"MVP MMA brought mixed martial arts to Netflix on Saturday with its Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano card at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. Saturday's showdown between two aging women's MMA stars had a big-fight feel to it whatever you thought of its relevance in 2026. Yet, a decade ago would have been the opportune time to book the fight, but after years of super-fights fizzling from GSP vs. Anderson Silva to Brock Lesnar vs. Fedor Emelianenko, at least Rousey vs. Carano came to pass."
"The fact that it was on Netflix with the potential to become to most-watched MMA event in history essentially meant it was bound to be at least a moderate success. The real question was, whether the card could be entertaining enough, and draw enough fans, to warrant future events."
"With Francis Ngannou and Nate Diaz also on the card, there were certainly reasons to tune it. Ngannou was paired up with Philipe Lines, a former UFC fighter and PFL star who appeared to earn the opportunity by default when a larger-name opponent (including Rico Verhoeven) could not be secured. Diaz was in a more memorable pairing at least, against fellow ex-UFC star and BKFC "King of Violence" Mike Perry."
MVP MMA brought mixed martial arts to Netflix with a Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano card at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The matchup had a big-fight feel, even with questions about relevance in 2026. The Netflix platform and potential for high viewership suggested at least moderate success, but entertainment value and fan draw would determine whether future events followed. Francis Ngannou fought Philipe Lines, a former UFC fighter and PFL star who received the opportunity after a larger-name opponent could not be secured. Nate Diaz faced Mike Perry, a fellow ex-UFC star known for BKFC “King of Violence.”
Read at Cageside Press
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