Raquel Rodriguez says she is thrilled to see Ronda Rousey returning to mixed martial arts for the first time in nearly a decade.
Rousey is scheduled to face Gina Carano on May 16 under the Most Valuable Promotions banner. The fight will take place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California and will stream live on Netflix.
Speaking with TMZ’s Inside The Ring, Rodriguez expressed excitement about Rousey returning to the sport she built her career on.
“I love Ronda. I’m so excited for her, for this point of her career,” Rodriguez said. “She’s a mom. Her babies are old enough, especially her oldest is old enough to see her do what she loves and what she trained her whole life for.”
Rodriguez added that sharing that experience with her children makes the moment even more meaningful.
“I think that’s so important when you have kids and they’re able to share that with you. It’s such a beautiful moment.”
The WWE star also reflected on working with Rousey during her own time in WWE, describing it as one of the more creative stretches of her career.
“I think working with her was just some of the most creative times in my career because she brings a different element to the ring,” Rodriguez explained. “She brings that MMA factor.”
During Rousey’s WWE run, she and Rodriguez shared the ring more than a dozen times. Two of those matches saw Rousey successfully defend the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship on television.
Their final encounter came at WWE Money in the Bank 2023, where Rodriguez defeated Rousey to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship after Shayna Baszler turned on her longtime partner.
Rousey’s last WWE appearance inside the ring came shortly afterward at WWE SummerSlam 2023. Since then, the former champion has indicated that her time as a full-time pro wrestler is likely behind her.
Her upcoming bout with Carano will be contested over five five-minute rounds using four-ounce gloves and will be sanctioned under the Unified Rules of MMA.
For Rousey, the fight represents a major return to the sport that made her a global star, and for Rodriguez, it is another chance to watch a former opponent step back into the arena where her legacy first began.
