Ronda Rousey promises Gina Carano fight will be her last: 'This is the perfect way to walk away and say goodbye'

Ronda Rousey is making a sensational return to MMA on Saturday when she fights Gina Carano at the Inuit Dome in Los Angeles, a comeback almost 10 years in the making.

MMA superstar Rousey, now 39 years old, returns to competition after nearly a decade out of the sport.

Carano, a star herself, has been out of action even longer. The 44-year-old last fought in 2009 when she lost to Cris Cyborg.

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Rousey's last two bouts were both defeats, to Holly Holm then Amanda Nunes, in UFC title fights. She now wants to finish with the sport on her terms.

"If this is the kind of fight that forces a trilogy, that would be hard to say no to. But I just feel like this is the perfect closure and the perfect way to walk away and say goodbye," Rousey told Sky Sports.

Carano might be a rival but she is also an inspiration to Rousey. "In MMA, fate has brought us together to be able to show everybody the absolute best that we have on the biggest stage in the world one last time," she said of Carano.

"She's the one that inspired me to do this in the first place and she's the one that inspired me to come back. I wasn't like 'oh I feel like I need a fight, I need to pick Gina'. I saw Gina and was like 'she makes me want to fight one more time, for the last time'.

"And we can both offer each other a chance at redemption."

Rousey is adamant that this will be her last fight, having made that promise to her husband and sister.

"This is another why reason I've really got to make it worth it," she said.

"Nobody's making me spend time away from my babies for nothing."

Nakisa Bidarian, the co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions told Sky Sports News: "She's coming back to rewrite the ending of her story. Ronda Rousey is not just one of the greatest female fighters of all time but a true trailblazer for the sport of MMA - for combat sports.

"In 2015, when I was at the UFC, she was our biggest star. Bigger than Conor McGregor. Bigger than any other male on the roster - the highest paid. With that background and that audience, and also getting into WWE, it's going to be a monstrous night come Saturday."

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