Rousey and Paul Stir Controversy Over UFC White House Viewership
Mixed martial arts figures Ronda Rousey and Jake Paul have publicly questioned the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and its president, Dana White, concerning the audience figures for the recent 'UFC White House' event. They contend that an event promoted by Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) achieved higher viewership.
Comparing the Numbers
Paramount, the US broadcaster for 'UFC 250 Freedom,' which aired last Sunday, reported that the event garnered 7 million viewers in the US on Paramount+. In contrast, Netflix stated that Rousey's 15-second victory over Gina Carano in May drew an average US audience of 9.3 million, with a peak of 11.6 million viewers in the US.
Jake Paul, a co-founder of MVP alongside Nakisa Bidarian, took to X to comment, "As a boxing promoter it feels good waking up today being the biggest MMA promoter." Paul has a history of engaging in verbal exchanges with UFC president White, and the Rousey v Carano event, promoted by MVP, was positioned as a significant challenge to the established MMA scene.
Rousey, who opted to compete on an MVP card due to disagreements over fight purse demands with the UFC, responded to the viewership news by specifically addressing UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell, stating, "Lmao! Kiss my ass, Hunter Campbell."
Details on UFC White House Viewership
The 'UFC White House' event, which featured two title fights and was held on the South Lawn of the US President's residence, averaged 8.2 million viewers across the US and Latin America. Paramount indicated that 17 million people in these regions watched at least one minute of the event, with 15.3 million of those viewers being in the US. The company also noted that these live audience figures were verified by Nielsen, an industry standard for TV viewership, and Adobe Analytics.
However, Netflix did not provide any viewership data beyond the US for the Rousey-Carano fight and did not specify if their figures were verified by Nielsen or any other third party. Paramount suggested that the UFC might release additional global figures for the White House event at a later time.
Event Highlights
The 'UFC White House' event concluded with American fighter Justin Gaethje, a supporter of President Trump, securing his first UFC lightweight title at the age of 37. Gaethje's victory over Ilia Topuria in the main event occurred on the president's 80th birthday.
Source: Rousey and Paul taunt UFC over White House viewing figures