Netflix announced Tuesday that its inaugural live mixed martial arts broadcast attracted a peak audience of nearly 17 million viewers, setting new records for the streaming platform.
The California event, organized under Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotion banner in Inglewood, reached a maximum of 11.6 million U.S. viewers and maintained an average of 9.3 million throughout the card. These numbers exceeded the previous benchmark of 8.8 million established in 2011 during UFC on Fox 1.
Fans witnessed Rousey’s first fight in ten years, though the 39-year-old’s appearance was brief. She secured victory over Carano in just 17 seconds using her trademark armbar submission technique before announcing her permanent retirement from competitive fighting.
The former Olympics judo medallist and WWE performer previously held the distinction of being the UFC’s inaugural female bantamweight champion and the first woman enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame.
Her opponent, the 44-year-old Carano, had not competed in mixed martial arts for 17 years, with her last bout being a 2009 defeat to Cris Cyborg. Carano has since transitioned to a career in acting.
