Gina Carano is heartfelt when she describes how important her upcoming fight against Ronda Rousey is to her.
“It has changed my life but also saved my life,” Carano tells BBC Sport.
On Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, Carano will fight for the first time in nearly 17 years when she faces fellow American Rousey in the first MMA event to be shown live on Netflix.
The contest is tipped to change the landscape of MMA, while Rousey says the bout will set a new purse record for female fighters.
There’s much to be proud of for Carano, but only five years ago she was experiencing some of the most difficult moments of her life.
During her time away from MMA, Carano turned to acting, before securing a key role playing Cara Dune in the Star Wars franchise spin-off The Mandalorian.
In 2021 she was dropped from the cast following comments she made comparing being a Republican in the US to being a Jew during the Holocaust.
Carano sued for wrongful termination and sexual discrimination, while Lucasfilm condemned her comments for “denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities”.
Carano settled her lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm in 2025, but describes herself as being in a “very hurting place” in the years prior where she “lost herself”.
“I remember being under so much physical stress that my anxiety hurt so bad that my skin hurt,” said Carano.
“I was having panic attacks and it was like the whole world was caving down. That was rough, it was not the best.
“I worked two decades to get the career I had and everything was taken from me overnight.”
Seeing that Carano was in a bad place, Rousey pitched the idea of a fight between the pair to the UFC in 2024 believing it would be beneficial to them both.
After negotiations stalled, Rousey then contacted Carano directly before the bout eventually came to fruition under Most Valuable Promotions (MVP).
Carano says she lost 100lb (7st 2lb) since September 2024 training for the contest, and weighed in at 141.4lb (10st 1.4lb) on Friday.
“This fight focused me and gave me purpose to aim for something, not just physically, but it consumed me,” added Carano.
“It was incredible to be able to aim all my energy towards something.
“My health is so much better and I feel like myself, I feel comfortable in my skin, I feel alive and I’m grateful every day.”