Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano barely had time to break a sweat before their fight ended, but that didn’t stop millions of people from tuning in on Netflix.
Netflix revealed that 7 million global viewers watched Rousey vs. Carano during Saturday night’s MVP MMA 1 event, while the triple main event portion of the show averaged 12.4 million viewers overall.
The fight itself lasted just 17 seconds before Rousey quickly submitted Carano with an armbar in one of the fastest endings fans could’ve imagined after years of hype surrounding the matchup. Even with the quick finish, the event still generated major attention as Netflix officially entered the MMA world for the first time.
The card was promoted under Jake Paul’s MVP banner, continuing Paul’s growing relationship with Netflix after already producing massive numbers with previous boxing events on the platform.
Paul’s fight against Mike Tyson reportedly averaged 108 million live global viewers, and now Netflix appears to have another combat sports success story on its hands with MVP MMA 1.
The event featured several other major names outside the Rousey-Carano main event as well. Mike Perry stopped Nate Diaz in the co-main event after Diaz suffered heavy cuts, while Francis Ngannou scored a knockout victory over Phillipe Lins. Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos also competed on the show.
The viewership numbers also arrived shortly after TKO executive Mark Shapiro explained why UFC passed on promoting Rousey vs. Carano themselves. According to Shapiro, UFC officials viewed the fight as more of a spectacle than a meaningful MMA matchup and were concerned casual viewers would get the wrong impression about the sport.
That concern didn’t stop fans from tuning in anyway. Even though the fight ended almost instantly, the curiosity surrounding Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano finally stepping into the cage together clearly turned the event into a major streaming attraction for Netflix.
What do you think about Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano drawing 7 million viewers despite lasting only 17 seconds? Let us know your thoughts and feedback in the comments below.