Gina Carano tells Joe Rogan she was "instantly disrespected on so many levels" during talks to fight Ronda Rousey

Gina Carano (left) and Ronda Rousey (right) (Images via Getty)
Gina Carano (left) and Ronda Rousey (right) (Images via Getty)

A fight between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano almost came together years ago, but fell apart due to UFC president Dana White's disrespectful behavior, according to Carano.

Carano has discussed in the past how White went against her request to keep a potential Rousey fight under wraps until she could find herself a new MMA gym to call home. He followed that up by sending her a profane text message accusing her of "f***ing" him around.

In a new interview on The Joe Rogan Experience, Carano explained how that interaction was the end of their negotiations.

"He said something pretty aggressive over texts which I'm sure you know, he does that. And I was just like 'Okay, I'm not going to do that.' It was very simple for me. That was going to be something for me, and I was excited to be back in that world and excited to do something like that. I respect Ronda and thought that was exciting. But you just can't go back in that world and feel instantly disrespected on so many levels."
"So I was like 'I'm cool, I'm going to go,' and then another movie came up and I was like 'Sweet, I'll just go do this movie.' I don't need to be disrespected, you know?"

Watch Gina Carano discuss the Ronda Rousey fight below:

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Recently, Ronda Rousey said she'd only return to mixed martial arts to fight Gina Carano. Carano is a pioneer of women's MMA who carried the torch for women through the 2006-2009 years. A fight between the two stars of women's combat sports would still be a massive draw even today.


Gina Carano shares her reaction to Ronda Rousey's new fight offer

Speaking to Joe Rogan on his podcast, the 40-year-old Carano admitted she still had the urge to fight again. She said:

"I'm constantly fighting people in my head and having a comeback fight all the time. I'm 40. I still can't even say that I wouldn't ... Honestly, I feel like [Ronda's] the one as well, if I wanted to, you know? ... You never lose that want to do it, and I've been looking for something to train for to get my body back, and where I want it to be. So there's been this little thing on my shoulders, saying 'Well you could train and get your body back to where you want to be and use that as your focus.'"

'Conviction' hasn't fought since a 2009 TKO loss to Cris Cyborg that left her with a 7-1 record. Ronda Rousey left the UFC in 2017 after losing back to back fights to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes.

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Edited by Ryan Harkness