Gina Carano has undergone significant weight loss to prepare for her upcoming MMA fight against Ronda Rousey, marking her return to the cage after nearly two decades. At 44 years old, Carano shared her transformation journey on social media leading up to the weigh-in.
Key points
Gina Carano is returning to MMA after nearly two decades.
She accepted a challenge from Ronda Rousey for a fight in 2026.
Carano lost a significant amount of weight over 1.5 years.
She shared her transformation journey on social media.
The fight marks both fighters' comebacks to the cage.
Returning for her first MMA fight in nearly two decades was no easy decision for Gina Carano.
With her last fight coming in 2009, Carano decided to accept a challenge from Ronda Rousey for each former star to make a return to the cage in 2026 — they'll each be making comebacks. But at 44 years old, Carano faced a difficult physical journey to prepare for her fight with Rousey.
On social media, Carano shared ahead of the Netflix fight that she lost a lot of weight over the past 1.5 years, which culminated at her weigh-in to face Rousey.
Here's what to know about Carano's weight loss for her fight vs. Rousey.
Carano, following her weigh-in to face Rousey as each made a comeback into MMA on Netflix, shared on social media that she has lost 100 pounds over the span of about 1.5 years.
She weighed in at 141.4 pounds for the fight, which gave her plenty of room from the 146-pound limit, and wrote on social media that around September 2024, she weighed 100 pounds more.
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What has Gina Carano said about her weight loss?
Days before her return to MMA on Netflix, Carano shared a detailed post on social media opening up about her weight loss journey.
She said that between September 2024 and May 2026, she lost around 100 pounds, thanking Rousey for the challenge and ability to push herself as an athlete again.
"It did not happen overnight. If it wasn’t for having this incredibly challenging goal in fighting [Rousey] I most definitely wouldn’t have reached this. I was pre-diabetic, had trouble simply walking in September 2024 and have been on the path to recovery to turn myself back into an athlete since then," Carano wrote. "It was hard, SO damn hard.. there was so much to learn, too much to unpack here, ups, downs, plateaus, things I learned late I wish I learned earlier, trial by error but I did it. Thank you to Ronda, who waited patiently while I lost this weight and giving me something to aim for.
There is still so much I need to learn and want to do in the health space and to continue transforming my body, but for today, I thank God, my husband and my family for sticking with and encouraging me the whole way. I pray this encourages you wherever you are in your health journey. Believe there is hope. Never give up."
Did Gina Carano have to lose weight to fight Ronda Rousey?
With their bout booked at a 145-pound featherweight limit, Rousey, 39, and Carano, 44, had to clear that mark for their fight on Netflix.
They both wound up having room to spare. Rousey weighed in at 142 pounds, while Carano came in at 141.4 pounds. In her social media post, Carano credited Rousey for providing the challenge of the fight and motivation to lose the weight, saying her opponent "waited patiently" as she got back into fighting shape.
Carano fought most of her career at 140 pounds, while Rousey competed in the 135-pound bantamweight division.
The weight difference for Rousey vs. Carano shouldn't be too influential in the result — both fighters had plenty of room to spare for the 145-pound limit.
Rousey (142 lbs) came in 0.6 pounds heavier than Carano at 141.4 pounds.
