Ronda Rousey-Gina Carano Netflix Fight Card Updates: Junior dos Santos Returns to MMA

Netflix and Jake Paul are putting together one of the biggest fight cards of 2026. Headlined by Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, the card is being filled out with former UFC fighters like ex-heavyweight champion Francis Nagano, Nate Diaz and now another ex-heavyweight champion in Junior dos Santos.

Paul's Most Valuable Promotions, which I can't believe no one used before now because it's actually a pretty good name, announced the fight card was now full with 11 bouts as of Mar. 24.

Here's how the fight card looks with about seven weeks to go before weigh-ins.

Rousey vs. Carano fight card

Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano

Rousey and Carano is the fight that people once dreamed of and now Netflix is giving it to them. Both of them have been out of the cage for a few years, but there is still enough juice to headline Netflix's first MMA event.

Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry

This is another fight that no one was thinking about a day before it was announced, but now that you've been presented with it and it's going to be on Netflix and you already have a Netflix subscription, it doesn't actually sound so bad. And that's exactly as deeply as you're supposed to think about that.

Perry went 7-8 in five years with the UFC. He lost four of his last five and turned to the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, where he went 6-0 over the last few years with a number of wins over other former UFC fighters. That, combined with his history with Paul, make him a perfect addition to this card.

Diaz, who turns 41 next month, is actually coming off of a win against Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 in Sep. '22. He also beat former UFC contender Jorge Masvidal in a boxing match in July '24. According to the press release, it is time for his return:

“Glad to be back in action. It’s time,”said Diaz.“Don’t forget where this all came from. I got plans on doing a lot more in the next 10 years, no matter where it is. Time to set the bar again, so get ready for a new takeover again and again until the end of time.”

For an idea of how long Diaz has been around, Netflix was still mailing you DVDs when he originally entered the UFC in June '07 through The Ultimate Fighter on SpikeTV. SpikeTV relaunched as Paramount Network in '18.

Francis Ngannou vs. Philipe Lins

Ngannou is a former UFC champion who has been in a couple movies. Lynn is a former UFC fighter happy to compete around the legends on the card. I went into some more detail on the Ngannou-Lins fight when it was announced.

Salahdine Parnasse vs. Kenneth Cross

Parnasse is the current lightweight and featherweight champion in Europe's KSW organization and is 20-2 in his career. Kenneth Cross (17-4) is on a four-fight win streak.

Junior dos Santos vs Robelis Despaigne

Junior dos Santos was the UFC heavyweight champion over a decade ago and fought some of the biggest names in the sport at the time. In '19 he lost to Ngannou which started a five-fight losing streak and he washed out of the UFC after four straight TKO loses. He resurfaced in Bare Knuckle MMA where he has won two fights including the heavyweight championship, but at 42, he hasn't competed in two years.

Despaigne is a former Olympian who captured the bronze medal in taekwondo at the 2012 London Games. He went 1-2 in three UFC fights and has been doing Karate Combat ever since. He is currently 7-0 in the promotion and holds the heavyweight championship.

Muhammed Mokaev vs Adriano Moraes

Mokaev is 16-0 (1) over his six-year professional career. From the time he was 15 to 20-years old he went 23-0 in amateur MMA and the only loses you'll find on his Wikipedia page are in submission grappling. He went 7-0 in the UFC between '22 to '24 before leaving the promotion.

Moraes, a former ONE flyweight champion, is 21-6 in his career, but coming off a 1-3 stretch.

Here's the rest of the card:

Lorenz Larkin vs. Jason Jackson
Namo Fazil vs. Jake Babian
David McGoyan vs. Albert Morales
Aline Pereira vs. Jade Masson-Wong
Chris Avila vs. TBA

When is the Ronda Rousey-Gina Carano fight?

The Rousey-Carano fight will take place on Netflix on May 16.

While this is Netflix's first ever MMA event, the streamer has dabbled in sports broadcasts before. Netflix has broadcast the WWE, the NFL on Christmas, a hot dog eating contest between Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi, and multiple Jake Paul boxing matches, including fights against Joshua and Mike Tyson.

Spectacle is clearly the name of the game for Netflix and this card promises to bring that at least.

A look at the first-ever MMA event on Netflix right now:

👊 RONDA ROUSEY vs. GINA CARANO
👊 FRANCIS NGANNOU vs. PHILIPE LINS
👊 NATE DIAZ vs. MIKE PERRY

Buckle up 🔥#RouseyCarano
Saturday, May 16
LIVE on Netflix pic.twitter.com/tw8qyI6sjI
— Netflix Sports (@netflixsports) March 16, 2026

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