The women’s MMA pioneer has agreed to fight Ronda Rousey on May 16 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
It’ll be the first time she’s professionally mixed it up on the mats since 2009, and if the responses to the blockbuster matchup’s announcement on Tuesday were any indication, there will be a significant amount of eyeballs tuned in to the bout, which will be streamed live on Netflix.
But before she and Rousey touch gloves and throw hands at one in another in a clash put on by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, here are five things fans need to know about Carano heading into the tilt.
Carano’s first-ever pro fight came on June 10, 2006, when she took on Leticia Pestova in a World Extreme Fighting matchup.
She won by knockout in just 38 seconds, and went on to earn six more consecutive victories through October 2008 in Strikeforce and EliteXC.
In August 2009, Carano had the biggest match of her career — a headlining battle with Cris Cyborg.
She ultimately lost that bout by TKO, and retired afterward.
Shortly after her MMA career ended, one on the silver screen began.
She landed her breakout role in 2011 in the action flick “Haywire.” She played Mallory Kane, a tough secret agent, and was lauded for her performance.
She went on to have parts in several other movies, including “Fast & Furious 6” and “Deadpool” — before she scored a gig in the hit TV series “The Mandalorian” in 2019.
The California Post is here. Sign up for Morning Report. Get the perfect blend of news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.
In 2021, after a successful run on “The Mandalorian,” Lucasfilm fired the star following a controversial tweet.
In the social media post, Carano compared how Republicans were being treated in the United States’ political climate to the experience that Jewish people suffered during the Holocaust.
She had previously stirred up controversy when she publicly mocked the idea of wearing masks during the COVID pandemic.
A Lucasfilm spokesperson said at the time of her ousting that her posts were “abhorrent and unacceptable.”
Carano later sued Disney and Lucasfilm. All parties went on to reach a settlement in the case last year.
California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedInCalifornia Post Sports Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, XCalifornia Post Opinion California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!California Post App: Download here!Home delivery: Sign up here!Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!
Even though the Lucasfilm controversy made global headlines, Carano still found work.
She appeared in two movies in 2022, “Terror on the Prairie” and “My Son Hunter.”
Carano’s hardly the only athlete in her family.
Her dad, Glenn, played for the Cowboys from the late 1970s to 1983, logging snaps in 36 games.
Dallas selected the right-handed signal-caller in the second round of the 1977 NFL Draft.
