Ronda Rousey says her 17-second submission win over Gina Carano at MVP MMA 1 came despite suffering an injury just weeks before their main event showdown.
Rousey defeated Carano by submission in 17 seconds in the main event of MVP MMA 1, which took place at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., and streamed live on Netflix. Nakisa Bidarian said Rousey was injured about two-and-a-half weeks before the fight, and Rousey confirmed it.
"I sprained my ankle or foot pretty bad like two-and-a-half weeks ago," Rousey said while reflecting on the lead-up to the bout. She later added, "Well, looks like I'm doing this with my ankle messed up."
Rousey connected the experience to her early days in judo, recounting, "This made me think of my first injury. As a kid, I broke my big toe in judo, and my mom made me run laps around the mat for the rest of the night, and she said, 'You don't know if you're going to get hurt on the most important day. You could get hurt the day of the Olympics. You could get hurt when it really matters, and you need to know that your body listens to you, not the other way around.'"
Rousey said the fight with Carano will be her final fight and that the quick win gave her closure. A former UFC bantamweight champion, she emphasized her mindset through the injury, stating, "This is part of it, and I'm the f*cking best at this."
