Everyone wants a ticket to see Ronda Rousey v Gina Carano but even UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland must get Rousey's approval.

Speaking about the event in February, Strickland said women were "too empowered", that they should focus on domestic duties and that he had "no interest" in the bout.

However, MVP's Nakisa Bidarian said on Thursday: "I got a request from Sean Strickland, but I need to talk to Ronda because he was very derogatory about Ronda and Gina.

"He was disrespectful and saying inappropriate things. While we would love to have him as a UFC champion, you can't disrespect the headliners and call for free tickets."

We'll keep you updated on whether he turns up. No sign of him yet.

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Nate Diaz hasn't competed in MMA in 1,344 days, while Mike Perry has been out of the cage 518 days longer.

But tonight, these two battle it out in what could be a gruelling encounter.

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Jake Paul has just announced he's been cleared to return to fighting after Anthony Joshua broke his jaw in December.

Paul says he wants to have an MMA fight.

It's almost co-main event time...

Retired UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones on Netflix whe asked about a potential fight with Francis Ngannou: "I've got to focus on getting out of my UFC contract - that's going to be the difficult part.

"If this fight is going to happen, I don't think Dana [White] is going to do any business with Francis [Ngannou], so doing it with MVP is the only way. If we can get out of my contract, that would be great.

"Tonight he looked good but he fought a guy who weighed 220lb. I thought Francis was impressive. He threw some really nice high kicks tonight and I'm just excited to see what is next for him."

Jones did later go on to say that he does "think he is retired" and added that he is happy exploring opportunities outside the cage, while also helping out training others.

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I don't know if you've seen but the UFC has just announced the return of Conor McGregor.

The Irishman will return to the octagon for the first time in five years on 11 July in a rematch with Max Holloway in Las Vegas for UFC 329.

It's been a turbulent time for McGregor away from fighting. He was ordered to pay £206,000 in damages plus costs in 2024 to Nikita Hand, who accused him of raping her in a hotel in Dublin in 2018. He served a doping ban before being forced to withdraw from his scheduled UFC return last summer with an injury.

Aged 37 now, he hasn't won an MMA fight since January 2020 and has only fought three times since then.

Read the full story.

Gina Carano has not stepped inside the cage for a competitive bout since her first-round knockout by Cris Cyborg in August 2009.

So, nearly 17 years ago.

In case you were wondering, "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas was the UK number one at the time.

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MMA is as tough as it gets for sport and Ronda Rousey knows that all too well.

She went into her loss to Holly Holm with concussion - something she says she hid while in the UFC. Rousey said in 2024 repeated concussions was why she retired from MMA.

This fight was all the more surprising considering those concussion admissions, which Rousey says are now unde control.

This is obviously up for debate and feel free to have your own say using the 'Get involved' button but here are three contenders for the greatest women's MMA fighter of all time.

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Perhaps the actual GOAT of women's MMA.

Cris Cyborg is the current PFL women's featherweight champion and former champ in the UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator and Invicta, making her the only fighter to hold titles world in four major MMA promotions.

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The woman who changed it all for women fighters in the UFC.

Ronda Rousey is a former UFC women's bantamweight champion, Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion and has the longest title fight finish streak in UFC history with six.

Her win over Cat Zingano in 14 seconds is the fastest women's title fight victory in UFC history.

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Amanda Nunes is a former UFC featherweight and bantamweight champion and became a household name when she knocked Ronda Rousey out in 48 seconds in 2016.

Nunes retired in 2023 because she ran out of achievements to pursue. She defeated every title challenger the UFC could find at 135 and 145 lbs, and did so with ease. Her one loss during that time was a submission to Julianna Pena in 2022, which she immediately avenged.

Jake Paul is asked about a potential fight with Francis Ngannou and the MVP chief didn't seem too keen.

Can't blame him really.

Without Gina Carano, there is probably no Ronda Rousey.

The respect Rousey has for Carano has also been visible throughout fight week, with the former UFC champion heaping praise on her opponent.

After Friday's early weigh-ins, Rousey waited for Carano to get off the scales and greeted her with a hug after she made weight for their featherweight bout.

"I've never been able to give back to her," said Rousey.

"If she gets the greatest comeback story of all time I'd be happy to be part of it."

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Jon Jones is on commentary duty for Netflix tonight. He is standing in the stand, arms wide with Francis Ngannou saying he'd beat him.

That is an absolute dream of a fight.

Kenny Florian
Retired fighter on Netflix

That’s all he needs, one opportunity and he gets it done here like many expected. I think Lins does a good job of surviving some really scary moments of round one but in the end he could not deny Francis Ngannou’s power and speed.

During Gina Carano's time away from MMA, she turned to acting before securing a key role playing Cara Dune in the Star Wars franchise spin-off The Mandalorian.

In 2021, she was dropped from the cast following comments she made about free speech and comparing hating someone for their political beliefs to being Jewish during the Holocaust.

She sued for wrongful termination and sexual discrimination, while Lucasfilm condemned her comments for "denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities".

Carano settled her lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm in 2025, but describes herself as being in a "very hurting place" in the years prior, where she "lost herself".

Three first-round knockouts so far. We might get a decent sleep after all!

Francis Ngannou is a scary, scary man.

The knockout looked inevitable with Philipe Lins in survival mode but you cannot stop a man with that much power.

He drops Lins with a massive left hook and that is that. Ngannou just stands over Lins, waiting for the referee to stop it.

That is his second first-round knockout on the bounce and Ngannou's ninth in his career so far.

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We don't have actual concrete figures for you but Ronda Rousey says this bout will set a new purse record for women fighters.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Rousey couldn't tell us the exact number but we know she got paid $3m (£2.25m) for her last UFC fight and she said it was "multiple" that figure.

She also took aim at the current UFC bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison, too.

"The biggest money fight is the biggest fight period. And we [Harrison] honestly have very different definitions of greatness. Mine is making history, making a cultural impact and influencing the future of the sport," said Rousey.

"I've already won a record eight consecutive title fights, there's nothing left for me to do in UFC.

"So now me and Gina are smashing the record for the most women have been paid in combat sports."

In the UFC, under 20% of revenue goes to fighter pay while in boxing, fighters can expect to receive as much as 60% of event revenue.

Nakisa Bidarian says the minimum payment for every fighter on the card will be $40,000 (£28,800), before performance-based bonuses.

In comparison, the UFC pays about $12,000 (£8,960) to $20,000 (£14,900), plus performance-based bonuses, to its entry-level fighters.

This fight is 5x5min rounds, by the way.

Those 25 minutes probably won't be needed but thought I'd let you know just in case.

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Francis Ngannou's boxing career has ended in two defeats to Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, but both fights were completely different.

Fury was very fortunate to get the nod on the scorecards while Joshua left the former UFC heavyweight champion flat on his back.

Jake Paul has been vocal about wanting to fight Ngannou and it's something the heavyweight wouldn't shy away from.

Ngannou said: "I didn't say I want to fight Jake Paul. I said if he keeps insisting, then maybe I will end up beating him up."

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