Rousey to have stricter concussion tests for MMA return

Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano will undergo stricter “neurological and concussion” medical tests before they are cleared to return to MMA.

The long-retired duo are scheduled to meet in a five-round featherweight bout on 16 May in California.

Rousey, 39, has spoken at length about serious concussion problems throughout her athletic career and said it contributed to her decision to retire from MMA 10 years ago.

“We’re going to put her through neurological and concussion battery testing and make sure she’s okay,” California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster told ESPN.

“We’re going to have our doctors take a look.

“The fighters are going to have to do a lot of medicals, both of them.”

The California State Athletic Commission requires additional testing for fighters over the age of 40.

The commission uses recommendations from the Association of Ringside Physicians to screen older fighters.

Carano, 43, retired from MMA 17 years ago while Rousey hung up her gloves 10 years ago, but did compete in the WWE from 2018 onwards.

Rousey told BBC Sport in 2024 how she suffered from concussions before she transitioned into MMA from judo.

“I had been hiding concussions and neurological injuries for so long that it just became part of it,” she said.

“And that was the point I was forced to really self-assess and be like, ‘your brain has taken too much damage for too many years’.”

Foster says he currently has no concerns about the contest as long as they “pass their medicals and pass all their neurological batteries”.

“There’s nothing wrong with this fight,” he added.

Rousey v Carano will headline the first MMA event on Netflix. Rousey is a former UFC champion – becoming the first female to sign with the promotion – while Carano is considered one of the pioneers of the sport in the women’s code.

Carano retired before Rousey made her MMA debut, but the rivals have long been linked with a match-up and the UFC tried to make the fight at the height of Rousey’s career.

After a five-year unbeaten streak, Rousey lost her UFC bantamweight title to Holly Holm in a shock defeat, and when she was knocked out by Amanda Nunes in her comeback the following year, she retired from MMA.