Gina Carano’s surprising return to MMA wasn’t met with open arms by Sean Strickland.
On Tuesday, Ronda Rousey fired off shots at UFC fighter pay among several other topics while in fine form at Most Valuable Promotions’ press conference.
The woman who will stand across from ‘Rowdy’ on May 16, Carano, didn’t take the same approach when speaking about how grateful she is to have this fight come together.
She took a similar approach when responding to comments from one of the most vocal fighters in the sport, who took issue with several aspects of the first MMA main event on Netflix.
LATEST NEWS: Dana White ‘knows the White House card sucks’ according to UFC legend Ronda Rousey
Gina Carano believes Sean Strickland’s criticism comes from a ‘hurt place’
Last month, Sean Strickland criticized Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano for various reasons, dismissing it as a fight between “two middle-aged women”.
Rousey may have had health issues in the past but that didn’t stop the former UFC middleweight champion from predicting that she’ll “steamroll” her fellow pioneer on May 16.
Following Tuesday’s press conference, Carano was asked about these comments from Strickland, who had his microphone cut following his UFC win several weeks ago.
“I think he’s got a little bit twisted,” she told the media via FightHype. “I don’t really pay attention to him or his words. I think they’re sadly coming from a hurt place and hurt people hurt people. I think that he’s being exploited a bit and that pain is on full display and you know, all you can really do is just pray for healing that man.”
Carano, who hasn’t fought since her first pro loss in 2009, also commented on some of Strickland’s other views on women.
She said that while she thinks “we should build up men to be men”, she thinks Strickland would agree that it’s good to have the women in your life be able to defend themselves if needed.
“Don’t you want some Viking a– women in your country?… I think what we represent up here is doing that,” Carano said.
LATEST NEWS: Jon Jones supported in fight for UFC release by Most Valuable Promotions boss Nakisa Bidarian
2026-03-11 03:00:00
