After years of absence, two pioneers in women’s MMA fighting are returning for a major payday. Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano will headline a fight card by Most Valuable Promotions.
Carano was a part of the first fight card to reach a six-figure purse in 2009. Years later, Rousey fought Amanda Nunes with a purse of $4.8 million.
With Rousey and Carano ready for their first fight on Saturday, they are expected to set a record for the largest purse women’s MMA has ever seen.
Here’s what to know about the Rousey vs. Carano purse and the career earnings of each fighter.
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Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano fight purse, prize money
Rousey’s goal in this fight was to surpass the $5 million mark in an attempt to break the record for the largest purse in women’s combat history.
The exact amount that Rousey and Carano are set to earn is not currently known. Some of the details for the overall fight card are known, however. Each fighter will be paid a minimum of $40,000 with bonuses for each fighter based on performance and incentives.
There is also a revenue sharing model involved. According to MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian, via “The Ariel Helwani Show,” this allows them to prioritize profits for the fighters.
“[The revenue share] is much higher than 50% to the fighters. Much higher,” Bidarian told Helwani. “Our objective is not to lose money and obviously make a little bit of money, but it’s really about putting the money back into the pockets of the fighters. They’re the ones risking their lives. They’re the ones people are paying to see, and we feel like we’ve lived up to that to this point, and we’re going to continue to live up to that.”
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Ronda Rousey net worth
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Ronda Rousey is worth about $14 million. Most of her money comes from her MMA career, but she also ventured into acting and the WWE.
Her biggest earnings from a single fight came against Amanda Nunes, where Rousey won $4.88 million. This came back in 2016 and caused Rousey to retire after losing by TKO in 48 seconds.
Ronda Rousey career earnings
After a class action lawsuit, court documents revealed Rousey’s earnings over each of her eight promoted UFC fights. These total up to $17.78 million. This is, of course, without mentioning her earnings from sponsorship deals and other career endeavors. In her prime, she had sponsorships from Reebok, Monster Energy and Carl’s Jr.
By the end of her UFC career, Rousey consistently brought home millions from her fights. Her final five fights increased in compensation, with her breaking the $1 million mark against Alexis Davis and the $4 million mark against Holly Holm.
Gina Carano net worth
Carano is valued at about $4 million, per Celebrity Net Worth. This originally came through her MMA career, but was bolstered by a career as an actress and TV personality.
She finished with a 7-1 record in the MMA, but is also known for appearances in Fast and Furious 6 and Deadpool, as well as The Mandalorian.
Gina Carano career earnings
Carano was an MMA fighter until 2009, with the UFC beginning to broadcast women’s MMA matches in 2013. As a result, her earnings are not publicly available through the same UFC lawsuit as Rousey.
According to Carano via the Canadian Press, she got $120,000 in her last headline fight against Cris “Cyborg” Justino. In her first fight, she said she earned just $1,000.
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