Former UFC champion Ronda Rousey brought her long-awaited comeback to a swift and decisive close on Saturday night, submitting fellow MMA pioneer Gina Carano with her signature armbar just 17 seconds into their featherweight bout at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. The fight, promoted by Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions, drew enormous anticipation but proved a jarring anticlimax, with Rousey flooring Carano almost immediately before wrestling her into the joint lock that defined her dominant career. Rousey then confirmed she was retiring from the sport once more, calling the evening a one-off return.

Rousey, 39, and Carano, 44, are widely regarded as two of the most influential women in MMA history, having helped propel the sport into the mainstream during their respective primes more than a decade ago. Rousey, a 2008 Olympic judo bronze medallist, rose to become UFC bantamweight champion before suffering back-to-back losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes that led to her retirement in December 2016. Carano, who had transitioned into a successful Hollywood acting career, had not competed in MMA since August 2009 — a gap of 17 years — and shed more than 100 pounds (45 kilograms) over two years to prepare for Saturday's contest. Each fighter is reported to have earned several million dollars from a streaming deal backing the card.

Despite knowing Rousey's armbar was coming, Carano had little time to mount any defence. The submission — Rousey's 10th of her career and the move that made her a global star — was applied before Carano could settle into the fight.