Amid Rumours of Her UFC Return, Ronda Rousey Picks Her “Dream Opponent”, and No It’s Not Amanda Nunes

Ronda Rousey has been out of the ring for over seven years and has become a regular on WWE RAW. And although she has been urged by Henry Cejudo’s coach to return to the ring, Ronda has made no indications of a potential comeback.

Rousey is credited with having paved the way for the women’s division in the UFC, and, was the first female fighter signed by the UFC and their first female champion. She was also the first female UFC superstar and had mainstream fame. All this within 2 years of UFC boss Dana White saying women will never fight in the UFC in 2011, and much of UFC’s mainstream success is because of Ronda. But Ronda Rousey has credited Gina Carano as the ‘pioneer’ for women’s MMA. 

Ronda Rousey pays tribute to Gina Carano in a unique way

In an interview with Us Weekly, ’Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey revealed who her ‘dream opponent” is and why: “My dream opponent would be Gina Carano. She’s a pioneer for women’s MMA, and I can’t think of a better way to say thank you than to whoop her ass.”

Although Gina Carano never fought in the UFC, she is one of the most recognizable female MMA fighters in the world. This is due to her acting career, appearing in the first and second seasons of Disney’s Star Wars spinoff series ‘The Mandalorian’.

But few MMA fans know that she appeared in the first televised Showtime female fight and fought in Strikeforce’s first Women’s Championship, which she lost to Cris Cyborg in the first round.

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Her fighting career was brief—she fought only seven fights, six of which she won. But her stint laid the foundations for the emergence of women’s MMA as Zuffa, the company that owns the UFC, held the card at which Carano was slated to make her comeback against Sarah D’Alelio, but the fight fell through, thus bringing about the trend of holding promotions featuring female fighters.

Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano’s planned fight in the UFC

Ronda Rousey revealed on episode 690 of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that there was a fight planned between her and Gina Carano for December 2014 but it fell through. And it seems the first female inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame still wants to fight Carano.

Neither Rousey nor Carano have shown any willingness to make a comeback. But, rumors surrounding Rousey’s comeback combined with this statement have made fans speculate about a future Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano fight. Would you like to see a Rousey- Carano fight? Tell us in the comments below.

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