Booker T is catching serious attention after unloading on the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano fight and flat-out claiming the Netflix showdown looked like a “work shoot” instead of a legitimate MMA contest.
During his Hall of Fame podcast, the WWE Hall of Famer reacted to Rousey’s 17-second victory over Carano and said the finish immediately raised red flags for him after rewatching the footage closely. Booker T explained that while the opening takedown looked real enough, everything that happened afterward felt completely off to him.
“It was a work shoot. That thing wasn’t real. It was real as far as the takedown goes, but everything after that, it was like I’m ready, let’s go home. If you go back and watch it and study it, you’re gonna come to the same consensus. That fight was the biggest heist I’ve ever seen. I’m talking about since one of these Brinks jobs. Seriously.”
The former WCW Champion also pointed to Gina Carano’s long absence from MMA competition and questioned why fans believed she had any realistic chance of beating Rousey after being away from fighting for nearly two decades. Booker T argued that age, inactivity, and conditioning made the result feel inevitable before the cage door even closed.
“If you have not had a fight, you can have fought in your younger days, you retired, you haven’t fought for 17 years, it’s not going to be the same. For anyone to think for a moment that Gina Carano had a chance at going out there and winning that fight after being out of the cage for 17 years and 100 pounds she had to lose, come on, let’s be real here.”
Booker T then took things a step further by saying the matchup itself had no real value because Rousey selected an opponent she simply was not going to lose against under those conditions.
“That’s why this fight had no meaning at all. It was a fight she couldn’t lose in any way shape or form the way she wanted. A true champion should not go out like that.”
Co-host Brad Gilmore pushed back on Booker T’s “work shoot” claim during the discussion and defended the outcome by pointing out that many of Rousey’s MMA victories ended in similarly quick fashion during her prime years.
Gilmore also noted that the fast finish matched the style fans had seen from Rousey throughout her UFC run, even if the ending disappointed viewers expecting a more competitive fight.
Still, Booker T stayed firm on his stance and argued that if Rousey genuinely wanted to prove herself in a comeback fight, she should have faced someone active instead of Carano. Both Booker T and Gilmore agreed that a rematch between Rousey and Holly Holm would have created significantly more interest and money than the Carano matchup.
Booker T’s comments have now added even more controversy around the Netflix event as fans continue debating whether the fight lived up to the hype or felt like a carefully controlled showcase for Rousey’s return.
Do you agree with Booker T’s take on the fight, or do you think he’s reading too much into the quick finish? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
