Getty Ronda Rousey
Inaugural UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey recently shared her interest in fighting Gina Carano. And according to Carano, “it could happen.”
Carano (7-1) is one of the most influential women to ever compete in mixed martial arts, however she hasn’t fought since 2009. Carano has worked as an actor since and is known for several roles, including playing Cara Dune in “The Mandalorian” and Angel Dust in “Deadpool.”
Most recently, Carano played Hattie McAllister in the Daily Wire movie “Terror on the Praire,” where she acts alongside UFC fan-favorite fighter Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
When Rousey was on the “The Kurt Angle Show earlier this month, she said Carano is the only person who could drag her out of retirement. And it’s not because she holds any sort of ill will for Carano. In fact, she had a deep admiration for the women’s MMA pioneer.
“There’s only one person I would come back for,” Rousey said via Post Wrestling.
“I mean, I’ve said it a million times,” Rowdy continued. “It’s not like it’s something new but, for Gina man. Gina Carano, she’s the reason why I got into fighting, she’s the reason why I knew it was a possibility. I will always be forever grateful… and if she ever was like, ‘Ronda, I wanna fight you tomorrow at 205 pounds,’ like whatever the hell she’d want — I’m not saying she’s 205 pounds — if she wanted to come into my backyard and do the Rocky thing or, you know, ding, ding and we just do it in the backyard, I don’t care.
“I will fight Gina wherever she wants and if she doesn’t want to forever, leave [that there]. It’s a respect thing, not like a, ‘F*** you. I’m coming to get you.’ It’s just like, hey, if you ever wanna pull that card out, it’s there. I love her. Thank you Gina for everything you’ve done.”
Carano Has ‘A Lot of Stuff’ She Needs to Do, But Didn’t Shy Away From Possibly Throwing Down With Rousey
Carano’s response to Rowdy came during an interview with FOX News.
“You know what? Just never put it past me,” Carano said via MMA Junkie. “It could happen. It would be like, you know, six months from now, because I have a lot of stuff I need to do. But my fight really is with I really want to create, I want to direct, I want to produce, I want to give Ronda Rousey a job in one of my movies, so maybe there is something we can do there.”
Rousey is no stranger to Hollywood, playing roles like Kara in “Furious 7” and Luna in “The Expendables 3.” She’s also a seasoned entertainer as a WWE superstar.
Carano Fought Cris Cyborg in the First-Ever Major Event Headlined By 2 Women
Carano’s last MMA competition was a historic contest. She battled Cris Cyborg during a Strikeforce event in August 2009, and it was the first time ever two women were a part of the marquee fight for a major MMA promotion.
The fight didn’t go Carano’s way, however, losing to Cyborg via first-round TKO. That was the only loss of Carano’s eight-fight professional career.
Rousey (12-2) last fought in December 2016 when she was taken out in less than a minute by Amanda Nunes at UFC 207.