WWE's Ronda Rousey names Gina Carano as only fighter for which she would make MMA return

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Ronda Rousey

In her prime, Ronda Rousey was an unstoppable force in MMA. While she hasn't competed inside a cage since 2016, she would return for one last fight against another pioneer in women’s MMA. 

Rousey, the current WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion, spoke on The Kurt Angle Show about wanting to face off against Gina Carano. That would be the only fight that would entice her to put the gloves on for the first time since losing to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. 

“I mean, I’ve said it a million times. It’s not like it’s something new. (I’d come back) for Gina, man – Gina Carano,” Ronda stated, via Yahoo Sports. “She’s the reason why I got into fighting. She’s the reason why I knew it was a possibility. I will always be forever grateful. If she ever was like, ‘Ronda, I want to fight you tomorrow at 205 pounds’ – like, whatever the hell she’d want.”

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This is the first real indication in a long time that Rousey would ever consider a return to MMA. A bronze medalist in the 2008 Olympic Games in judo, Rousey started competing at 11. She had a 6-3 Olympic judo record. Rousey retired from judo at 21 to pursue MMA, making her pro debut in '11. Rousey shined with her submission skills and her aggressive style. She beat fighters like Julia Budd, Sarah Kaufman, and rival Miesha Tate, the latter to win the Strikeforce bantamweight title. 

A true force, Dana White picked her up and promoted her to UFC bantamweight champion. She defended that title six times with only one fight going past the third round. Things came crashing down for Rousey fast, however. When her career was at her highest and she was taking on movie roles, Rousey got knocked out by Holly Holm at UFC 193 in 2015. She lost the bantamweight title and disappeared from MMA. Rousey returned in '16 but lasted just 48 seconds against Amanda Nunes. She hasn’t appeared in a cage since. 

Before Rousey, there was Carano. A Muay Thai specialist, Carano participated in the first sanctioned female MMA fights in Nevada. She made her pro MMA debut in 2006 and would compete for Strikeforce and EliteXC. Carano’s fight against Julie Kedzie in '07 would be the first female bout to air on national TV. The last fight Carano competed in was in '09, losing to Cris Cyborg for the Strikeforce featherweight title. That was the first fight card headlined by two female fighters. 

Since her days in the cage, Carano has appeared in films and TV, most notably Disney's "The Mandalorian." Controversial political statements by Carano, however, forced her off that show. Rousey used the boxing film "Rocky" as an example as to why she would want to fight Carano. 

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“If she wanted to come into my backyard and do the ‘Rocky’ thing, you know, ‘Ding-ding,’ and we just do it in the backyard, I don’t care,” Rousey went on to say. “I will fight Gina wherever she wants. And if she doesn’t want to, forever, I will leave that offer there. It’s a respect thing, not like a, ‘F--- you, I’m coming to get you.’ It’s just like, ‘Hey, if you ever want to pull that card out, it’s there.’ I love her. Thank you, Gina, for everything you’ve done.”

A previous fight between Carano and Rousey almost happened. Dana White reportedly offered a large sum of money to both, but a bout never materialized. 

Since leaving MMA, Rousey, a UFC Hall of Famer, joined WWE in 2018. She is a two-time WWE Champion and this year's Royal Rumble winner. 

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Daniel Yanofsky is a combat sports editor at The Sporting News.