Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano was ‘most watched MMA event ever in the U.S.’
This past Saturday’s first-ever MMA event on Netflix featuring the return of Ronda Rousey after nearly a decade drew substantial viewership.
The streaming giant and MVP Promotions issued a dual statement Tuesday, announcing that “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.”
They also claimed that in the U.S., the main card averaged 9.3 million viewers with a peak of 11.6 million for the main event. That would exceed the UFC on Fox one hour debut show that peaked at 8.8 million with a 5.7 million average for Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos.
The main card saw an average per minute audience of 12.4 million for Live+1 globally, attributed to VideoAmp, G&C and Netflix. The other stats were not directly attributed to the same sources.
MVP also stated their live gate at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles was $2.2 million.
“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,” MVP co-founders Jake Paula and Nakisa Bidarian said in the release.
Rousey defeated Carano in 17 seconds in the main event, headlining a show that also featured former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and fan favorites Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.