Ahead of her comeback against Gina Carano at Most Valuable Promotions’ inaugural MMA event last month, Ronda Rousey heavily pushed the narrative that the Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian-led promotion could emerge as a legitimate challenger to the UFC’s long-standing dominance in the sport of MMA. Part of it had to do with her annoyance at the folks currently running the UFC, since they turned down the offer to stage the bout on a UFC card. As a result, once the viewership numbers for the recent UFC Freedom 250 event on Paramount + became public and they failed to edge out the numbers brought in by Rousey-Carano last month on Netflix, the former women’s bantamweight champion didn’t waste a second taking a fresh shot at UFC CBO Hunter Campbell.

“Lmao! Kiss my a–, Hunter Campbell 😜” Ronda Rousey posted on X.

According to data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics, UFC Freedom 250 drew 17 million combined viewers across the United States and Latin America, with the promotion expected to release its worldwide figures next week. The card also averaged 7 million viewers in the U.S. and 1.2 million in Latin America, making it the most-watched exclusive live event in Paramount+ history. Despite the success, UFC Freedom 250 couldn’t topple MVP’s first MMA event in one aspect.

UFC White House fell 2.3 million viewers short of Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano, which averaged 9.3 million viewers in the United States on Netflix. But that’s not all. Most Valuable Promotions’ debut event also peaked at 17 million global viewers, matching the UFC’s peak figure. However, one thing to consider is that the UFC generated its 17 million viewers from the U.S. and Latin America alone, while the same figure in MVP’s case represented its global viewership.

Still, MVP matching that number with its inaugural event against the UFC’s most ambitious event in history remains an astoundingly remarkable feat. But it is also worth noting that Paramount+ currently has roughly 79.6 million subscribers, while Netflix boasts approximately 325 million paid subscribers worldwide, a disparity that undoubtedly affects average viewership numbers.

Well, Ronda Rousey definitely took a dig at the UFC, especially considering that her return under a brand-new promotion turned out to be such a success. Beyond the numbers, it won’t be a stretch to say that her personal issues with Dana White’s right-hand man, Hunter Campbell, also contributed to her taking a dig at him.

Before her comeback, the former UFC bantamweight champion had revealed that she had initially pitched a Gina Carano matchup to Dana White for the UFC. However, Campbell, who now oversees much of the promotion’s matchmaking duties, reportedly dismissed the proposal by saying they were “old” and that the UFC had no plans to reopen the 145-pound featherweight division.

Following this, once Jake Paul’s MVP stepped in to promote the event, Ronda Rousey went off on Hunter Campbell in multiple interviews, labeling him a “chauvinist.” But it’s not only Ronda Rousey who has been celebrating after the numbers for the UFC Freedom 250 became public.

Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian respond to UFC White House card’s viewership numbers

Immediately after the UFC White House figures became public, Jake Paul took a dig at the UFC on social media for losing the average U.S. viewership battle. But now, ‘El Gallo’ has gone a step further and boldly labeled himself the biggest MMA promoter in the world, despite primarily being known as a boxing promoter.

“As a boxing promoter it feels good waking up today being the biggest MMA promoter,” Jake Paul shared on X.

For most of his career, Jake Paul has been a vocal critic of Dana White and the way the UFC operates its business. So, it was only natural that ‘The Problem Child’ would take a shot at the promotion after it failed to surpass MVP’s average U.S. viewership numbers. However, Most Valuable Promotions’ other founder, Nakisa Bidarian, had a completely different reaction.

Although Bidarian is now a co-founder of MVP, he previously spent years with the UFC as its chief financial officer. As such, he took a more measured approach and praised the UFC for successfully delivering such a massive event at the White House.

“Tremendous success for UFC 250, which is great for the continued growth of the sport, the fighters and the fans,” Bidarian posted on X. “MVP MMA had Netflix. UFC 250 had the White House and one of the most recognized global figures in history, President Trump.

“Only winners here in all scenarios. And UFC 250 was an amazing production, whether you agreed with the location or not. UFC is by far the most dominant brand / the reference brand for the sport of MMA. For MVP MMA to be in the same ballpark of viewership for their biggest event ever is damn good. Don’t care who was higher. Congrats to all.”

With both the UFC and MVP putting on marquee shows, it has undoubtedly benefited the sport as a whole by giving viewers another platform to watch high-level MMA competition. So, Bidarian is probably right in saying it is a win for MMA overall.

That said, the UFC already has several major events lined up, with Conor McGregor’s return set for next month. Can MVP maintain the same intensity and momentum? Time will tell. But for now, Paul’s promotion does not have another event officially on the schedule.