Ronda Rousey made a thunderous return to MMA on Saturday, submitting Gina Carano by armbar in under 30 seconds at the first-ever MVP MMA event on Netflix.
The win marked Rousey’s first fight since December 2016 and her first victory since August 2015, as she closed the show quickly in her comeback bout. The matchup headlined the debut MVP MMA card on the streaming platform.
“There’s no way I could have ended it better than this,” Rousey said after the fight. She later added, “I want to have some more babies and I’ve got to get cooking.”
Rousey, 39, revealed she entered the bout dealing with an issue suffered in camp. “I sprained my ankle or foot pretty bad, like two and a half weeks ago,” she said, explaining she pushed through the injury.
Beyond the result, Rousey emphasized her respect and gratitude for Carano, who had not fought since 2009 before this event. “Gina is the person who brought me into MMA,” Rousey said. “She’s the only person who could have brought me back into MMA. She’s my f*cking hero. You brought me back home when nobody else could. You showed me where my home was when nobody else could.”
Travis Browne, Rousey’s husband and father of their two children, joined her in the cage after the fight as she celebrated a swift submission win on a historic night for MVP MMA on Netflix.
