Ex-UFC champion Ronda Rousey rolls back the clock to submit Gina Carano in 17 seconds

INGLEWOOD – Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion Ronda Rousey came roaring out of the traps in her first mixed martial arts fight in almost a decade, securing her trademark armbar submission in the opening seconds to defeat Gina Carano on May 16.

The 39-year-old, an Olympic bronze medallist in judo in 2008, wasted no time when the fight began at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California in the first MMA card staged by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions.

She took down the 44-year-old Carano, quickly moving into position for the armbar, forcing her opponent to tap out quickly or risk her arm being broken.

It is a submission that became Rousey’s signature move during her dominant reign as UFC bantamweight champion and even though Carano, who was fighting for the first time in 17 years, knew it was coming, there was little she could do to stop it.

Quoting figures from the California State Athletic Commission, website MMAjunkie said Rousey will receive at least US$2.2 million (S$2.82 million), with Carano getting US$1.05 million.

But Rousey announced after the win that she is once again retiring to focus on having more children.

“There’s no way I could’ve ended it better than this,” said the mother of two. “I want to have some more babies and I’ve got to get cooking.”

Holding back tears, she hailed Carano, saying: “Gina is the person who brought me into MMA, she’s the only person who could have brought me back into MMA.

“You brought me back home... you changed my world, and we changed the world. And I will never ever forget, and I will never be able to pay you back enough. I’m so glad we finally got to share this moment.”

Carano was disappointed that the bout ended so quickly, but after more than a decade and a half out of the cage as she built an acting career, she said that just making it to the fight was an achievement.

“I wanted that to last longer. I felt like I was so ready. I felt so good. I’ve never felt that good, but I haven’t been here for 17 years, so I mean I wanted to. I wanted to hit her,” said Carano, who is undecided on whether she will continue.

“You feel a little unfulfilled, just because you didn’t get a chance to at least show the world what you’ve been working on, you know. I’ll probably feel that later. Right now, getting in the cage was a victory. Getting here after 17 years is a victory.”

In the evening’s co-main events, lineal heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou knocked out Philipe Lins in devastating fashion and Mike Perry opened up some gruesome cuts on fan favourite Nate Diaz to secure a stoppage win after the second round.

The bouts were streamed live on Netflix, with Paul saying they are “breaking records”.

“This is one of the most viewed MMA events in history and it’s all thanks to these women, Francis, Mike and Nat,” he added.

“They put it all on the line and MVP is just getting warmed up, and MMA will be seeing a lot of us. So be prepared because this is the takeover.”

In a move seen as trying to upstage MVP’s first MMA card, UFC president Dana White announced at its UFC Fight Night at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas that former two-weight MMA world champion Conor McGregor will make his long-awaited return to the octagon on July 11 in Las Vegas.

The 37-year-old Irishman, who has not fought since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021, faces Hawaiian Max Holloway in the main event at UFC 329 in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with the contest taking place at lightweight/welterweight.

White’s announcement, which came just as Ngannou was making his appearance at MVP’s event, did not go down well with Paul.

“That’s cool, bro. Drop it during our event. It doesn’t matter,” the American YouTuber-turned-boxer said. “That just shows how pressed they are – little, insecure boys trying to piggyback off their event and try to put some news over top of us.

“It’s not going to work, buddy.” REUTERS