Ronda Rousey defeated Gina Carano with a 15-17 second armbar submission in a comeback MMA fight on May 20 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, broadcast live on Netflix [1, 2, 3]. The event was the first live MMA broadcast on the streaming platform and attracted a peak global audience of nearly 17 million viewers, with U.S. peak viewership hitting 11.6 million [1, 2, 3]. The fight card averaged 9.3 million U.S. viewers, surpassing the 2011 UFC on Fox 1 record of 8.8 million [1, 3].
Rousey is the former UFC bantamweight champion, a pioneer as the UFC’s first female Hall of Fame inductee, an Olympic judo medalist, and a former WWE star [1, 3]. Gina Carano, 44, returned to MMA after 17 years away from the sport and is now better known for her acting career [1, 3]. Carano said, "I wanted to throw, battle, win, but I kicked when I should have moved and was down and done. If I hadn't tapped she would've broken my arm, as it had begun to crackle. The disappointment of losing like that is very humbling. Now I feel like this is just the beginning. I can't wait to see where I can push my body to go next" [2].
Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions promoted the event, which generated about £1.64 million ($2.2 million) in gate revenue [2]. Co-founders Nakisa Bidarian and Paul noted the strong Netflix numbers could lead to more MMA events on the streaming service [2]. The event's viewership eclipsed notable UFC pay-per-view milestones such as UFC 329 in 2018, which had 2.4 million buys, and UFC on Fox 1’s 8.8 million peak audience in 2011 [2].
Rousey confirmed this fight will be her last MMA bout, closing her competitive chapter with a swift victory on a historic broadcast platform [2].
