The viewership numbers are in for the first MMA event to ever stream on Netflix.
History was made this past Saturday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., with MVP MMA putting on the Rousey vs. Carano event on the platform.
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UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey (13-2) returned to submit Gina Carano (7-2) just 17 seconds into the women’s featherweight headliner, and prior to the event “Rowdy” said she hoped to exceed nine million viewers on Netflix.
He goal came true, because on Tuesday, MVP and Netflix revealed the numbers, which included “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” according to a press release from MVP co-founders Jake Paul and Nakisa Badarian.
In addition to Rousey’s win, the event saw Mike Perry batter Nate Diaz into a corner stoppage, Francis Ngannou knock out Philipe Lins in the first round, as well as two other main card finishes, mounting to roughly 22 minutes of actual cage time on a 3.5-hour broadcast.
“In the United States alone, the triple-main card averaged 9.3 million viewers and peaked at 11.6 million viewers during the main event, making it the most watched MMA event ever in the U.S.,” the release also stated. “The event also generated over 410 million impressions across MVP’s owned social channels, a live gate exceeding $2.2 million, and saw terrific commercial premises distribution across bars, restaurants, casinos, and hospitality venues nationwide. 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.
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“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.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Rousey vs. Carano scores 17 million peak viewership for Netflix
