I thought MVP’s debut MMA event on Netflix was a lot of fun.
Ronda Rousey picked up an instant finish over Gina Carano, which is historically a likely outcome in any “Rowdy” fight even dating back to her UFC championship reign. “Rowdy” is a buzzsaw who either wins quickly or loses dramatically, so nothing has really changed there. Mike Perry and Nate Diaz scrapped well for a round, then “Platinum” spent an additional five minutes carving Diaz’s face into a mask of blood. Francis Ngannou, Salahdine Parnasse, and Robelis Despaigne picked up vicious knockouts in the very first round.
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Seeing as everybody and their mother has a Netflix subscription, there were surely new viewers tuning into cage fighting for the first time (or at least since the last Conor McGregor fight). Those potential new fans were treated with quick finishes, so maybe they’ll tune in for the second MVP MMA show as well. For a first event, the production and camera work were quite solid, and all the broadcast booth yapping gave casual fans plenty of time to check their Instagram feed between bouts.
I’m just not sure this is the final recipe to disrupt UFC dominance.
The entire main card was built around mismatches and/or older stars. Sometimes — like in the cases of Nate Diaz and Junior dos Santos — the old star was being sacrificed to a younger talent. There was no serious age difference, but Kenny Cross and Philipe Lins were also brought in to get smoked, even if they gamely tried to resist their fate for a few minutes.
The problem with mismatches and old fighters is that little momentum is built toward the next card. In the post-fight press conference, MVP revealed its priorities of finding Carano a new opponent and rebooking Diaz vs. Perry for a rematch. Both ideas feel stale, the kind of matchmaking that will not make any waves.
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There is already talent on the MVP MMA roster. A card that features Ngannou vs. Despaigne, Perry, Parnasse, and Adriano Moraes could do quite well if the latter trio are matched appropriately. Perry vs. Jake Paul in the cage? Let’s do it. Parnasse is fighting at 155 pounds, one of the most talent-rich divisions worldwide in the sport. Find him a legitimate challenge as an opponent, and it’s immediately a great match.
If not tempered with at least some genuinely good MMA, the spectacles and stars of yesteryear will quite literally grow old. A -1100 favorite winning via first-round knockout every time is not interesting, nor is watching Junior dos Santos show up with shredded abs and no ability to react to the punches coming his way particularly fun.
It works for a quick hit and good headline, not a longterm business plan. MVP is in position to shake up the industry, but that won’t happen without building a fuller roster with genuine talent and matching them appropriately.
For complete MVP MMA: ’Rousey vs. Carano’ results and play-by-play, click here.
