Feb 17 (Reuters) - Former UFC champion Ronda Rousey will return after a decade away from the cage for a showdown with fellow veteran Gina Carano on May 16 in a blockbuster fight that will be streamed on Netflix, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) announced on Tuesday.
The featherweight bout between the two Americans at 145 pounds will take place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and stream globally on Netflix at no additional cost.
The bout will be professionally sanctioned under the Unified Rules of MMA,
contested over five five-minute rounds inside a hexagon cage.
"Been waiting so long to announce this: Me and Gina Carano are gonna throw down in the biggest super fight in women's combat sport history!" said 39-year-old Rousey, who boasts a 12-2 record with nine submissions and three knockouts.
Rousey, a 2008 Olympics judo medallist and former WWE star, was the UFC's first female bantamweight champion and first woman inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Carano, 43, revealed the fight came about after a personal approach from her opponent, who was known as "Rowdy Ronda" in her heyday.
"Ronda came to me and said there is only one person she would make a comeback for and it has been her dream to make this fight happen between us," said Carano, who has a 7-1 record and was dubbed the "Face of Women's MMA" after popularising the sport.
"She thanked me for opening up doors for her in her career and was respectful in asking for this fight to happen."
The two fighters also found fame in Hollywood, with both appearing in the "Fast & Furious" movie franchise among others.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
