Brett Cooper — Gina Carano vs. Ronda Rousey Is Bigger Than UFC | Episode 139

Ronda Rousey's Ronda Rousey's an Olympian that was a multi-time world champion. Gina Carano was pretty. Ronda Rousey's going to steamroller and it's just going to watch, you know, two middle-aged women going through menopause fight each other. Yeah, yeah, I don't know. I I have no interest in that. Who gives a So, what you guys just watched is Sean Strickland's incredibly unfiltered take on Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey's upcoming fight with Netflix.

But, I want you to know that I disagree with everything that he just said. The lore, guys, the drama, the plot, the redemption arc that we are about to see with these two women. I will be sat, I will be watching, and I'm not just saying that because Gina is my friend. This is why you should care. Now, before we dive into the story, make sure that you like this video and subscribe to the channel if you have not already.

And of course, if you want to stay up-to-date on every single thing we upload onto the channel, make sure to ring that notification bell. And if you want behind-the-scenes content, farm blogs, all of that sort of stuff, make sure to check out cooperconfidential.com. That's my subscription platform and the home for all of that content. All right. Now, before we dive into the story, I want to give a PSA before we start jumping down my throat.

I am not a UFC, WWE, MMA girl. Like, that is not my sport. I don't really know what my sport is, if any. That is certainly not it. So, do not come at me if I get some things wrong. But, I am sitting here as a friend of Gina Carano, as a fan of Gina Carano through and through, and I freaking love a comeback story. Like, you guys know, whenever I put on my sports bra hat, whenever I'm talking about sports, it is because my heartstrings are being pulled because there's a great emotional story that has me invested, and this is no different.

Now, in case you missed it and you have absolutely no clue what I am talking about, iconic fighters Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey are coming out of retirement to fight each other on Netflix live. And this was the promo. Just watch. >> [music] [music] >> I mean, it is just so iconic. This took the internet by storm because neither of these women, neither Ronda nor Gina have fought in years. I mean, especially Gina. Like the last time Gina fought was in 2009, I think, and Ronda retired in 2016.

And even though they are arguably the most famous female fighters in the world, they never fought each other, which is something that the fans always wanted. Cuz I was reading a bunch of articles about this announcement and fight. The thing that people kept saying was that it is MMA's most infamous what-if fight. People had always wondered what would have happened if these two icons had fought each other. Again, the fans wanted it.

So, compare that with the mixed star power of each of their names. The internet was set ablaze. It was viral. It was trending for days on X. We were talking about it on TikTok, on Instagram. It was literally everywhere. And for context, a lot of fans wanted this to happen a decade ago. Back in 2015, when Ronda was at the height of her career. But by that time, Gina had retired. She was like well into Hollywood at that point.

So, it wasn't as simple as just putting them both in the octagon. However, at the time, Gina made it very clear that she was not opposed to this fight. And they even offered Gina a million dollars to do the fight. But because she was out of the game, it was like six years after she had retired, Gina asked for two things. She asked for time to train and get back in shape, and she asked for privacy while she did so. But allegedly, that request was not received well.

And Full Mount MMA posted about this story in light of this new announcement and said, "A single text message from Dana White killed Gina Carano's $1 million UFC super fight with Ronda Rousey." Back in 2015, Gina revealed that she had a nice dinner with Dana White and was offered a million dollars to fight Rousey, leaving {quote} {unquote} stoked. But she said that she asked for six months to step away from Hollywood, find a real gym, and build a proper team.

But instead, Dana began speaking publicly about her signing. Pressure mounted, and then came a text from Dana to Gina that read, "This isn't us around." Gina replied, "I think you sent that to the wrong person." And Dana answered, "I don't think I did." And that was their last exchange. At the time though, she said that the Ronda fight was not permanently dead. And clearly, it was not dead because now, a decade later, it is finally happening.

However, for a lot of hardcore UFC and MMA fans, the comment section warriors, the keyboard warriors, they are bored. They are over it. They are completely and utterly disinterested, and they are certainly making that known online. In their article about the announcement, Daily Mail included comments like this. "Wow, this is going to be really mid," wrote one user on X. Another said, "This would have been really fun in 2014, not so much in 2026.

Who is actually going to watch this trash?" read another post. And one fan joked, "Is this the nursing home tour?" Another joke read, "Wow, you got to think that Ronda Rousey versus Gina Carano was going to be the most anticipated fight of 2011." But here's the thing, I believe, actually I know, that these individuals are missing the point. Because yes, you know, this is not your average fight between two young guns, you know, these women are not at the pinnacle of their careers, but it is a comeback fight.

This is the celebration of two icons who are pioneers in their own rights. You know, for a lot of people, it's exciting because they have been waiting for these women to match up for, again, over a decade. Somebody commented and said, "Two pioneers, one spotlight. This isn't just a fight, it is a moment for the history books. May 16th can't come fast enough." And another person said, "It is about to go down. I've been waiting for this for years.

Dreams truly do come true." Ella Bella, like who cares if it's a good fight? Like it is an iconic fight. And just wait, like the ladies might surprise you. It actually might be a great fight up to your standards, keyboard warriors. I don't know. I won't know the difference, but I will be having a fantastic time watching. Anyway, rant over. Moving on from that, even though this fight didn't happen back in 2015 with Dana White and UFC, apparently, Gina and Ronda did approach Dana once their own negotiations were underway, once both of them were interested.

And in one article after the announcement, Ronda said that upon conversations with getting negotiations for the Carano fight finalized, Rousey said that she had asked White if he'd be interested in booking the fight and making her near decade return to the promotion that she had it establish the women's side for a reality. I reached out to Dana and asked him if he would be interested in it, Rousey said. It didn't exactly work out with the UFC, but it led us here today.

And now, Dana White has not commented on any of this, so we don't know why he didn't take the fight. Some have speculated that because in the past he has said that the UFC does not do, {quote} "gimmick fights." He's not into the spectacle. And for a lot of people, that makes sense because they do believe that this is all for show. But, I can tell you one thing, my partners over at Pre-Born are not just for show. And thanks to you guys, last year Pre-Born helped rescue over 80,000 babies.

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So, take a stand, be bold, speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. Call pound 250 and say the keyword baby. Again, that is pound 250 baby or you can visit preborn.com/brett. Again, that is preborn.com/ brett to donate and get involved today. Now, speaking of speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves, what are you feeding your dogs? This is something that I obviously care about. You guys know that we have a pack of dogs, but it always seems like there is a compromise when it comes to your dog's food.

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So, make the switch to Sundays today. Just go to sundaysfordogs.com/brett50 and you will get 50% off your first order, or you can use code brett50 at checkout. Again, that's sundaysfordogs.com/brett50 or use code brett50 at checkout to receive that discount. All right, now I said I was done, but back to the internet detractors for just a moment. There are thousands upon thousands of comments from MMA and UFC fans that all sound like this.

And like, no offense, guys, I know you care a lot about the sport, that's great, but just like let me read you these comments. Okay, one person said, "I have a lot of respect for both, especially Gina, but come on, guys, this is clearly going to be an exhibition." Another person said, "I would pay Netflix not to do this. LOL, no offense, but what's the point? Neither one is competitive anymore. I would rather watch paint dry.

Could not be me, and I will tell you why in a moment." Another person said, "Ronda Rousey versus Gina Carano is a disaster of a fight. Most fans don't even know who these women are, and both are more than a decade removed from their glory days. I'll still watch this train wreck, though, since I have Netflix." He's still going to tune in. And then another person said, "Is this legal? There's kind of a weight difference, or will this all be fake like the Paul brothers fights?"

Which brings me to the next part of the story, because even though I do not believe that this is a fake fight, actually the Paul brothers are involved. So, you've got us there. Because when Dana White and the UFC would not do the fight, Gina and Ronda, they went elsewhere. And the fight ended up landing with Jake Paul and his company MVP. So, they are the ones putting on this fight with Netflix. And while some might turn their noses up at this, and again, the keyboard warriors, they are certainly doing that.

I actually think that this platform makes a lot more sense for Gina and Ronda because Jake's company MVP is focused a lot more on these high-profile spectacle fights. Like their first one, I think was Jake versus Mike Tyson. That, whether you liked it or not, it was a massive success. I think it was actually the most streamed fight ever. And sure, like Jake Paul might not be the most elite technically skilled fighter in the world, and Mike Tyson is obviously very past his prime, but people still loved it.

There was a story there. There was like an underdog and well, people couldn't decide whether Jake or Mike Tyson was the underdog. There was a lot of nostalgia for many. The stakes were really high. You had Mike Tyson's reputation, his legacy. It's like everyone was captivated by it. It was a story. It was entertainment even though it was a real fight. This isn't a traditional UFC fight to begin with. Like it is supposed to be a spectacle.

It is two legends stepping back into the ring. So maybe, maybe it's good that this is happening outside of the traditional arena. And funnily enough, this is actually something that Gina was saying should happen years ago. Just watch. I don't understand why they don't just put a super fight on between two females, you know, that people really want to see fight, you know. Um and there's so many great females out there now.

So Oh, yeah, it's still a dream. She literally called it a super fight, which is exactly what this is. But still, even though both of these women have been talking about this and dreaming about this for years, people never thought that they would see the day, which brings us to how did this actually come together? Well, Ronda, for her part, is not being KG at all. And you know, at first, I couldn't tell if this was, you know, part of the whole MMA UFC fighter shit-talking thing or the Jake Paul entertainment special, like, you know, obviously he plays everything up, but you just have to listen to what Ronda said because I was absolutely gagged.

Just watch. And I saw a video Gina Carano giving interview, and uh she didn't look good. She uh she gained like an unhealthy amount of weight. And um my first thought was like, oh my god, she she what what can I do? What can I do to help? And um the reason why I had that thought was because she's the one woman not only in MMA that that doesn't owe me a damn thing, but that I owe immensely and I'm always trying to look out of what I could do for her.

And um, you know, she's um, her family owns Caesar's Palace in Rubble Oil. Like there's nothing I can really do for her um, except for when I was in a similar spot when I was, you know, depressed and gave up in the world and inadvertently gave up on myself, what I needed was a goal and something to reignite my passion again. And I I always thought I always said that Gina is the one person I'd come back to fight for.

And I thought, you know what? Like she she needs this. She needs this fight and the more that I thought about it, I was like, you know what? I need this. I really need this fight. >> Guys, this clip came across my feed as I was scrolling and I was listening to it. And like initially, I was literally tearing up watching this and listening to Ronda speak because again, like I love Gina. I'm friends with Gina. Like I know a lot of what she has gone through both on and off screen.

And I and I understand what Ronda was saying and so that hit home and I was like, oh my gosh, this is so amazing. And then part of me, like once I scrolled away from the video, I was like, OH MY GOD, WAIT, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY? LIKE THE AUDACITY TO SAY that out loud to be like, man, you didn't really look good. You needed to fight. Like I was like, I I I just couldn't decide how I felt about it, but the comments were hysterical.

Like the top one under that specific video that I saw was, when you see somebody has gained an unhealthy amount of weight, it's very important to challenge them to a fist fight for their own good. Like maybe we've cracked the code. Maybe Ronda has just taught us all how we can fight the American obesity epidemic, how we can end body positivity once and for all. Literally, we can fight it through fist fights. Anyway, all jokes aside, when I was in the comments, like a lot of people, they all knew and they respected what Ronda was saying.

Like somebody commented and said, I do think it's cool that she acknowledged that she owes Gina. Gina was the first woman to bring MMA to the mainstream. Ronda picked up that torch and took it to another level. Another person said, people taking care of people is awesome to see. Sometimes caring comes in different forms. Love is love no matter what expression it takes. And so for these two former elite fighters, maybe it is getting into the octagon and beating each other up.

Maybe that is love. Anyway, it seems like Gina shares the same gratitude in return because in her own press release, she said that Ronda came to me and said that there is only one person that she would make a comeback for and it has been her dream to make this fight happen between us. She thanked me for opening doors for her in her career and was respectful in asking for this fight to happen. This is an honor. And then Gina says, I believe I will walk out of this fight with the win and I anticipate it will not come easy, which I welcome.

This is as much for Ronda and me as it is for the fans and the mixed martial arts community. What a time to be alive. So, in my mind, now that I've taken all of this in, I think it's a lot less talking just for the sake of clicks and PR and more so two women being brutally honest about why they're here and why this fight specifically means so much to them. And I do not think they really care if people on the internet do not think it's legit or think it is dumb.

Like they are doing this for them. And either way, in terms of Gina specifically, like I am so happy that she's going to be back in the octagon doing something that she loves. And also, Ronda really wasn't saying anything that was some kind of big secret because Gina has been very open about what she has gone through over the last few years. You know, from being fired by Disney and you know, tarred and feathered publicly.

She lost her best friend in 2022. She had her lawsuit with Disney that was all consuming for years on end. And she talked about all of this and way more on an episode of Sean Ryan's podcast early last year. Again, there is something about being on that podcast, you just spill all the beans for hours and hours and hours and Gina definitely did that. But anyway, I would guess that this is the interview that Ronda was referring to because in this interview, Gina talks about how she has had times in her life when she was not able to get out of bed.

When she has had be fighting tooth and nail for her mental health. And she tells Sean about what she's done to help her and what has helped others in her life that were struggling. And I wonder if this specifically is what struck a chord with Ronda. Just take a listen. I had somebody call me recently and say, you know, they were in a bad place and I said, all right, well, just pick out the things that you're doing to hurt yourself, you know, drugs, alcohol, women, you know, um, sex, like what is the thing that is you're using to hurt yourself.

And he told me and I said, "Do me a favor and let that go. Give your time yourself a time frame to heal so that cuz the world's going to need you. And they need you to be healthy. That would be the one thing is drop what's what you're using to hurt yourself. And then focus on uh control the controllables, right? I can control getting up and take a shower. I can control what I'm going to put in my body today. I can control going for a walk.

You know, I remember looking in the mountains in Montana and thinking, "I got to get myself together. I I'm not going to change the world by being an absolute wreck." >> [laughter] >> And guys, that interview was a year ago. Gina went from still being retired, still fighting for justice, she was still entrenched in her whole Disney lawsuit, she was still putting the pieces of herself back together after she had been canceled and attacked and used and discarded by so many people to now reclaiming her name and her legacy on the world stage in the most iconic, beautiful, just amazing way possible.

The woman in that interview versus the woman in the Netflix promo, like it is night and day. I was texting her and I was like, "There is like this spark back in you. Like the fire is back in your eyes." And it is so amazing to see. And so, I wonder if Ronda saw that clip because the timeline adds up because in her interview she was like, "I was 9 months pregnant. I was about to give birth to my daughter." I saw this interview of Gina and I think she gave birth to her daughter in January of last year.

Anyway, I wonder if she saw that clip and said like, I can help you do what you're talking about. I can help you do this. And maybe let's do it together. And I know I know that there will be so many people out there who do not care. They're like, "Brett, this is like chick flick BS. You're so emotionally involved." that there are the Sean Stricklands of the world who think it is lame, boring, and unnecessary. And you know, that is totally your prerogative.

That is your right. I don't care. But for a lot of us, it is about the heart and the story. And I just love it even more because last year, when Gina finally closed the door on the whole Disney fiasco, there were so many detractors online who were still smugly saying that you know, she was never going to have a career, that because she settled, she had lost, she was just cashing out, she'd ride into the sunset, never to be heard of again, nobody would want to work with her.

Like, I saw a couple of these comments on Reddit. Somebody said, "It doesn't change the fact that she burned virtually all of her bridges in Hollywood. No big studio is going to want somebody who was only going to sue them after becoming a liability." Somebody else said she got an appeasement and will never work with them again. I'd be surprised if any of the big companies want to work with her. Well, lo and behold, people, internet detractors, keyboard warriors, Netflix came in and said, "Hold my beer."

And obviously, Gina here is fighting, she's not acting, but this is pushing her right back into the spotlight. And not with some conservative company, no offense, obviously, but she's being pushed into the spotlight with the backing of the biggest streaming giant in the world. Like, if Gina wants it, this is the beginning of her return. She could cash out and ride into the sunset, she could win this fight, she could do it and she could go on back to Montana, be in the mountains and live there forever, but if she wants to come back, it's now.

And I think this is just such an incredible redemption story from everything we watched her go through over the last 6 years. And so again, my argument is that this is so much bigger than just fighting, and that is why you should care. You should care about good people taking control of their lives and their futures and getting healthier and getting passionate about things that they love. And you should care partially because it's fun and endearing about amazing comeback stories.

And you should admire the respect that these two women obviously have for each other and the sport that they're fighting in. And if you still have a problem with that, if you are sitting behind your phone, behind some anonymous profile picture, talking crap, then why don't you get off of your middle-aged butt and spend months getting back into shape to put your body and your legacy on the line to fight. But I'm guessing that you don't have the balls to do that.

Most of us would not have the balls to do it. So anyway, I don't know what you guys will be doing on May 16th, but I will certainly be watching.