Shock 17-second finish as Ronda Rousey crushes Gina Carano in comeback fight

The fight, held at the Intuit Dome, ended almost immediately after Rousey dropped Carano and quickly secured the submission, forcing her opponent to tap out. The contest marked a brief return for both fighters, who are considered pioneers of women’s MMA and helped bring the sport into the mainstream, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.

Rousey, 39, a former Olympic bronze medallist in judo and one of the biggest stars in UFC history, retired in 2016 after consecutive defeats to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. Her return was described as a one-off event, and she confirmed afterwards she does not plan to fight again.

Carano, 44, had not competed since 2009 before returning for the bout. She previously built a career in Hollywood after her early success in MMA. Despite the loss, she expressed respect for Rousey and said she felt proud to have stepped back into the cage after such a long break.

Both fighters reportedly earned multi-million-dollar payouts for the event, which was streamed globally and heavily promoted ahead of the fight.

Rousey said she could not have asked for a better ending and paid tribute to Carano, calling her the only person who could have brought her back to competition. Carano said that simply returning to fighting after 17 years and completing her training journey was a victory in itself, even though the bout ended too quickly for her to fully compete.