MVP promotion has announced staredowns for its May 16 event featuring three main matchups. Ronda Rousey (12-2) will face Gina Carano (7-1) in a highly anticipated women's bout. Nate Diaz (21-13) meets Mike Perry (14-8) in what promises to be an exciting welterweight clash. Francis Ngannou (18-3) takes on Felipe Linns (18-5) in a heavyweight contest. The event brings together multiple combat sports stars in what appears to be a major promotional card.
MVP Promotion has announced a three-fight card for its May 16 event, headlined by a women's matchup between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, a welterweight clash between Nate Diaz and Mike Perry, and a heavyweight contest featuring Francis Ngannou against Felipe Linns.
Ronda "Rowdy" Rousey, 39, returns to competition carrying a 12-2 record. The American fighter trains out of Team Hayastan and stands five-foot-seven with a 66-inch reach. A dominant grappler throughout her career, Rousey averages 6.26 takedowns per 15 minutes and 4.8 submission attempts per 15 minutes, numbers that reflect her historically aggressive ground game. She lands significant strikes at a rate of 4.17 per minute with 52 percent accuracy.
Across from her stands Gina "Conviction" Carano, also American, who holds a 7-1 record and trains out of Xtreme Couture. The 44-year-old orthodox striker stands five-foot-eight and averages 4.5 significant strikes per minute at 47 percent accuracy. She also contributes on the ground, averaging 1.24 takedowns and 1.6 submission attempts per 15 minutes.
Nate Diaz, the 41-year-old southpaw from Stockton, California, enters at 22-13 under the Cesar Gracie Fight Team banner. Standing six feet tall with a 76-inch reach, Diaz is a high-volume fighter who lands 4.57 significant strikes per minute and averages 1.3 submission attempts per 15 minutes, making him dangerous in all phases of the welterweight contest against Mike Perry.
Why it matters
- Rousey vs. Carano is a marquee women's bout between two of the sport's most recognizable names
- Diaz brings elite submission threat and volume striking to a stylistically volatile welterweight matchup with Perry
- The Ngannou-Linns heavyweight contest adds further knockout power to an already stacked card
- All three bouts carry cross-promotional appeal, signaling MVP's ambition as a major player in the combat sports landscape
