Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano headlined Netflix’s first-ever MMA event on Saturday, marking a high-profile debut for the streaming giant in live mixed martial arts.
The card took place at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., and was promoted by Most Valuable Promotions, the company co-founded by Jake Paul. The show was billed as both Netflix’s and Most Valuable Promotions’ first MMA event.
Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian framed the night as a measured experiment. “We’ve said the entire time unequivocally this is a test. Let us see if this works. But if this works, between (Jake Paul’s) ability to market, my accounting background and understanding of the UFC, and Ronda Rousey as the face of our promotion inside and outside the cage, we feel like we have a good shot if tonight works. Guess what? It really worked. It really, really worked. You’ll hear about those numbers.”
Bidarian also emphasized the promotion’s approach, saying, “We’re always transparent and very forthcoming with what reality is.”
Jake Paul highlighted the ambitions behind the venture, calling it the start of a broader push in MMA. “We’re visionaries. We execute. We put in the time. We put fighters first, and we’re here to disrupt. That’s what we’ve been doing in the whole combat sports world. We did it in boxing, and tonight is an example of what we’re going to be doing in MMA going forward, breaking records.”
“The long-term strategy is whatever we want to make it,” Paul added, underscoring the open-ended plans for future MMA events on the platform.
