MMA fighter Ronda Rousey said that her fight with Gina Carano “will set a new purse record for female fighters” when they meet Saturday at Intuit Dome, with the bout set to be streamed on Netflix. Rousey “championed her bout with Carano as a landscape-shifting moment for the sport” and also “took aim at the UFC’s fighter pay” system. While Rousey said she “had no problem with” UFC President & CEO Dana White, she “voiced her unhappiness at how the promotion is being run” and predicted the partnership between Most Valuable Promotions and Netflix “could change the future of MMA.” Rousey: “Who can say the success of this fight won’t give the competition the UFC needs and give bargaining power back to the fighters?” Meanwhile, organizers are “aiming to set a new record for the most watched MMA event of all time” with the Netflix stream. But it “remains to be seen if the Rousey-fronted venture can indeed step out of the UFC’s shadow” (BBC.com, 5/15).
MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian “has high expectations for the event.” While the company’s inaugural MMA event is “functionally a one-off,” if “all goes as planned, the potential for more only expands.” There “aren’t currently any commitments in place” from either MVP or Netflix to carry on with future events, but Bidarian “fully expects talks to begin in the following months, should Saturday’s show be a success.” Bidarian also confirmed earlier this week that all fighters on the card “will be paid a minimum of $40,000” and that purses “will also be a flat rate, with bonus incentives still in play.” He added that Saturday’s event will “operate with a unique revenue share” that will be “much higher than 50% to the fighters,” as compared to the UFC’s approach — which typically pays its fighters between 16%-20% (YAHOO SPORTS, 5/12).
Here is a snapshot of the range in ticket prices for the event as of presstime:
Ticketmaster: $88-$3,607SeatGeek: $149-$6,234StubHub: $128-$19,617Vivid Seats: $134-$2,523