanwhile, said the mere fact of getting in shape for her return -- she revealed before the bout she had shed more than 100 pounds in the two years leading up to the contest -- was a victory.
"I wanted that to last longer -- I felt like I was so ready, I felt so good," she said. "But I haven't been here for 17 years. I wanted to hit her.
"Right now, just getting in the cage was a victory; getting here after 17 years is a victory. Fighting a legend was a victory. I feel great, I just wanted to fight, and I didn't get to do that."
Trending Stories
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
(With inputs from AFP)
