MVP MMA: Rousey vs Carano — Event Recap
A historic night at the Intuit Dome marked MVP’s first foray into MMA. Headlined by the long-awaited returns of Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano — two pioneers of women’s MMA — the card delivered finish after finish, with eight of the eleven fights ending early. Here’s a breakdown of every fight:
Ronda Rousey def. Gina Carano — Submission (armbar), Round 1 (0:17) Vintage Rousey. In her first MMA fight since 2016, “Rowdy” closed the distance instantly, secured the takedown, transitioned through a guillotine attempt, and locked in her signature armbar for the tap — all in seventeen seconds. Carano’s return after more than a decade away ended before it began. → Read the full recap
Mike Perry def. Nate Diaz — TKO (corner stoppage), Round 2 (5:00) A bloody welterweight war between two cult favorites. Perry pressured behind heavy elbows, knees, and body work from the opening bell, dropping Diaz with a knee just as the second-round bell sounded. With Diaz’s face a mess, the corner had seen enough. The “King of Violence” lives up to the name in his return to MMA. → Read the full recap
Francis Ngannou def. Phillipe Lins — KO, Round 1 (4:31) The Predator remains the lineal heavyweight king. Lins survived early scrambles and tried to grind Ngannou against the cage, but a single Ngannou right hand on the break sent him crashing. Another first-round knockout for one of the most feared punchers in heavyweight history. → Read the full recap
Salahdine Parnasse def. Kenneth Cross — TKO, Round 1 (4:18) The KSW two-division champion announced himself loudly in his US debut. After a back-and-forth scrambling first round, Parnasse hurt Cross with a left hand, took him down, climbed to mount, swarmed with ground strikes, and finished things with a body shot that crumbled Cross against the cage. → Read the full recap
Robelis Despaigne def. Junior dos Santos — KO, Round 1 (2:59) The Olympic taekwondo bronze medalist and Karate Combat heavyweight champion put his striking pedigree on full display. Despaigne hurt JDS with an uppercut-led combination, stalked him down, and ended things with a three-punch combo that put the former UFC champion out cold. → Read the full recap
Namo Fazil def. Jake Babian — Submission (anaconda choke), Round 2 (0:58) A wild welterweight scrap. Babian dominated the first round, taking Fazil’s back and threatening from mount, but the Iraqi striker came out a different fighter in the second — hurting Babian with combinations and locking in an anaconda choke off a sprawled takedown attempt for a stunning turnaround. → Read the full recap
Adriano Moraes def. Phumi Nkuta — Technical Submission (rear-naked choke), Round 3 (4:59) Victory from the jaws of defeat. Nkuta, stepping in on short notice, hurt Moraes multiple times and looked to be on his way to a major upset. Then, with seconds left in the final round, Moraes locked in a rear-naked choke as the horn sounded — and Nkuta didn’t get up. CSAC review confirmed he was out. A legitimate buzzer-beater finish. → Read the full recap
Jason Jackson def. Jeff Creighton — KO, Round 1 (0:22) “The Ass-Kicking Machine” needed twenty-two seconds. The former Bellator welterweight champion countered an early Creighton combination with a right hand followed by a vicious left that turned the lights out instantly. As clean a knockout as you’ll see all year. → Read the full recap
David Mgoyan def. Albert Morales — Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-27) The American Top Team featherweight turned in a grappling clinic. After rocking Morales early on the feet, Mgoyan racked up seven-plus takedowns, neutralized every submission attempt off his back, and controlled top position across all three rounds for a dominant win. → Read the full recap
Aline Pereira def. Jade Masson-Wong — Split Decision (29-28 x2, 27-30) The younger Pereira sibling used distance and range to edge out a tough scrap. Masson-Wong’s grappling moments — including a back-take attempt in the second — kept things close, but Aline’s kicks, jabs, and counter rights from the outside ultimately swayed two of the three judges. → Read the full recap
Brandon Jenkins def. Chris Avila — Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) The night’s curtain-raiser delivered a true striking clinic. “The Human Highlight Reel” picked apart Avila’s lead leg with relentless low kicks, mixed in spinning back kicks and uppercuts, and survived Avila’s heavy counters inside to take two of the three cards. → Read the full recap
