Viewership for the mixed martial arts (MMA) bout over the weekend between icon Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano peaked at close to 17 million (globally) on streaming platform Netflix.
It has been revealed that the bout, which was held as part of a three-fight main card in Inglewood, California, on Saturday night, saw a peak audience in the US alone of 11.6 million. It was organized by the Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) firm.
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The overall program on Netflix, meanwhile, averaged 12.4 million globally and 9.3 million in the US.
Rousey – who initially retired from MMA in 2016, only to then return – won the bout in a mere 17 seconds, in what was MVP's inaugural MMA event (with the global Netflix deal having been signed off in February).
MVP's co-founders, influencer-turned boxer Jake Paul and sports executive Nakisa Bidarian, commented: "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. 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."
They added: "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 and Netflix already have a significant relationship when it comes to boxing – indeed, the streamer was most recently the global broadcaster for the December bout between heavyweight Anthony Joshua and Paul, which drew a global audience of more than 30 million on the service.
Prior to that, Netflix also showcased Paul’s victory over Mike Tyson in November 2024, which was watched by over 60 million households worldwide.
In terms of recent Netflix rights deals, meanwhile, earlier this month the streaming giant agreed a renewed four-year deal with American football's NFL, through which it will broadcast an expanded slate of games.
Under the extension, which runs through the 2029-2030 season, Netflix will stream an opening week game, a Thanksgiving Eve match-up, one Christmas Day game, a week 18 regular season finale game, and the NFL Honors annual awards event.
The platform has been getting more involved in the live-streaming of sport over recent years, and also holds rights to top-tier properties from sports such as baseball, tennis, and soccer (through the acquisition of FIFA Women's World Cup rights in the US for the next two editions).
