Are Netflix’s MMA Numbers Actually Good?

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]Netflix did 12 million views for Corono versus Rousey. Is that good? Now, I I want to stay right there. Is that good?

[00:00:10]Cuz nobody said it is. They've been doing real funny speak. As a matter of fact, they they come out and say it's good, but they then follow that up with for MMA or it's a record for MMA or it beat the former number for Hold on. If something's good, you don't have something on the back end. I'm just asking the question. If something is good, you don't compare it to something else. It's just good.

[00:00:37]So, is are these numbers good? Cuz what are we looking for, guys? We're looking to be entertaining. We like MMA. We want more MMA. We want Netflix to do more shows. We want MVP to stay in the space.

[00:00:46]Does that does that sound reasonable?

[00:00:50]Because now Netflix is juxtaposed with having boxing. I'll use Jake Paul and Mike Tyson. did 10 times better than Ronda and Gina. So now if you're Netflix and you're not in the boxing business and you're not in the MMA business, but you are given a good look at the combat space and for roughly the same price, you've got a boxing event that did 10 times more. Then I want to ask you again, was Gina and Rhonda good? If you're a boss at Netflix, you got two dates left in the calendar year of 2026 and you're going to plug in boxing or MMA or boxing and boxing or MMA and MMA. But now you have the insider data that boxing did 10 times better. I'm just asking the question. I'm I'm simply asking the question because there was something that came up over the weekend with J. Paul, who by the way, I I I just don't think he could do a better job in the role that he has. I just don't think that he can play every single piece better than he does. But something did come up, which is Francis touched on the idea of boxing Jake. But then out of nowhere, Mike Perry came in and challenged Jake to an MMA fight. Jake accepted them both. As a matter of fact, boxing Francis was Jake's idea. And when Perry said it to Jake, he said, "Yeah."

[00:02:17]So he said, "Yeah." He said yes to both.

[00:02:19]So it is an interesting question. Which do you want to do? How much does it tie into Jake?

[00:02:25]The boxing event that did 10 times better was Jake versus Mike Tyson. Now, that's not necessarily something that you can repeat.

[00:02:34]That's a really generally important piece of business.

[00:02:39]you you find something that works and then you just copy yourself for the rest of time. You just keep on duplicating it. That is that is generally what you would do. But but fighting is a little bit different, right? Cuz it's not the same. These two people fighting versus these two people fighting, it's not the same. Even if it's the same rules, even if it's the same wet class, even if it's on the same network, it's not the same.

[00:03:02]You're not going to be able to get Mike Tyson again. You're not going to be able to get Mike Tyson in his comeback fight again. you're not going to be able to get Mike Tyson for the first time in 20 years. Again, right, those are all one-time deals.

[00:03:14]So, I just ask, is it good? Is Gina versus Rhonda doing 12 million on a network that has an appetite for combat? And we know that because we put combat on this network that did 10 times better. And by the way, did it with a 60-year-old man?

[00:03:39]It's interesting.

[00:03:42]It's an It's an interesting question.

[00:03:45]I would hope that there's room for both.

[00:03:47]I would think that there are. All sorts of movies get made. All sorts of movies get put in the theater. Some of them are really good and some of them are just movies that are in the theater. There's room for both.

[00:04:00]How would you duplicate? How would you duplicate what we saw over the weekend?

[00:04:05]How close could you get? Gina Corano's team, her coach, in fact, her coach who was a friend of mine, so I say this very respectfully towards John Wood, but but but he was talking about, you know, that she wants to do this again.

[00:04:18]And is there something for her?

[00:04:23]Like, if Gina had not shown up, Netflix could still do these same numbers, right? I could have grabbed Holly home, put her against Rhonda, done the exact same numbers. Could have got Cyborg, put her against Rhonda, done bigger numbers.

[00:04:34]Like, h how important was Gina?

[00:04:38]And when you say I would do it again, like, you know, I didn't really need you to say so. So, let me get you you you'll get in a cage for for 16 seconds and never once get hurt for for $5 million. You'd do that again. Wow.

[00:04:54]Oh, I'm so surprised by that. like I am sure you would do it again. Are we going to fall for that again? And if Gina had beat Ronda, I do think there was somewhere very exciting to go with Holly Holm. I I think you could build that and and building women's MMA and building MMA as a whole and building people that washed out of the UFC. Like there is a way to do it, but is it repeatable?

[00:05:22]How often can you run that back?

[00:05:26]Is there any chance of getting Rhonda again? She said she was going to go after Hunter Campbell, for example. All right. Well, Hunter Campbell worked Saturday and Hunter Campbell's going to work this coming Saturday and he's going to work the Saturday after that. So, if Rhonda is really coming after Hunter, I don't think she can take her ball and go back to Hawaii. It would seem that she has to show up for work. But that's not my understanding of the story. My understanding is this was farewell.

[00:05:56]Not to mention, if she returned, is there a big and meaningful fight? All right, great.

[00:06:02]Let's just push Rhonda and Gina aside.

[00:06:05]Let's find somebody else.

[00:06:08]Now, Francis and Jones definitely works.

[00:06:10]And Francis and Jones can fight. I I really guys don't want to waste my energy explaining this to you respectfully. Francis and Jones can fight.

[00:06:22]Jones is not in in some kind of a legal contract where he cannot come over and fight. That is fiction.

[00:06:28]But I don't think those guys really want to fight.

[00:06:32]And that would be something special. You want to know what Netflix did an incredible job of? Something that MVP did that they're not getting credit for, and they never will, but something that they did better than most. They kept their card together. That's rare. It is very rare to keep a card together. And it is not an MMA phenomenon that athletes get hurt and can't show up for work. It's not an MMA phenomenon that athletes miss weight and blow the match.

[00:07:02]That is exclusive to the UFC.

[00:07:06]I grew up as a wrestler. I'd have to really think to tell you anyone I've ever been around that missed weight. I could not do it for the World Championships, the Olympic Games, or the NCAA tournament.

[00:07:16]No matter how hard I sat and thought about, I I couldn't come up with any of that. But even at side tournaments or dual mates, I could fill up a hand. I haven't been wrestling for 41 years. I COULD I could come up with five people, I think.

[00:07:30]But I I'd really have to buckle down.

[00:07:32]UFC has it every single Saturday. Why is that?

[00:07:37]I've never seen more fake tough guys. They're in MMA, but MVP kept them together. Why is that?

[00:07:48]Boxing always keeps them together.

[00:07:51]I gave you an example from wrestling. I told you I couldn't come up with five people that ever missed weight. I couldn't do it in boxing and neither could you. Tell me five times in boxing, which is main event heavy. Boxing doesn't even have a card. They build their entire business around one fight.

[00:08:05]How come that fight's never been blown?

[00:08:07]I can't think of a time ever in my lifetime, 50 years, ever.

[00:08:13]It's a pandemic exclusive to the UFC. I don't have a hypothesis as to why. I watched affliction go out of business because they lost their main event the day before.

[00:08:26]I watched the paying guys and then those guys wouldn't make the walk and it was pretty obvious they had no reason. They had no incentive. They had already been paid. Like it it was a mistake. So some of it was administrative.

[00:08:41]So what did MVP do so well? How did they get those guys to make the walk? Those are the same cowards that the UFC had to put up with.

[00:08:50]How' they keep their card together? It's interesting. They did a good job. They did a good job from a management standpoint. 12 million, 14 million people watched Gina and Ronda. For me to ask you if those are good numbers is very fair because a 60-year-old boxer did 10 times the numbers.

[00:09:08]I'm open to the answer. I'm open to you saying yes. But defend your position.

[00:09:14]What makes you say that 12 million in the face of 60 million is good?