Ronda Rousey is aiming to make history when she returns to MMA against Gina Carano in the main event of MVP MMA 1, which streams on Netflix from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.
Rousey, who has not competed since 2016, will face Carano, who last fought in 2009, in a high-profile comeback bout. Beyond the result, Rousey has a clear target in mind for what the event achieves.
"In numbers, I just want to be able to beat the numbers for the most viewed MMA fight of all time – about 9 million," Rousey said.
"So beating 9 million will be a success for me. Blowing it out of the park will make me very happy, but that's all I really want to get out of this. I just want to be able to convince MVP and Netflix that there's something here, and it's worth the investment, and this is going to be huge and that they should stay in the MMA game and not just dabble in it this one time."
Rousey, a six-time defending UFC bantamweight champion who was credited as the reason UFC CEO Dana White allowed women to compete in MMA, sees MVP MMA 1 as a proving ground.
"I have experience in this field," she said. "I feel like I'm the best person for the job and this, I guess, is my audition to be like, 'Hey, you should have me around to do this a whole lot more often.' So hopefully this is a huge success and this isn't the last time I'll be able to try and push the envelope."
