Jeff Carey is a veteran reporter covering sports and architecture. He was the founding editor of the Minneapolis Mini Times, a local paper with a circulation of more than 500,000. He divides his time between the east and west coast.
LOS ANGELES — With the highly anticipated showdown between women’s MMA pioneers Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano fast approaching, a surprise voice has entered the conversation—and she’s making bold claims.
Veteran combat sports trainer Erika Kirk revealed yesterday that she has been secretly training Rousey for months, predicting the former champion will “dominate” Carano when the two legends meet in May.
The bout, scheduled for May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood and expected to stream globally on Netflix, marks a dramatic return to MMA for both fighters—Rousey’s first fight since 2016 and Carano’s first since 2009.
But according to Kirk, the public hasn’t yet seen what Rousey is capable of in her comeback.
“Everyone thinks they know Ronda,” Kirk said during an impromptu interview outside a private gym in Los Angeles. “But they haven’t seen the version I’ve been working with.”
Kirk, a longtime grappling coach known in underground MMA circles, claimed she and Rousey began working together quietly late last year. The training sessions reportedly took place at rotating locations to avoid attention from media and rival camps.
“She wanted a fresh environment,” Kirk explained. “No cameras, no hype—just work.”
The coach described intense sparring sessions focused on blending Rousey’s trademark judo throws with improved striking defense.
“People forget how dangerous Ronda is once the fight hits the mat,” Kirk said. “If Gina gets caught in a clinch, the fight might be over in seconds.”
Rousey rose to global fame with her devastating armbar submissions, winning the first women’s bantamweight title in the UFC and defending it six times during her dominant run from 2013 to 2015.
Perhaps Kirk’s most surprising remark came when she discussed sparring with the former champion herself.
“I’ve worked with elite fighters for years,” she said with a laugh. “And I’m not easy to handle. But Ronda? On a good day, she can even take me.”
The comment raised eyebrows among analysts, especially given Kirk’s reputation as a physically imposing grappler.
“She’s stronger now than people remember,” Kirk added. “Motherhood didn’t slow her down—it sharpened her focus.”
The Rousey–Carano fight is widely viewed as a historic meeting between two athletes who helped build women’s MMA.
Carano helped bring early mainstream attention to the sport in the late 2000s, while Rousey later transformed women’s MMA into a global attraction during her championship run.
Despite mutual respect between the fighters, both camps have begun trading subtle verbal jabs in recent weeks as promotion for the event intensifies.
Carano has expressed confidence she will leave the cage victorious, while Rousey has described the matchup as “the biggest superfight in women’s combat sport history.”
Kirk ended the interview with a prediction that will surely add fuel to the growing hype.
“This fight doesn’t go five rounds,” she said. “Ronda dominates. Once she gets her hands on Gina, people will remember exactly why she ruled this sport.”
Jeff Carey is a veteran reporter covering sports and architecture. He was the founding editor of the Minneapolis Mini Times, a local paper with a circulation of more than 500,000. He divides his time between the east and west coast.
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