Ronda Rousey hasn’t competed in mixed martial arts in nearly a decade. Nevertheless, she’s co-headlining Netflix’s first live MMA broadcast, set to take place in May.
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Her opponent, Gina Carano, hasn’t fought in almost 17 years.
In the co-main event, Francis Ngannou will make his long-awaited return to MMA after terminating his contract with the Professional Fighters League two years ago. His time in the PFL ended after just one fight, an Oct. 2024 win over Renan Ferreira that ended in less than four minutes.
Ngannou will take on 40-year-old former UFC light heavyweight Philipe Lins, who also last competed in 2024, at UFC 299.
The fighters don’t get any younger in the third bout on the card. 40-year-old Nate Diaz and 34-year-old Mike Perry, who haven’t fought in MMA since 2022 and 2021, respectively, will face off.
Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions agency, which is promoting the event, has already risen to the pinnacle of boxing popularity — mainly through its occasional partnerships with Netflix.
Netflix’s transition into live sports, especially boxing, has been an overwhelming success.
Its first combat sports event was an MVP boxing card on which Paul faced boxing legend Mike Tyson, which still stands as the most-streamed sporting event of all time.
Netflix also drew tens of millions of viewers in 2025 for Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford — a Dana White venture — and Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua, another MVP-organized event.
But MMA is a different beast.
The UFC’s monopoly on the sport limits other promoters’ ability to secure superstars for their events.
Still, Ngannou walked away from the UFC in 2023. Though I don’t think anyone foresaw the return of Rousey and Carano, there are still some names outside the UFC who can sell an event.
However, selling the event doesn’t guarantee good fights.
Rousey and Carano are adamant this fight has been in the making for a long time, but I still think ring rust is going to be hard to shake after a full decade of inactivity for the two athletes. It’s a monumental return, but I’m not expecting the highest level of MMA.
No offense to Lins, but his last decision was a victory over Ion Cutelaba over two years ago. Ngannou’s reputation as one of the hardest punchers in the sport is well-earned, and he’ll likely prove it again. I’m glad Ngannou’s back, but he’s not exactly facing the cream of the crop in this one.
MVP also added former UFC flyweight Muhammad Mokaev — who fell out with the UFC in 2024 — and former UFC heavyweights Junior dos Santos and Robelis Despaigne.
This card will not have the long-running rivalry storyline of UFC 229 — when Conor McGregor faced off against Khabib Nurmagomedov — nor will it have the top-ranked fighters of UFC 284, in which Alexander Volkanovski fought Islam Makhachev. This time, the fighters on the main card aren’t the biggest names in the sport.
Still, this card will likely be the most-viewed MMA event of all time.
UFC 229 sold a then-record 2.4 million pay-per-views. UFC 324, the first UFC event streamed on Paramount+, is now the most-viewed event of all time — peaking at 5.93 million concurrent viewers.
I have little doubt Netflix will smash that record come May 16.
MVP drew 33 million viewers for Paul vs. Joshua, which was effectively six and a half hours of filler fights until the main event. Now that Netflix has some familiar faces for its MMA debut, the UFC’s viewership record will probably look measly in comparison.
This might actually be a good thing.
For too long, the UFC has used its monopoly to bleed its fighters thin, knowing there aren’t any other options for those looking to prove they belong with the best of the best.
The PFL was built to create a structured system for MMA, but its talent pool is shallow.
Ngannou was its superstar, but only made the walk to the cage once. Besides Dakota Ditcheva and Usman Nurmagomedov, there’s not much talent left in the PFL, as former standouts Michael Chandler, Patricio Pitbull and Aaron Pico have all joined the UFC.
If any organization is capable of treating its fighters right, it’s probably the one with Paul at the helm.
Paul has long advocated for better fighter pay, singling out White and the UFC for their low salaries.
When the UFC signed its absurd $7.7 billion deal with Paramount, White said it would lead to an increase in fighter pay.
Since then, all it’s amounted to is a change in bonuses, which only a few fighters a week earn. There’s been no word on changing the contracts.
If MVP can prove it can draw the fans’ attention and pay its fighters what they deserve, the UFC may finally have competition. Rising prospects and established stars alike would undoubtedly prefer the bigger checks as long as they continue to fight against the best.
Rousey vs. Carano will be the first indication of whether the UFC can truly have any competition, or if all new MMA organizations are simply doomed to fail.