The Biggest Moment Of The Rousey-Carano Fight Wasn’t The Winning Move

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The Rousey vs. Carano fight proved that women are capable of being tough beasts and beauties. Despite some being upset that Ronda Rousey masterfully took down Gina Carano in the brief span of 17 seconds, I enjoyed the entire event. The lead-up fights were entertaining, and the headliners, two women, showed the best parts of womanhood.

The Krauss house hosted a small fight night watch party on Saturday night. We often do this, and even our girls like to watch, which was why it was pretty cool to show them that two ladies were the main card for Netflix’s MMA event. We are just a short drive to Intuit Dome, where over 14,000 fans paid top dollar for tickets to watch two female fighting legends face off.

It had been a while since the contenders had entered the Octagon. Yahoo Sports and other critics said the Netflix fights only pull people out of retirement. Maybe that’s true considering the champion of the night, Ronda Rousey, hadn’t fought since 2016. And conservative darling actress Gina Carano had not been in the Octagon since 2009.

Yet the lead-up to the fight was full of hype, probably due to the marketing genius of internet anti-hero Jake Paul’s production company, MVP. In all sports, especially fighting, the promotional lead-up is often full of smack talk and name-calling. But after the bell rings and the winner’s fist is raised, there are handshakes and hugs.

The display of raw emotion and admiration these women demonstrated on Saturday night was really inspiring. I’ve never witnessed a fight night end with open encouragement and support for the opponent. The competitors showed mutual respect that included laughing, hugging, and chatting after the winner was declared — mere seconds after an impressive armbar maneuver that could have broken the bones of the defeated fighter.

Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images for Netflix

In no other fight have we witnessed a loser crediting the victor for her personal and professional change and growth.

“I have so much love and respect for her,” Carano said in a post-fight interview. “This was a victory in my life. She changed it. I woke up every morning at 3 a.m. thinking about her. I took 100 pounds off of my body, which is going to give me a longer life. I fell back in love with mixed martial arts. There’s so many good things to think about here.”

And never has a man said after a win that he is going to have more babies while embracing his spouse.

Rousey instantly hugged and kissed her husband, heavyweight fighter Travis Browne, and said, “There’s no way I could’ve ended it better than this. I wanna have some more babies.”

The night also stood out for other reasons. The multiple male fighters preceding the main event showcased the need to protect women’s sports. Nate Diaz or Francis Ngannou would have destroyed the talented Rousey. But, in a woman-to-woman matchup, the fight was fair.

Women in all sports should be lauded and protected because these women prove that they are unique — and fun.

It takes emotional strength to succeed as a woman, wife, and mom. Our ability to nurture is a type of strength. The patience and repetitive challenge of marriage and motherhood take strength. Some mothers fight in the Octagon; others do so in politics, business, ministry, or education. We fight for our kids, for our communities, and for our country.

We can be competitive and kind. We can be loving and tough. We can be smart and sweet. We can be savvy and honest.

Women shouldn’t have to retreat or minimize who we are. We can display our femininity and differences from men, support those differences, and encourage them in ourselves and in the other women in our lives.

All women, even outside of the Octagon, are fighters.

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Elisha Krauss is a conservative commentator, writer, and speaker who resides in Los Angeles, California, with her husband and their four children. She is an advocate for women’s rights, school choice, and smaller government.