Five years after Disney+ fired Gina Carano from “The Mandalorian” for expressing her opinion via social media posts, the actress and former MMA fighter is coming back into the spotlight, literally.
Netflix announced on Monday that Carano will face off against MMA competitor Ronda Rousey in a live, professionally sanctioned fight on Saturday, May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The event marks Netflix’s first-ever mixed martial arts event and is being co-promoted by Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), the combat sports company co-founded by Jake Paul.
The fight will take place at featherweight, 145 lbs, inside a hexagon cage instead of the traditional UFC octagon. The format will be up to five 5-minute rounds under the Unified Rules of MMA.
Carano holds an MMA record of 7-1 with wins by submission, knockout, and decision, and her earlier Muay Thai record is 12-1-1. She has not competed since 2009. Rousey has a 12-2 record, but has not competed in the sport in a decade following a WWE career.
“Been waiting so long to announce this: Me and Gina Carano are gonna throw down in the biggest super fight in women’s combat sport history!” Rousey said in a statement, per The Hollywood Reporter. “And we’re partnering with the fighter-first promotion MVP as well as the biggest and baddest streamer on the planet Netflix. This is for all MMA fans past, present and future. More to come… much more.”
“Ronda came to me and said there is only one person she would make a comeback for and it has been her dream to make this fight happen between us,” Carano said. “She thanked me for opening up doors for her in her career and was respectful in asking for this fight to happen. This is an honor. I believe I will walk out of this fight with the win and I anticipate it will not come easy, which I welcome. This is as much for Ronda and me as it is for the fans and mixed martial arts community. What a time to be alive.”
This un-cancellation comes just a few short years after Carano was abruptly fired from “The Mandalorian” in February 2021 after Lucasfilm objected to her social media posts.
The firing was widely condemned by conservatives as a case of Hollywood cancel culture. Carano filed a lawsuit against Disney alleging she was wrongfully terminated for her political beliefs.
Shortly after the high-profile termination, Carano partnered with The Daily Wire for a movie deal that resulted in the feature film “Terror on the Prairie,” which premiered in June 2022.
The actress settled her case against Disney in August 2025. “I am humbled and grateful to God for His love and grace in this outcome,” she wrote on social media at the time. “I’d like to thank you all for your unrelenting support throughout my life and career; you’ve been the heartbeat that has kept my story alive. I hope to make you proud… yes, I’m smiling.”
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