Ariel Helwani feels Ronda Rousey may have accidentally left millions of viewers on the table during her main event fight against Gina Carano. After Netflix and Most Valuable Promotions officially revealed the numbers for their historic MMA debut, Helwani reacted to the staggering figures, admitting that the main event might have easily surpassed the mythical 20 million level if ‘Rowdy’ had done one thing differently.
According to the official numbers provided by MVP in their latest press release and read by Ariel Helwani on his show, MVP MMA’s live debut on Netflix averaged 12.4 million global viewers and peaked at over 17 million during Rousey vs. Carano.
In the United States, the main card averaged 9.3 million viewers and peaked at 11.6 million, making it the most-watched MMA event in American history. Rather than just reading the numbers and praising the Ronda Rousey-led event for delivering, the MMA journalist couldn’t help but speculate how much higher the numbers would have been if the fight had gone beyond the opening exchange.
“It says that Rousey-Carano peaked at $17 million,” he said on his show. “That’s what I read, right? Imagine if it went two rounds. You know what I mean? Imagine if it went two rounds; it would have probably hit that $20 million number.”
Breaking: Ronda Rousey x Gina Carano peaked at 17 million global viewers, per Netflix. The final three fights averaged 12.4 million viewers. Domestically, the main card averaged 9.3 million viewers and peaked at 11.6 million during the main event, making it the most-watched MMA Show more
Honestly, his reasoning makes sense. The main event ended almost before casual viewers could fully settle in. Ronda Rousey immediately went for a takedown when ‘Conviction’ threw a kick, dragging her to the mat and applying her iconic armbar only 17 seconds into the bout.
It was classic ‘Rowdy,’ but from a business standpoint, the fight disappearing that quickly likely prevented the live audience from growing organically during the main event itself.
Still, there’s no denying that the event surpassed expectations anyway. Prior to the event, Rousey declared publicly that she hoped to shatter the long-standing American MMA television record set by Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez during the UFC’s FOX debut in 2011, which peaked at 8.8 million people.
Needless to say, she got her wish. Meanwhile Junior dos Santos still has his name on the most watched card in MMA, as funnily enough, he fought Robelis Despaigne at the Netflix card.
The event also reportedly generated a live gate of more than $2.2 million, with massive engagement on social media. For Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, it was the perfect start for MVP MMA.
Even if Ronda Rousey has hinted that this could be her final bout, Netflix’s maiden foray into MMA clearly proved that there is still a large audience willing to tune in when the right stars are attached to the product. However, the same cannot be said when it comes to selling tickets to the arena, though.
Ronda Rousey’s return falls short against the UFC’s last Intuit Dome card
Those streaming numbers are exactly why the attendance conversation feels a little strange. Netflix and MVP definitely won the battle for online attention, but Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano fell short of the UFC’s most recent visit to the same arena when it came to physically filling the seats.
According to reports, MVP MMA drew 15,795 fans to the record Netflix card. That is still a significant amount for a new MMA promotion hosting its very first event, especially considering the Intuit Dome holds a little over 18,000 for combat sports.
However, the UFC’s last event in the venue, UFC 311, had an official attendance of 18,370, with over 15,700 confirmed paid tickets. That card was also stacked from top to bottom, with Islam Makhachev, Merab Dvalishvili, Umar Nurmagomedov, Jiri Prochazka, and Jamahal Hill all fighting on the same night.
However, directly comparing the two events is also not completely fair. The UFC is a decades-old machine with a loyal fanbase that travels for major cards, whereas MVP MMA is practically starting from nothing. More importantly, this event was clearly designed for streaming first, rather than gating records.
And, judging by Netflix’s incredible viewership, Paul and Bidarian are unlikely to lose much sleep over a few thousand empty seats when millions more watched from home across the world.
