Ronda Rousey’s prediction has proven to be accurate. The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion anticipated that her May 16th bout against Gina Carano would set a new benchmark for MMA viewership, and it has now been officially confirmed.
The inaugural MMA event hosted by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) was streamed live on Netflix. The main event featured Rousey facing Carano, supported by co-main events including Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry and Francis Ngannou vs. Philipe Lins.
According to MVP, the event attracted 12.4 million live viewers worldwide, with the Rousey vs. Carano main event reaching a peak of 17 million viewers. In the United States, the event averaged 9.3 million viewers, surging to an 11.6 million peak during the main event. This performance establishes a new U.S. record for the most-viewed MMA event. The previous record was held by the UFC’s 2011 debut on FOX, which saw 8.8 million viewers tune in for the Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez fight.
Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of MVP, expressed pride in the achievement: “We are incredibly proud of what was accomplished alongside our partners at Netflix and are grateful to the athletes who contributed to the success of MVP MMA’s debut. We’ve seen an overwhelming amount of interest from investors, strategic partners, and fighters eager to join MVP and shape the future of MVP MMA. We are currently exploring all strategic options to make a significant impact in MMA going forward, collaborating with a distribution partner like Netflix that shares our vision for lasting influence.”
The event also generated a live gate of $2.2 million and garnered one billion impressions across Netflix’s global social media platforms.
English Translation:
Rousey vs. Carano: U.S. MMA Viewership Record Officially Broken
It appears Ronda Rousey was right. The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion predicted that her fight against Gina Carano on May 16th would become the most-watched MMA fight in history. And now, it is official.
Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions’ first MMA event was broadcast live on Netflix, headlined by Rousey vs. Carano. The card also included two supporting main event bouts: Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry, and Francis Ngannou vs. Philipe Lins.
According to the promotion, 12.4 million live viewers tuned in globally, with a peak of 17 million during the Rousey vs. Carano main event. In the United States, the event averaged 9.3 million viewers, hitting an 11.6 million peak during the main event. This performance gives MVP MMA the new U.S. record for the most-viewed MMA event. The previous U.S. record was 8.8 million viewers for the UFC’s debut on FOX in 2011, featuring Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez.
“We are incredibly proud of what was accomplished alongside our partners at Netflix and are grateful to the athletes who helped make MVP MMA’s debut such a success,” stated Nakisa Bidarian, MVP co-founder, in a press release. “We have received an overwhelming amount of interest from investors, strategic partners, and fighters who want to be involved with MVP and the future of MVP MMA. We are currently reviewing all strategic options to do something very meaningful within MMA on a go-forward basis with a distribution partner like Netflix that shares our vision to create lasting impact.”
The event also boasted a live gate of $2.2 million and generated one billion impressions across Netflix’s global social channels.