She posted on social media on Monday that it was “one of the best rides of my life” but also “very humbling.”
WASHINGTON — Gina Carano made her first comments Monday since her election mixed martial arts fighting Join Ronda Rousey as she explains why she lost in just 17 seconds.
Rousey used her signature armbar to stop Carano in a dual rematch between the two iconic fighters on Saturday night. After the opening kickoff, Rousey (13-2) didn’t waste any time, immediately charging and tackling Carano. Rousey moved into position and delivered her famous finishing move, breaking Carano’s arm as the fight stopped.
Carano, who hasn’t competed in 17 years, was all smiles even after one of the longest layoffs in professional sports history came to a swift end. Carano and Rousey, who returned to the MMA cage after an absence of 9.5 years, hugged and shared warm words after the fight, raising each other’s arms in victory.
On Monday, Carano explained why the fight was over almost before it started.
She wrote: “My heart is heavy” Instagram. “I wanted to throw, fight, win, but I kicked when I was supposed to move and went down. If I hadn’t tapped, she would have broken my arm because it was already crackling. The disappointment of a failure like that is very humbling.”
She wrote of the difficulties of training: “Losing weight while becoming an athlete again was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It felt like a science experiment to lose 100 pounds. Every week there was pressure to lose just that little bit. I learned how to lose weight more healthily, but the hard way, albeit a little late.”
Carano went on to praise Rousey, saying they “made history again.”
“I’m so excited for the world to experience this version of @rondarousey,” she wrote. “I found a beautiful woman, wife, mother, daughter, sister and legend. I adore you, lady. “
The show at the Intuit Dome is the first live MMA event on Netflix, which is steadily making inroads into the combat sports space.
Rousey won her first women’s championship in the UFC, becoming one of the most famous athletes in the world, and the UFC began promoting the sport of women’s mixed martial arts because of Rousey’s undeniable talent and star power.
Rousey initially became interested in MMA because of Carano, whose athleticism and star power made her a television headliner at a time when the nascent sport was still struggling for legitimacy and acceptance in the late 2000s.
Rousey left the sport after a string of losses, while Carano launched an acting career after her first loss.
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