INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — When Ronda Rousey finally got back into a mixed martial arts cage after 9 1/2 years away from her sport, she couldn't wait even one more minute to collect another arm — and to have her own arm raised one last time.
Rousey stopped Gina Carano with her signature armbar just 17 seconds into the two iconic fighters' double comeback bout Saturday night.
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Ronda Rousey, of the United States, left, celebrates after defeating Gina Carano, of the United States, right, in their featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
Ronda Rousey, of the United States, left, celebrates after defeating Gina Carano, of the United States, right, in their featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
Ronda Rousey, of the United States, right, celebrates after defeating Gina Carano, of the United States, left, in their featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
Ronda Rousey, of the United States, behind, hugs Gina Carano, of the United States, after Rousey defeated Carano in their featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
Ronda Rousey, of the United States, left, celebrates after defeating Gina Carano, of the United States, right, in their featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
Gina Carano, of the United States, left, lifts the arm of Ronda Rousey, of the United States, after Rousey defeated Carano in their featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
Gina Carano, of the United States, is introduced before facing Ronda Rousey, of the United States, in a featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
Ronda Rousey, of the United States, is introduced before facing Gina Carano, of the United States, in a featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
Ronda Rousey, of the United States, is introduced before facing Gina Carano, of the United States, in a featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
Ronda Rousey, of the United States, left, celebrates after defeating Gina Carano, of the United States, right, in their featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
Ronda Rousey, of the United States, right, celebrates after defeating Gina Carano, of the United States, left, in their featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
After finishing the 44-year-old Carano with a ferocity that evoked her famous heyday, the 39-year-old Rousey reaffirmed that this was only the epilogue on her historic MMA career. She insists she is headed into retirement after ending on a dominant victory.
“I was hoping to come out as unscathed as possible,” Rousey said. “I didn’t really want to hurt her. Luckily it was beautiful martial arts, that’s what I think that was. It was art.”
Rousey (13-2) didn't waste an instant after the opening bell, immediately charging and tackling Carano. Rousey quickly moved into position and applied her famous finishing move, wrenching Carano's arm as the fight was stopped.
Rousey famously won eight fights in less than a minute during her meteoric rise through MMA in the 2010s. When asked if she considered waiting a bit longer to go for the finish in this comeback fight, since it was so many years in the making, Rousey laughed.
“Hell no,” she said. “My husband and my kids are watching me. I don’t want to put them through anything more than I have to.”
Carano, who hadn’t fought in 17 years, was all smiles even after the swift end to one of the longest layoffs in pro sports history. Rousey and Carano hugged and shared warm words after the finish, raising each other's arms in victory.
“I wanted that to last longer," Carano said. "I felt so ready. I’ve never felt that good. But I haven’t been here for 17 years ... and I wanted to hit her.”
This improbable double comeback bout united two of the most important fighters from MMA's past two decades.
Rousey became one of the world's most famous athletes as she won the first women's title in the UFC, which only began to promote women's MMA because of Rousey's undeniable talent and star power.
Rousey first became interested in MMA because of Carano, whose athleticism and star power made her into a television headliner when the nascent sport was still fighting for legitimacy and acceptance in the late 2000s.
Rousey left the sport after consecutive losses, while Carano moved on to an acting career after taking her first loss.
After having two children and settling into post-fighting life on her farm in Riverside, Rousey seriously began to consider an MMA return last year. She immediately focused on a fight with Carano, whose long-thriving career as an actor abruptly ended in 2021 with her series of controversial social media posts.
Carano was happy to finally accept the comeback she had occasionally considered, saying she used her preparations as a way to overcome multiple health problems from recent years.
“Getting in here after 17 years was a victory,” Carano said. “Fighting a legend was a victory. I feel great. But she trained. She had her game plan. I have so much love and respect for her.”
The show at Intuit Dome was the first live MMA event on Netflix, which is moving steadily into combat sports.
Rousey had repeatedly said this will be her final fight, while Carano has said she doesn't know what the future holds. Afterward, Carano said she hasn't closed the door on another bout, and promoter Nakisa Bidarian said he would be eager to put Carano on another show.
“I think 17 years (off) was a lot,” Carano said. “(Being) 44 is a lot. But I’m going to go look at this. I didn’t get anything out I expected to get in this fight.”
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Ronda Rousey, of the United States, behind, hugs Gina Carano, of the United States, after Rousey defeated Carano in their featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
Ronda Rousey, of the United States, left, celebrates after defeating Gina Carano, of the United States, right, in their featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
Gina Carano, of the United States, left, lifts the arm of Ronda Rousey, of the United States, after Rousey defeated Carano in their featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
Gina Carano, of the United States, is introduced before facing Ronda Rousey, of the United States, in a featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
Ronda Rousey, of the United States, is introduced before facing Gina Carano, of the United States, in a featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
Ronda Rousey, of the United States, is introduced before facing Gina Carano, of the United States, in a featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
Ronda Rousey, of the United States, left, celebrates after defeating Gina Carano, of the United States, right, in their featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
Ronda Rousey, of the United States, right, celebrates after defeating Gina Carano, of the United States, left, in their featherweight mixed martial arts fight Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong )
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Sen. Bill Cassidy was decisively defeated in Saturday’s Republican primary in Louisiana, unable to convince voters that he deserved another term five years after voting to convict President Donald Trump during an impeachment trial over the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
He finished behind U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, who capitalized on the power of Trump's endorsement as the president continues purging his party of people he views as disloyal, and John Fleming, the state treasurer. Letlow and Fleming will compete in a runoff on June 27.
The result was the latest example of Trump's unrivaled power over the Republican Party as he approaches the twilight of his second term with persistent inflation, sagging approval ratings and dissatisfaction over the war with Iran. Unlike some other senators who declined to run again after crossing Trump, Cassidy pushed hard for reelection and spent nearly double the combined amount of his opponents.
But none of that was enough for Cassidy to qualify for a runoff, let alone win a third term.
“Our country is not about one individual,” he told supporters after his loss. “It is about the welfare of all Americans, and it is about the Constitution.”
Letlow, on the other hand, swiftly embraced Trump's central role when she spoke at her victory party.
“I want to say thank you to a very special man who you all know, the best president this country has ever had, President Donald Trump,” she said while flanked by her two young children.
Asked about Cassidy's vote at the impeachment trial, Letlow called it “a sign that he had turned his back on the Louisiana voters.”
Trump cheered the victory on social media, saying “that’s what you get by voting to Impeach an innocent man.”
Trump unloaded on Cassidy the morning of the election, calling him “a disloyal disaster” and “a terrible guy." Later that night, the senator made a thinly veiled reference to the attacks.
“Insults only bother me if they come from somebody of character and integrity, and I find that people of character and integrity don’t spend their time attacking people on the internet,” Cassidy said.
The Louisiana primary comes in the middle of a month of campaigns by Trump to exact retribution on politicians who have crossed him. On May 5 he helped dislodge five of seven Indiana state senators who rejected his redistricting plan.
Next Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky will face a Trump-backed challenger, Ed Gallrein, in another Republican primary. Massie angered Trump by opposing his signature tax legislation over concerns about the national debt, pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and opposing his decision to go to war with Iran.
After Cassidy's defeat, Trump wrote on social media that “Tom Massie, a major Sleazebag, is even worse.” He encouraged voters to "get this LOSER out of politics in Tuesday’s Election.”
It's a striking amount of intraparty turmoil as Republicans face the possibility of losing control of Congress in November's midterm elections.
The runoff between Letlow and Fleming, a former U.S. House member and Trump administration official, will likely determine Louisiana's next senator because of the state's Republican leanings.
On the Democratic side, Jamie Davis advanced to a runoff, but the second spot remained too close to call between Nicholas Albares and Gary Crockett.
The election was scrambled by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision gutting a part of the Voting Rights Act that affects how congressional maps are drawn. Although the Senate primary went forward, Louisiana leaders decided to delay House primaries until a future date to allow them to redo district lines ahead of time, a shift that raised the possibility of confusion for voters on Saturday.
Cassidy also complained that a new primary system enacted last year confused voters by requiring them to ask for a partisan ballot instead of the all-party primary previously in place. He said some called his office to say they had been unable to vote for him.
“The process that was set up was destined to be confusing,” Cassidy told reporters Friday.
Dadrius Lanus, executive director of the state Democratic Party, said his team fielded hundreds of calls from voters who said the changes undermined their ability to vote as they planned.
“A lot of the information should have gotten to voters well in advance,” Lanus said. “It’s literally been a whirlwind of confusion.”
Cassidy waged an aggressive campaign to convince voters he should not be counted out.
His campaign was expected to have spent roughly $9.6 million on advertising through May 16, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. And Louisiana Freedom Fund, a super PAC supporting him, was on track to spend $12.3 million.
By comparison Letlow’s campaign, which launched Jan. 20, spent roughly $3.9 million, while a super PAC backing her, the Accountability Project, spent about $6 million.
Fleming's campaign spent about $1.5 million.
Cassidy and Louisiana Freedom Fund ran ads attacking Letlow for supporting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which Trump has tried to eliminate.
Letlow, a college administrator before her election to the House, said she supported DEI while interviewing for the position of president of University of Louisiana-Monroe in 2020.
Cassidy's vote in favor of convicting the president after his 2021 impeachment has shadowed him since.
John Martin, a 68-year-old retired engineer in south Louisiana, said he would vote for Letlow because he was still upset by Cassidy's decision. He waved a campaign flyer showing her standing alongside the president.
“I know a lot more about Cassidy than I do about her,” Martin said. “But if she’s endorsed by Trump, I’m going to believe that.”
Cassidy steered clear of Trump’s ire last year, supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services despite his public reservations about the nominee’s anti-vaccine views.
But as chair of the Senate health committee, Cassidy has been more publicly critical of Kennedy, including over funding cuts for vaccine development.
Trump also blamed Cassidy for the failed nomination of his second choice for surgeon general, Casey Means, who raised doubts about vaccinating newborns for hepatitis B, a practice Cassidy supports. Trump withdrew the Means nomination and criticized the senator.
Letlow considered running for Senate last year but only entered the race after Trump announced his endorsement in January.
By that time Fleming, who was elected treasurer in 2023, had already jumped in and pitched himself as a Trump devotee. But Landry was looking for a better-known challenger, and he suggested Letlow to the president.
Letlow had an unconventional and tragic entry into politics.
In 2020, while she was a college administrator, her husband Luke was elected to the U.S. House but died of COVID-19 before he could be sworn in. Letlow ran for and won the seat in a March 2021 special election and was reelected in 2022 and 2024.
Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., speaks to supporters during an election night watch party Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., hugs a supporter after speaking during an election night watch party Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., speaks to supporters alongside her two children, Jeremiah and Jacqueline, during an election night watch party Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., speaks to media during an election night watch party Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., left, speaks to supporters alongside his wife, Laura, during an election night watch party Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., speaks to media during an election night watch party Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., greets supporters at a campaign stop at Drago's Restaurant Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Metairie, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
U.S. Senate candidate, current Louisiana treasurer and former U.S. Representative (R-La.) John Fleming, speaks at a Ronald Reagan Newsmaker Luncheon in Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
U.S. Senate candidate Julia Letlow greets supporters at a campaign stop at Hammond Northshore Regional Airport in Hammond, La., Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., greets supporters at a campaign stop at Drago's Restaurant Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Metairie, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
