In the weeks following the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Dutch pace skating star Jutta Leerdam has remained firmly within the world highlight.
The Olympic champion delivered one of many defining performances of the Games, blasting to gold within the girls’s 1,000 meters whereas setting a brand new Olympic file with a time of 1:12.31.
Leerdam’s victory not solely cemented her place among the many sport’s elite but additionally drew mainstream consideration due to her relationship with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, who celebrated emotionally from the stands.
But simply weeks after that Olympic triumph, Leerdam is as soon as once more trending, this time for a really completely different motive.
On Tuesday, Paul posted a brief clip to his Instagram story exhibiting Leerdam greeting and exchanging phrases with former UFC champion Ronda Rousey earlier than sharing a short hug.
The video additionally included a promotional message urging followers to “MARK THE DATE” and “GET THE TICKETS NOW!!” for Rousey’s extremely anticipated return struggle in opposition to Gina Carano on May 16.
Rousey is getting ready to step again into MMA competitors for the primary time in almost a decade, and the bout with Carano is already being framed as one of the vital uncommon crossover fight sports activities occasions in years.
Paul’s presence provides one other layer.
Paul’s promotion firm, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), has more and more positioned itself on the intersection of boxing, influencer tradition, and fight sports activities leisure.
The May 16 occasion, set for the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and anticipated to stream globally, marks a serious enlargement into MMA promotion.
Few fighters carry the résumé Rousey brings into her return.
The American icon compiled a 12-2 professional MMA record, with 9 submission victories and three wins by knockout or technical knockout.
However, her affect on the game extends nicely past her win-loss file.
Rousey was the first feminine fighter signed by the UFC and have become the promotion’s inaugural Women’s Bantamweight Champion.
She defended that title six instances throughout her dominant early run, serving to push girls’s MMA into the mainstream whereas headlining main pay-per-view playing cards.
Before MMA, Rousey was already an Olympic medalist, profitable bronze in judo on the 2008 Beijing Games, the primary American girl ever to earn an Olympic medal within the sport.
Her preventing profession finally prolonged into skilled wrestling, the place she gained a number of world championships in WWE earlier than stepping away from the corporate in 2023.
Now, the upcoming bout in opposition to Carano represents a high-profile comeback.
