Rousey vs. Carano Fight Night Weights Reveal Prelim Fighter Gained Nearly 30 Pounds

Find out what the stars of MVP MMA 1 weighed when they entered the cage.

Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

What seems to have been a fairly minimal weight cut may have helped UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey absolutely run through Gina Carano when the two woman made their respective returns to MMA.

The UFC was also in action on Saturday night with a UFC Fight Night card that saw Arnold Allen largely dominant Melquizael Costa in a featherweight main event, but the attention of much of the MMA and combat sports world was centered on the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA and the inaugural card for MVP MMA.

MVP MMA 1 aired live on Netflix and was loaded with a number of major MMA stars, and the official fight night weights for the combatants were disclosed to MMA Junkie by the California State Athletic Commission following the event.

Nate Diaz & Gina Carano Gain 10+ Pounds Ahead of MVP MMA 1 Losses

The headlining fight between Rousey and Carano was contested at featherweight (145 lbs.), and “Rowdy” only gained one pound between weigh-ins and fight night before she submitted Carano in just 17 seconds.

Ronda Rousey (blue gloves) celebrates defeating Gina Carano (red gloves) after a women's featherweight bout at Intuit Dome. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Women’s MMA pioneer Carano entered the cage 10.6 pounds heavier than the 141.4 pounds that she hit the scale at on Friday. Former UFC star Nate Diaz also gained 16 pounds following weigh-ins for his welterweight fight with Mike Perry, who gained 11.8 pounds himself but was still several
pounds lighter than Diaz on fight night.

Nate Diaz (blue gloves) fights Mike Perry (red gloves) in a welterweight bout at Intuit Dome. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Perry ultimately stopped Diaz following the conclusion of the second round due to the nasty cuts that “Platinum” had opened up on the former lightweight title challenger. Immediately before that, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou, who entered the cage at 257 pounds, competed for the first time since 2024 and knocked out Philipe Lins (221 pounds on fight night) late in the opening round.

Francis Ngannou (blue gloves) reacts after fighting Philipe Lins (red gloves) in a heavyweight bout at Intuit Dome. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Namo Fazil Gains Nearly 30 Pounds Before MVP MMA 1 Featured Prelim

Diaz made one of the more significant jumps in weight between weigh-ins and fight night for MVP MMA 1, but nearly all of the card’s prelim fighters also came into their fights after gaining 10+ pounds following the official weigh-ins.

Namo Fazil (blue gloves) celebrates after defeating Jake Babian (red gloves) in a preliminary welterweight bout at Intuit Dome. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Namo Fazil, who closed out the MVP MMA 1 prelims with a second-round submission against Jake Babian, gained a staggering 27.2 pounds after hitting the scale at 170.8. Babian himself weighed in at 171 and gained 15.8 pounds to enter the cage at 186.8, which was still more than 10 pounds lighter than Fazil.

Brandon Jenkins (red gloves) reacts after a preliminary 165-pound catchweight bout against Chris Avila at Intuit Dome. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Jefferson Creighton also gained 16.4 pounds ahead of what turned out to be a losing effort against former Bellator titleholder Jason Jackson, and Brandon Jenkins added 15 pounds following weigh-ins before defeating fellow UFC veteran Chris Avila in the night’s opening bout.