If Ronda Rousey is making more than Ilia Topuria does for her return to mixed martial arts (MMA) then she has some catching up to do.
Rousey did what she was supposed to do against Gina Carano last night (Sat., May 16, 2026) atop Netflix’s first MMA card with a dominant 17-second armbar finish (see it HERE). Some fight fans may have felt gypped given how quickly the main event was over, but on paper this was always how the fight was going to end. Rousey is still an elite grappler despite fighting
for the first time in 10 years and Carano was making her first appearance in 17 years. There’s a reason oddsmakers favored Rousey to win by submission.
Of course, Rousey, Carano, and the rest of the star-studded card were heavily compensated for their efforts to help ring in Netflix’s MMA era in fashion. Rousey, who said before the fight that she was going to make more than anything she made in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), walked away with $2.2 million in guaranteed money (per the California State Athletic Commission, via MMA Junkie). That’s a little light on the frontend compared to her highest UFC paydays. There’s probably a ton more money for Rousey to make on the backend to get her where she expected to be.
Carano, on the other hand, banked $1.05 million for a 17-second submission loss in which she took maybe two strikes to the head. The women’s MMA pioneer did have to lose 100 pounds to get into fight shape, but she made out like a bandit with all things considered. Much like Rousey, Carano will likely earn additional money on the backend when it’s all said and done.
Check out the full fight card payouts below:
- Ronda Rousey, $2.2 million
- Gina Carano, $1.05 million
- Nate DIaz, $500,000
- Mike Perry, $400,000
- Francis Ngannou, $1.5 million
- Philipe Lins, $100,000
- Salahdine Parnasse, $70,000
- Kenneth Cross, $50,000
- Junior Dos Santos, $80,000
- Robelis Despaigne, $50,000
- Namo Fazil, $40,000
- Jake Babian, $40,000
- Adriano Moraes, $80,000
- Phumi Nkuta, $60,000
- Jason Jackson, $110,000
- Jeff Creighton, $50,000
- David Mgoyan, $50,000
- Albert Morales, $40,000
- Aline Pereira, $40,000
- Jade Masson-Wong, $40,000
- Chris Avila, $50,000
- Brandon Jenkins, $40,000
