Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano

Welcome inside the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California,

live in over 190 countries as Netflix and Most Valuable Promotions

bring you our first ever MMA broadcast.

And we came correct.

Three main events featuring icons of the sport,

including the most anticipated MMA fight in decades,

one that has lingered in "what if" lore for years.

That is, of course, until tonight.

The first mixed martial arts event to air live on Netflix.

They say time waits for no one,

but for a few, time simply holds its breath.

"Two pioneers, two trailblazers,"

those words get thrown around a lot in sports, but that's a fact.

For years, the world has lived in the "what if,"

fantasizing that two of the most significant MMA fighters in history

would finally do battle.

Am I going to worry about where I'm landing in history?

I'm sorry, I just don't.

I've gotten so much better at so many things

that nobody's ever seen.

This is the best that I've ever been by far.

They're not just athletes, they're icons.

One who laid the foundation…

Gina Carano is now the face of women's MMA.

…and another who built on it.

One of a kind, "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey.

Tonight, "what if" becomes right now…

Historic doesn't even begin to scratch the surface.

…as Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano finally clash inside the cage

to face each other in a once in a lifetime spectacle.

The last thing you want is for me to be pissed off and with something to prove.

Everybody has a game plan until you get rocked.

I want to prove to her that she created something

that's grown bigger than herself.

I'm definitely coming to win. Make no mistake about that.

Also worth the wait, two more main events.

The realest fighter to ever step in the cage, Nate Diaz,

takes on the king of violence, Mike Perry.

And the lineal heavyweight champion of the world, Francis Ngannou,

meets the Brazilian "Monstro" Philipe Lins.

There has never been a fight night quite like this.

Every time I think about this fight,

I think about it walking away with the W.

I got into MMA because I wanted to fight her.

This fight between us, it's fate.

It's a historic night here in Inglewood,

and the fans are into it.

Typically, this is the home of the NBA's LA Clippers,

but tonight, the ballers make way for the baddies

in one of the most eagerly-awaited sporting events in years.

With the return of MMA legends,

we've got an embarrassment of riches inside the cage tonight.

Headlined, of course,

by two of the most recognizable mixed martial arts athletes of all time,

that being Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano.

But before that, friends,

we've got a quartet of instant classic clashes in the cage.

It'll be a welterweight war between submission specialist Nate Diaz

and relentless striker Mike Perry.

Two of the world's top knockout artists

will meet as Francis Ngannou takes on Philipe Lins.

A pair of massive talents reaching their biggest stage yet

when Francis Salahdine Parnasse faces American Kenneth Cross

and former heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos

goes up against Olympic medalist Robelis Despaigne.

As we officially say hello from here at the desk at the Intuit Dome,

we're holding things down for you all night.

I am your host, Elle Duncan,

and I'm joined by two men who never pull punches,

former UFC welterweight champ,

one of the most dominant fighters of his era,

it's the great Tyron Woodley. Hello, my friend.

How are you doing?

And one of the most influential voices in combat sports journalism,

the one and only Ariel Helwani.

A welcome to them and to our foreign language friends.

You can experience every moment live with world class commentary

in French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish,

you know what they do in every language, though?

They whisper, and there have been whispers about this fight

between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano for years.

What was your reaction, Ty, when you found out

they were finally gonna meet in the cage?

Hell, off the top, the first thing I'm thinking is,

you telling me a Ronda Rousey, which you've seen had her era,

and a Gina Carano can fight, my hands start rubbing together.

This has been in the "what if" conversations for a long time.

- Yeah. -What if we see Sugar Ray Leonard

fight against Floyd? What if we see Ali against Tyson?

We will see Ronda Rousey take on Gina Carano tonight.

Hey, guys, I gotta be honest with you right here and now

and everyone at home. I am so excited about being here.

It's hard to put it all into words.

Allow me to try and explain, you know, long time MMA fans,

we were introduced to this amazing sport

in the '90s via something called pay-per-view.

And then came cable TV, and then premium cable,

and then broadcast TV.

But this truly feels like the dawn of a new era, the Netflix era.

Let's be honest, Netflix, up until now, has aired five boxing events.

But over in the corner was the sport we love so much,

MMA, saying, "What about us?"

Tonight, this amazing sport and its amazing athletes get a chance

to show the world just how special it can be.

And I am so honored to be here with you guys to witness it all.

Same. Apart from the history of it all and the Netflix part of it all,

what about this particular fight feels different to you, Ariel?

Well, as you guys know, the fight game is often rooted

in friction and animosity, and there's nothing wrong with that,

but this one feels like it's been rooted in, I don't know, like,

mending of fences, healing of wounds.

It's been an amazing thing to watch for the two of them.

You know, both of these athletes,

Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, left this sport unceremoniously.

They shunned the sport, and the sport seemed to shun them.

And to see the way in which they've embraced it again

and the way the community has embraced them again,

it's been unbelievable.

It's truly been a beautiful road to get to this fight.

But make no mistake about it,

-they are not here to be participants. -On top.

-Right. -They want to win.

They want to go out on top.

You never get a chance in life to right a very public wrong.

Tonight, Ronda Rousey and/or Gina Carano gets that chance.

They've showed a lot of respect for each other,

a lot of admiration for each other.

For the folks at home, does that mean it's going to impact

in any way their ability to want to tear each other apart?

You know, the nice guy, the nice woman,

smiling, "We're friends, she the best, I'm the best,"

when they got into each other's face,

I saw the Ronda Rousey that said, "I'm still her," right?

And Gina was dancing around saying, "You know what? I'm coming to fight."

"Everything I got, the biggest fight was getting here."

-She lost a hundred pounds. -Yes.

She put herself back in shape after 17 years.

She's coming to fight Ronda Rousey tonight.

-You fans are in for a treat. Stay tuned. -Yeah.

There's just been a lot of love between them,

but I don't buy it for a second.

I saw Ronda's face yesterday at the face-off.

She is coming out to get a win and go out on top.

It always bothered her that she couldn't do that ten years ago.

Yeah, we heard Gina Carano say in the lead-up to this fight,

she never knew she needed it as much as she did,

but now she is here. And so are we.

But tonight's main event may be historic. Don't blink before we get there.

We've got five fights tonight with headliner energy,

knockout power, superstars.

In fact, the countdown to our first fight in minutes is underway.

You're watching Fight Night on Netflix.

Welcome back inside the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.

Elle Duncan alongside Ariel Helwani, Tyron Woodley.

I got to be honest, DJ Evie just played Bone Crusher, "Never Scared,"

and I could probably go in the cage right now if you ask me to.

I mean, I would get my butt whooped, but alas.

Luckily, it will not be me. It will be Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano,

but they're not the only matchup tonight featuring two fighters

that are returning back to this stage.

Let's talk a little Nate Diaz and Mike Perry,

two you could say, I suppose, cult anti-heroes, fan favorites.

But for those that don't know at home, what's the Nate Diaz like…

-What's the experience of him? -For you guys that don't know,

some of you new fans, gonna be millions of you,

welcome to the show, first off.

Second off, Nate Diaz, he's known for being unapologetic.

He's very authentic, he's very real.

He don't say much, but if he says something,

it becomes meme-able. But he low-key is a 360 experience.

The NDA, Nick Diaz Academy Gym, giving homage to his brother.

He said, "Come through. You wanna train? You wanna scrap?"

"Sign the NDA, come through."

Spirits, promotion companies.

He understands this platform is gonna project him.

And he's here, he's lean.

This is the best we've seen him in a long time, body-wise.

-Totally. -And I know he's ready to scrap.

Apart from Diaz and Perry, we'll also see the heavyweights

in action before them.

Francis Ngannou will be taking on Philipe Lins.

What's their mindset, Ariel, before they take the cage tonight?

Well, this is a fascinating fight, because in my opinion,

Francis Ngannou has the most to lose on this main card,

because he is the lineal MMA heavyweight champion.

He left the UFC without losing his belt.

He was undefeated in that one fight in PFL.

And so everyone expects him, because he's the top dog,

to just roll right through Lins.

Lins, let's be honest, has never been on a stage like this before.

He's never fought someone like Francis.

Lins's life and career changes tonight with a massive upset.

Francis is expected to win.

And so there's pressure that comes with that, right?

And so it's very interesting to see the juxtaposition

of the guy trying to upset the world and upset his opponent

and the guy who's expected to knock out his opponent in the very first round.

-Really interesting. -Yeah. You nailed it.

Ngannou, out of all of the fights on our card tonight,

is by far the heavy favorite to win this one.