Weeks after her retirement fight against Gina Carano, Ronda Rousey is stepping back into combat sports—this time as an executive producer for the MMA drama Brawlers, with production planned in Los Angeles after securing a California tax incentive.
Ronda Rousey didn’t even have time to fully settle into life after her MMA retirement fight against Gina Carano. Now she’s back in the sport’s orbit—without announcing a return to the cage—by taking the executive producer role on an MMA drama titled Brawlers.
The project, according to a report by Deadline, has been awarded the California tax incentive. Filming is set to take place on location in Los Angeles, California. Rousey will be joined in the executive producer seat by Erwin More and Jill Tanner.
The rest of the production team includes Andrew Carlberg. Jackie Carr. and Fernandez as producers. while Harold Perrineau—recognized for his role in From—will star as the lead in Brawlers. The script is written by Jonathan Fernandez, who is also set to direct the drama. For now. the story’s specifics are being kept secret. though it’s known to be based on Los Angeles’ amateur MMA scene.
Rousey’s Hollywood pivot isn’t exactly new. Before MMA and WWE made her a global name, she won the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in judo. She later became the first-ever UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion and also the company’s first-ever women’s Hall of Famer.
After her UFC run, she moved to WWE, where she won multiple titles and became the first woman to main-event a WWE WrestleMania alongside Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch. She parted ways with WWE in 2023 and then enjoyed a brief indie wrestling stint before retiring.
Her return to MMA happened recently against Gina Carano, a fight she won in under 20 seconds at Jake Paul’s MVP [Most Valuable Promotions]. And even with that ending her active chapter in the sport, she’s still choosing to build the next one—this time through a drama centered on the amateur circuit.
The contrast is stark: no comeback announcement, but a film project rooted in the same world she dominated. Brawlers is coming to Los Angeles, and Rousey’s next fight may be on a different kind of stage.
Ronda Rousey Brawlers MMA drama executive producer Hollywood Los Angeles California tax incentive Harold Perrineau Jonathan Fernandez Jill Tanner Erwin More Jackie Carr Andrew Carlberg