Gina Carano opens up about depression and returning against Ronda Rousey
It's been nearly 17 years since Gina Carano stepped in the cage but she'll make that walk again on May 16 against former UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey . The two headlined the Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) and Netflix promoted fight card at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. After she stepped away from fighting in 2009, Carano saw success in Hollywood, but eventually the roles dried up and she fell into an unhealthy depression.
The 44 year-old put on excessive weight and was in a lot of ways spiraling. Then came the offer to return to the cage against "Rowdy. " "Everybody around me is just so happy that I'm healthy.
I mean, I think I'm healthier now than I was when I was fighting," Carano told MVP UNCUT . "I kind of like to describe myself as a door opener. I open the door and then people just rush through.
And that seems to be a theme in my life. I'm impressed with how far it's come. It's so surreal to be able to come back and participate once again.
I think once you're a fighter, you're always a fighter. It never leaves you and it's always been in the back of my head. " Carano has said that having the opportunity to fight again may have 'saved her life.