When Netflix and Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions announced a blockbuster double-comeback bout between trailblazing mixed martial arts icons Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, the sports world stopped to take notice. But the college football world was absolutely losing its mind as the spectacle evaporated in the blink of an eye.
How the College Football World Reacted to Ronda Rousey Beating Gina Carano
When the cage door closed at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Rousey immediately charged across the canvas, secured a swift takedown, and locked in her trademark armbar. Just 17 seconds into the first round, a tapping Carano signaled the end of the match.
College football fans and journalists saw a multi-million-dollar event that concluded faster than a standard college football commercial break. The immediate reaction across the CFB landscape was a hilarious mix of confusion, outrage, and immediate condemnation.
As a result, OutKick’s Trey Wallace commented, “Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano fight was an absolute joke, as expected. Took them longer to touch gloves.”
The “Bussin’ With The Boys” X handle wrote, ”Ronda Rousey just slept Gina Carano in 17 seconds 🤯”
National scout and SI’s Kyron Samuels said, “ronda rousey & gina carano just pulled off one of the greatest scams of all time. call the family.”
The fury coming from the football world becomes clear when evaluating the stark financial disparity of the event. According to figures released by the California State Athletic Commission, the financial payout relative to the fight’s duration was staggering: Rousey pocketed $2.2 million, whereas Carano took $1.05 million home.
Ronda Rousey confirmed her retirement after the fight and said, “I wanna have some more babies and I gotta get cookin.”
Before the fight, she had declared, “I’m done fighting after this. I promised my husband, I promised my sister, everybody that this is my last one. I want to have more kids, too.”
Meanwhile, Carano said she should have fought a striker.
For CFB journalists, who regularly analyze college athletes putting their bodies through 80 plays of brutal physical contact a game for comparatively fractional revenue distribution, the math simply felt like robbery.
While combat sports fans accepted the lightning-fast armbar as classic Ronda Rousey, the CFB media world remains thoroughly unamused. On a night that was supposed to celebrate the grand returns of two legendary athletes, college football minds walked away feeling like they just watched a highly hyped, heavily produced, 17-second illusion.
Read More: BYU QB Bear Bachmeier Makes Feelings Clear on LJ Martin and Bruce Mitchell: ‘See What They Do’
