Ronda Rousey’s prediction has proven true: her May 16th bout against Gina Carano is now officially the most-watched MMA fight event in U.S. history.
The inaugural MMA event by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), broadcast live on Netflix, featured Rousey vs. Carano as its main attraction. The card also included co-main events with Nate Diaz facing Mike Perry, and Francis Ngannou versus Philipe Lins.
MVP announced that the event garnered 12.4 million live viewers worldwide, with a peak of 17 million tuning in for the Rousey vs. Carano showdown. Within the United States, the event averaged an impressive 9.3 million viewers, reaching an 11.6 million peak during the main event. This accomplishment secures MVP MMA the new U.S. record for the most-viewed MMA event. The prior record was held by the UFC’s 2011 debut on FOX, which drew 8.8 million viewers for the Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez fight.
“We are incredibly proud of this achievement, accomplished in collaboration with our partners at Netflix, and deeply grateful to the athletes who contributed to the resounding success of MVP MMA’s debut,” stated Nakisa Bidarian, MVP co-founder. “We’ve experienced overwhelming interest from investors, strategic partners, and fighters eager to join MVP and shape the future of MVP MMA. We are currently evaluating all strategic avenues to make a significant impact in MMA, working alongside a distribution partner like Netflix that shares our vision for lasting influence.”
Beyond viewership, the event generated a live gate of $2.2 million and accumulated one billion impressions across Netflix’s global social media platforms.
