Shayna Baszler defends Ronda Rousey's victory over Gina Carano

Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano returned to the octagon to face off in one of the most media-covered fights of 2026. The two female MMA legends came out of their respective retirements to headline an exclusive Netflix show that did not satisfy a good portion of the fans.

And the fight ended in just seventeen seconds after Ronda took Carano to the ground to force her submission. The result was described by many fans as a mockery, a story (or work) with which both women could make a lot of money without effort or injuries.

Of course, we are talking about an unpredictable sport, where the fighters' skills can make fights end as soon as they start. Something that the former MMA fighter and former WWE tag team champion Shayna Baszler knows perfectly well, who has been very active in the last few hours on X arguing with many fans upset with the result.

"If you want to know how quickly MMA fans' memory fades, 17 seconds isn't even her fastest victory and yet people think it was fixed, haha. What about her 14-second win over Zigano? Or her 16-second triumph against Davis? Or her other five victories in less than 30 seconds? Or her nine total wins in less than a minute?" Baszler wrote. 

Setting aside the controversy, last Saturday's event marked the first live MMA event broadcast on Netflix. Previously, the popular platform has exclusively aired several boxing matches featuring Jake Paul, including his famous - and also controversial - fight against Mike Tyson in November 2024.