Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano has officially set a new benchmark for MMA viewership in the United States, headlining MVP MMA 1 and becoming the most-watched MMA event ever in the country.
The Most Valuable Promotions debut MMA card, held this past Saturday and broadcast live on Netflix, delivered massive numbers. MVP MMA 1 averaged 9.3 million viewers in the U.S. with an 11.6 million peak during the main event, surpassing the previous U.S. record of 8.8 million views set by Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez in 2011.
Globally, MVP MMA 1 drew over 12.4 million live viewers and peaked at 17 million during Rousey vs. Carano. The event generated a $2.2 million live gate and one billion impressions across Netflix’s global social channels. In the cage, Rousey submitted Carano in just 17 seconds, then stated she did not intend to continue fighting.
MVP co-founders include Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, who highlighted the impact of the promotion’s first MMA event. “We’re incredibly proud of what was accomplished alongside our partners at Netflix and grateful to the athletes who helped make MVP MMA’s debut such a success,” Bidarian said.
“We’ve 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,” Bidarian added.
MVP MMA 1’s numbers outpaced Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano 3, which drew six million viewers, though Anthony Joshua vs. Jake Paul produced higher figures, according to the background information provided.
