Tens of millions of people tuned in to watch Saturday’s Most Valuable Promotions MMA card that featured the headlining matchup between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano.
“MVP’s first entry into MMA delivered on a massive global scale and exceeded every expectation we had for the launch of this new chapter of our business,” MVP co-founders Nakisa Bidarian and Jake Paul said Tuesday in a statement.
“Over 12.4 million viewers around the world tuned in live on Netflix, with viewership peaking at almost 17 million during Rousey vs. Carano, making it one of the most-watched MMA events of all time. In the United States alone, the triple-main card averaged 9.3 million viewers and peaked at 11.6 million viewers during the main event, making it the most watched MMA event ever in the US.”
With so many high-profile names returning to the sport, the high viewership numbers come as anything but a surprise.
The biggest storyline was the fight between Rousey and Carano, although it didn’t last very long.
Rousey defeated her opponent in just 17 seconds thanks to an armbar submission in a performance that was reminiscent of the peak of her career. The UFC Hall of Famer had not fought professionally since back-to-back losses seemed to end her career in 2015 and 2016, but Saturday marked a triumphant return to the sport.
She was far from the only marquee name to enjoy quick success.
Francis Ngannou handled Philipe Lins with relative ease in a first-round knockout and then added some drama to the Netflix broadcast when he called out Jon Jones:
Elsewhere, Nate Diaz returned for his first MMA fight since September 2022 but did not enjoy the same type of success that Rousey and Ngannou did. Mike Perry notched a victory via a second-round TKO against Diaz after controlling the fight with his aggressive approach.
Diaz was left bloodied by an open cut on his head, and a doctor stoppage ended the match.
