Gina Carano gave the full story after Ronda Rousey caught her in a fast armbar, and she did not hide from how bad it felt.
Carano said the loss was humbling, admitted her arm had already started to “crackle,” and revealed that Jon Jones and Cain Velasquez helped settle her mind after the fight. She also opened up about losing 100 pounds, dealing with California Athletic Commission checks, and walking away from the experience with respect for Rousey, Most Valuable Promotions, and Netflix.
Carano posted the full message after the fight:
https://x.com/ginacarano/status/2056477569869127968
“This was one of the best rides of my life. I felt locked in fight night. No fear just focused positive adrenaline.
Love to my team.
My heart is heavy, I wanted to throw, battle, win, but I kicked when I should have moved and was down and done. If I hadn’t tapped she would’ve broken my arm, as it had begun to crackle.
The disappointment of losing like that is very humbling.
@JonnyBones and @cainmma came up to my table after the fight. They set my mind straight.
Jon said, “You haven’t fought in 17 years? Do you know how big your balls have to be to get back in there after that long? Did you set some sort of record or something? Respect!” That’s exactly what I needed to hear from the best to ever to do it.
I’ve been in a caloric deficit for a year, training felt like swimming as hard as I could upstream. I can count on two hands the number of times I felt good training. It was physically the hardest thing I’ve ever done taking the weight off while turning back into an athlete. I felt like a science experiment losing 100lbs. Every week the pressure of how to get that little bit off. I learned a little late how to do it healthier but trial by fire.
The California Athletic Commission is great and one of the strictest in the world. They weighed me a week and a half before the fight, extra tests and scans, multiple drug tests. We weighed in and they weighed us the night of the fight to make sure we complied with the rehydration rules, which I passed all easily.
I needed to go through this fight to implement permanent lifestyle changes and now I feel like this is just the beginning. I can’t wait to see where I can push my body to go next.
I’m so glad the world got to experience this version of @rondarousey I found a beautiful woman, wife, mother, daughter, sister and legend. I adore you lady.
We made history, again. I hope @MostVpromotions MMA @netflix continue on because they CRUSHED it. Respect where respect is due. @nakisa_bidarian @jakepaul
It was such a great experience.
Thank you ALL for showing your support. It’s because of you we get to face our fears and live our dreams.
With all my heart, thank you all. ♥️”
Carano Detailed The Weight Cut, Commission Checks, And Respect For Rousey
Carano’s fight with Rousey ended almost immediately, but the road back was the harder part. She described a year-long weight-loss push as physically brutal, saying training often felt like “swimming as hard as I could upstream” while she tried to rebuild herself as an athlete.
The California Athletic Commission piece matters because Carano said she was checked repeatedly before fight night. According to her statement, she was weighed a week and a half before the bout, went through extra tests and scans, took multiple drug tests, then weighed in again on fight night under rehydration rules.
Carano’s record now sits at 7-2. Before this return, her last MMA fight was the 2009 Strikeforce main event against Cris Cyborg, one of the key fights in early women’s MMA. Rousey improved to 13-2 overall, adding another submission to a career built around judo entries, pressure, and armbars.
The finish was quick, but Carano’s post-fight message covered the whole cost of the comeback. She admitted the kick was the mistake, said the tap came before the armbar got worse, and closed by praising Rousey, MVP, Netflix, Nakisa Bidarian, Jake Paul, and everyone who supported the fight. After years away from MMA, Carano framed the experience as a hard reset rather than only a loss.
