Ronda Rousey pitched Gina Carano fight to Dana White, but ‘it didn’t exactly work out’ for UFC
Image: Zuffa
UFC Hall of Fame member Ronda Rousey attempted to get her newly-announced fight with Gina Carano in the Octagon, but there was apparently no interest from UFC in hosting it.
Announced on Tuesday, Rousey will fight Carano for the first time ever in both woman’s first fight in years and in a fight that was once attempted to be made in UFC but was derailed due to misrouted texts to Carano that referred to her as a “bitch.”
Speaking to ESPN MMA Tuesday, Rousey said she reached out to Dana White to ask if he was interested in it.
“…It didn’t exactly work out with the UFC, but it led us her today,” she said, not saying if White or TKO leadership turned down the idea and for what reason.
Rousey said the idea for the fight has been in process for more than a year as while she was pregnant with her second child, she saw Carano and didn’t think she looked good and wanted to do anything she could to help as “I owe her immensely.” She said as much as Carano needs this fight, she also needs it.
“We fought for this. We fought to fight each other,” Rousey said, mentioned both women had to work together to overcome obstacles to get to this point.
The 145-pound MMA fight will take place on Saturday, May 16 from Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome, promoted by Jake Paul’s MVP promotion and airing live on Netflix.
The 39-year-old Rousey last competed in December 2016 in a first round TKO loss to Amanda Nunes while the 43-year-old Carano last fought in August 2009 in a first round loss to Cris Cyborg.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.