INGLEWOOD, Calif. — When Gina Carano steps into the cage for her highly anticipated bout with Ronda Rousey, she’ll be 44 years old and nearly 17 years after her last MMA fight, so why do it?
The origins of this dream matchup date back to when Rousey was pregnant and watching an out-of-shape Carano being interviewed, prompting the UFC Hall of Famer to reach out. As the pioneers of women’s mixed martial arts talked to each other, they realized they needed to rewrite the outcome of their careers.
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Since then, Carano has learned more.
“I actually started my health journey in September of 2024. I actually gave up fighting like five years ago. I was like, ‘Well, this is not what I’m going to do,'” Carano told reporters at his first press conference to promote their May 16 showdown at the Intuit Dome, which will be broadcast live on Netflix. “But as things progressed, I realized, it wasn’t that I needed it. It was that I loved it, I wanted it, and that’s what got me out of bed. After I settled the lawsuit with Disney, other opportunities arose that I had to weigh.
“What’s more important? I just realized waking up and having this fight is more important than (another) opportunity. Once I started weighing those things, I realized how much I wanted it. I thought, I wouldn’t have pushed myself so hard unless I had this. And I’m pushing myself. It’s not an easy thing. I’ve come a long way. But pushing myself so deep and so strong, it’s such a blessing.”
While returning to an MMA training camp for the first time since 2009 wasn’t easy, Carano said her mom helped her mentally through the fight.
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“There were ups and downs, but then I had a conversation with my mom,” Carano said. “She said, ‘Baby, listen, if you’re going to do this, don’t look back.’ From that conversation, I was like, ‘I’m doing this, I’m committed to it, and the contract is signed. Once the contract is signed, you’re all in.’ I think that’s really good advice.” When you put your heart and soul into something, your mindset will change. You can’t put one foot out of the door and say, “Oh, maybe there’ll be another opportunity.” No, there’s no opportunity right now. Fighting is the only thing. Once that mindset happens, it’s wonderful. “
Carano first shared training clips in December and began working with famed trainer John Wood of Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas. What she’s doing now is a whole new world compared to what she was used to during her heyday in the late 2000s.
“I find it’s smarter — smarter training,” Carano said. “Because we used to go to the gym and beat the hell out of each other. Now it’s smarter, there’s recovery, it’s smarter now than when I first came up and we just destroy ourselves… It’s just a different sport. It’s a more professional sport.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Gina Carano: Ronda Rousey fight ‘not an easy thing’ but I’m all for it
