Sean Strickland, predictably, is not excited about the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano news.
Most Valuable Promotions announced Tuesday that it booked a matchup between Rousey and Carano to take place May 16 in Los Angeles and air live on Netflix. The women remain two of the most well-known athletes in MMA, though Rousey has not competed since 2016, and Carano not since 2009.
Reaction to the fight has been mixed, with some excited to see the popular fighters make their comeback on a huge platform, while others have questioned Rousey’s health (she had stated in previous interviews that neurological issues convinced her to step away from fighting) and the potential quality of the contest given how long it’s been since either woman has competed.
Suffice to say, Strickland is firmly in the skeptics camp.
“Ronda Rousey’s gonna steamroll her,” Strickland told Newsweek Sports. “Ronda Rousey’s an Olympian that was a multi-time world champion. Gina Carano was pretty at a time when women’s MMA sucked – I mean, it’s still not very good, but when Gina Carano was fighting it was significantly worse.
“Ronda Rousey’s going to f*cking steamroll her, and we’re just gonna watch two middle-aged women f*cking going through menopause fight each other. … I don’t know. I have no interest in that. Who gives a f*ck?”
Rousey, 39, was one of the most dominant champions in the UFC during her run atop the bantamweight division from 2013 to 2015. She frequently defeated challengers in seconds, which generated massive anticipation for her fights, and also built her profile outside of the cage later parlaying her notoriety into film roles and a successful professional wrestling sting with WWE.
While Carano can’t match Rousey’s competitive accolades, she was a key figure in the rise of women’s MMA in North America. In August 2009, Carano and Cris Cyborg became the first women ever to headline a major MMA event when they fought in the main event of a Strikeforce event that aired on Showtime. Cyborg defeated Carano, who went on to pursue a career in Hollywood and had not been booked for a fight until Most Valuable Promotions came calling.
Strickland, known for making outlandish, offensive, and ignorant statements, including his belief that women shouldn’t be allowed to vote, headlines UFC Houston this Saturday opposite Anthony Hernandez in a pivotal middleweight contenders’ bout.
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