On May 16, 2026, Netflix airs its first-ever live MMA event, held by MVP (Most Valuable Promotions). While die-hard fans might tune in to see Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry or Francis Ngannou’s bout with Philipe Lins, the main attraction is the superfight between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano. At one point, both of them were the most famous female fighters in the world, and they helped push WMMA mainstream during a time when the sport was considered men’s only by the UFC.
Why should the gaming community care? Well, both Carano and Rousey have extensive histories with gaming, although the former’s Red Alert 3 appearance is probably more well-known than the latter’s history. However, strip away Rousey’s Olympic pedigree, MMA and WWE legacies, and “Baddest Woman on the Planet” persona, and you’ll find a hardcore lifelong gamer with a deep love for Pokemon and WoW.
The MVP Netflix MMA event starts at 9 PM EST. Rousey vs. Carano is the final match, so it won’t get going until much later.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Easy (120s)Medium (90s)Hard (60s)
Rousey, The Baddest Raider On The Planet
Rousey’s WoW Pedigree
World of Warcraft is probably the game Rousey is most associated with, especially since she has taken part in collaborations with Blizzard (like the “A Toast to 15 Years” celebration). Nothing screams “hardcore” gamer more than a WoW subscription. Rousey has been an Azeroth citizen for over a decade, with the MMO serving as the ultimate escape from her strict training regime and just the stresses of everyday life.
Although she talked about Warcraft before starting her Facebook Gaming partnership, Rousey has streamed sessions of her playing the game, some of which have been preserved on her YouTube channel. Although she was mostly active about 5–6 years ago, she continued to upload videos on occasion, and her resume of games includes Dead Cells, Among Us, Horizon Zero Dawn, Animal Crossing, and, naturally, Pokemon.
On Conan, she revealed that she bonded with Vin Diesel during the filming of Furious 7 over their mutual love for World of Warcraft; in fact, he helped her become more accustomed to the game, as she was still a relative newbie at the time. She apparently likes to play as a Night Elf Hunter or Blood Elf Rogue. In a 2020 interview with Digital Spy, Rousey confirmed that she is part of a WoW family, with both her husband and children playing (at the time, at least).
When I first started dating my husband, I was playing WoW all the time, and so he wanted to play because he wanted to spend time with me, and then all my kids started playing, and we’d like run raids and Dungeons and everything together. – Ronda Rousey via Digital Spy
Ronda Rousey, The Rowdy Moderator Of Pokemon Forums
A Big Pokemon Fan
At the age of 23, Rousey made her MMA debut, defeating Hayden Munoz in an amateur bout. At age 21, she competed in her second Olympics, earning a bronze medal in judo. At age 17, she competed in her first Olympics, and she was the youngest judoka at the tournament. Before all that, Rousey was fighting a different type of fight: Online forum moderation.
This is fairly common knowledge nowadays, but the Baddest Woman on the Planet is a pretty big Pokemon fan, to the point of actually being a moderator on a fan forum called GamersChoice. Going by the name of “Snooch.booch,” Rousey was in her mid-teens when she performed this role, and she has been pretty open about her love for the franchise. As nothing stays buried on the internet, her profile was (naturally) unearthed.
At the height of her UFC powers, Rousey held a short interview with MMAFightingonSBN and discussed her history with Pokemon, revealing she started with the trading cards and that her first game was Pokemon Blue.
Rousey’s Favorite Pokemon Is Mew
Now, Try To Picture Mew With Vegeta’s Hair
In 2015, Rousey was one of the most famous people in the world, with her legendary run as UFC Bantamweight Champion seemingly destined to last forever. At that point, she staged an AMA on Reddit, a PR move that can go sideways pretty quickly (as would happen in her 2024 AMA). Want to know how Rousey introduced herself?
That’s right, the Baddest Woman on the Planet spent her first paragraph confirming her nerd cred. One commentator even asked Rousey what her Game of Thrones sigil would be, and she said: “My sigil would be a Mew with Vegeta hair.” I have to be honest, that is a visual I am having trouble imagining, but it would be pretty cool.
9 Celebrities That Surprisingly Love Watching Anime
Some fans may be surprised to learn that these celebrities are big fans of anime.
Rousey’s Dream Role Is Metroid’s Samus Aran
The Baddest Bounty Hunter In The Universe
Be it games or anime, we have probably all found ourselves daydreaming and imagining a life as one of our heroes or favorites. Who hasn’t cast themselves as Nathan Drake or Lara Croft? Doomguy or Master Chief? Goku or Kratos? Link or Kirby? OK, maybe some of those are a stretch, but gaming is built on escapism, and it is just fun to envision the impossible.
In Rousey’s case, the video game character she would love to be is Metroid‘s Samus, as revealed in a 2016 GameSpot interview. To be specific, this was her answer to the question of which character she would like to play in a movie, and she could not have picked a more badass hero. Except for a handful of roles during the mid-2010s, Rousey has mostly stayed away from the movie industry, so this casting seems unlikely to materialize at this point. Still, never say never, especially since Nintendo is nowadays more willing to turn its IPs into Hollywood blockbusters.
Rousey, The Legendary Raid Champion
Taking Matters Into Her Own Hands
Although there were rumors that Rousey had been added as an NPC to World of Warcraft, the “Rhonda” character is actually based on a Blizzard employee. However, Rousey did eventually become a character in a massive, inescapable RPG: Raid: Shadow Legends. Yes, you know the one.
In late 2022, the WWE wrestler (at the time) was released as a limited-time Legend, allowing players to download her for free. Her run only lasted until early 2023, and she hasn’t been made available since. At this point, it seems unlikely that she will ever be brought back, so players either have her or they don’t. Even if it isn’t the most beloved game in the world, Raid: Shadow Legends is nevertheless a game that brings in millions of players daily, so it is a big deal regardless.
Rousey Is Mortal Kombat 11’s Sonya Blade
Her Only Video Game Role (Not Appearance)
Technically, Ronda Rousey has a pretty extensive video game resume, appearing in (I believe) 5 EA Sports UFC games and 5 WWE games. Taking Raid: Shadow Legends into account, Rousey is playable in 11 games, which is a pretty darn impressive feat. She was even on the cover of EA Sports UFC 2 and a preorder bonus for WWE 2K19.
However, if we are talking video game roles, Rousey only has one credit to her name: Mortal Kombat 11. If somebody were to only know one thing about Rousey in gaming, it would probably be her turn as Sonya Blade, a casting that wasn’t necessarily a complete success. Still, it was cool to see one of the most famous real-life martial artists portray an iconic fighting game character, and the criticism of her performance has retroactively decreased following some stunt casting for Mortal Kombat 1.
Whatever happens during the Gina Carano on Netflix fight, Rousey’s place in pop culture is unique and cemented in stone. She broke barriers in the UFC, helped boost the women’s revolution in WWE, and became a master raider in World of Warcraft.
10 Best Video Games Starring Celebrities, Ranked
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and God of War are just a couple of the many games that feature famous celebrities as one or more main characters.
