MVP Broke the All-Time MMA Viewership Record and Now They Want Conor McGregor

Five days ago Dana White went live on a glitchy Instagram stream during Ngannou's walkout to announce McGregor vs Holloway at UFC 329. We covered it. It was petty. It worked. The whole internet pivoted to Conor within an hour.

Today Nakisa Bidarian went on the Ariel Helwani Show, dropped the Netflix viewership numbers, and told the world that MVP wants to sign Conor McGregor.

Dana fired a shot Saturday night. Bidarian just fired back with a cannon bro.

The Numbers

The Netflix card averaged 12.4 million viewers globally. Peaked at 17 million during Rousey's 17 second armbar. In the US alone it averaged 9.3 million and peaked at 11.6 million.

That 11.6 million number is the one that matters. The previous US viewership record for an MMA event was UFC on FOX 1 in November 2011. Velasquez vs dos Santos. 8.8 million viewers. That record stood for 15 years. MVP just broke it on their first card.

Their FIRST card bro. 11.6 million peak viewers in the US. 17 million globally. $2.2 million live gate at the Intuit Dome. Over 410 million impressions across social media.

And the card wasn't even close to what a prime UFC PPV looks like talent wise. No active champions. No current title fights. Rousey hadn't fought since 2016 and Carano hadn't fought since 2009. Ngannou hadn't fought MMA since 2023. Diaz is 41 and Perry was in BKFC six months ago. And it still broke every viewership record in US MMA history.

Imagine what the numbers would look like with current stars.

"100% MVP Is in the MMA Business"

Bidarian didn't dance around it. When Helwani asked if MVP plans to continue doing MMA events, his answer was immediate.

"One hundred percent, MVP is in the MMA business. There is a clear opportunity to create an alternative avenue for fighters that truly represents the best of the sport and is fighters first. Our hope is that's with our partners at Netflix."

He said MVP MMA 2 is "realistic" this calendar year. He named Ngannou vs Robelis Despaigne as a potential headliner after Despaigne KO'd JDS in round one on Saturday's card. And he said MVP isn't locked into Netflix exclusively. Amazon, Fox, and other streaming platforms have reached out.

"We've been very fortunate with the outreach we've gotten around what we did and what we accomplished and what we delivered."

The man who helped build the UFC as its former CFO is now building the thing that could compete with it. And after Saturday's numbers, the "could" is starting to look more like "is."

Bidarian Went Directly at Dana

This is the part that made the interview blow up.

TKO President Mark Shapiro went on record earlier this week saying Rousey's comeback was "bad for the sport." That's the UFC's parent company publicly trashing the Netflix card that just broke every viewership record MMA has ever set.

Bidarian's response was perfect.

"To come out and say bad for the sport. What's bad for the sport is not paying the fighters. What's bad for the sport is not paying attention enough to give Conor McGregor his due moment after five years of not being in the cage, not being in the Octagon, and you announce him on an Instagram live. That's bad for the sport. Not what we did. What we did is tremendous for the sport."

That's a direct shot at how Dana announced the McGregor vs Holloway fight. And honestly? Bidarian is right about that part. Conor McGregor hasn't fought in five years. The biggest name in UFC history is finally coming back. And the promotion announced it on a glitchy Instagram live during someone else's event instead of giving it the press conference, the production, and the moment it deserved.

Dana said "he will fight this summer" on the Jim Rome show like it was just another Tuesday. Then announced the actual fight on Instagram live during the Netflix card. That's not how you treat a five year comeback for your biggest star. That's how you rush an announcement because you're worried about losing the news cycle to a competitor.

They Want Conor

Let that sit for a second. The UFC's biggest star of all time is about to fight at UFC 329 in July. And the promotion that just broke every MMA viewership record is publicly saying they want him. Not quietly behind the scenes but on the biggest MMA media show in the world.

Conor is under UFC contract right now. He's fighting Holloway on July 11. But contracts end. And when Conor's does, he's going to have a conversation about where the biggest platform and the biggest money actually is.

The UFC has Paramount+. MVP has Netflix. Paramount+ has roughly 48 million subscribers. Netflix has 325 million. Rousey already made $2.2 million disclosed for 17 seconds of work on the Netflix card. If MVP can guarantee Conor a massive purse plus access to 325 million subscribers plus the "fighters first" treatment Bidarian keeps promising, the math starts looking real interesting.

The White House Comparison

Bidarian also said something that's going to make Dana's head spin.

"If you put the UFC White House card on Netflix, does it do as well as what we did on Saturday night? I don't believe it does."

The UFC Freedom 250 card at the White House on June 14 is supposed to be the biggest event in UFC history. Topuria vs Gaethje, Pereira vs Gane, On the South Lawn with the president there. And Bidarian is sitting on the Helwani Show saying his card with retired fighters on Netflix already outperformed what the UFC's biggest event could do.

That's fighting words bro. The UFC will obviously argue that the White House card on CBS would draw massive numbers. And they might be right. But the fact that a first time MMA promotion can even make that comparison after one event tells you everything about where this sport is heading.

What This All Means

We've been writing about the UFC exodus for months. Ngannou leaving and making $30 million. Rousey revealing the $40K minimum pay. The CEO making $67 million while champions wrestle on the side. The payouts proving everything. Every article was building toward one question: is the UFC still the only game in town?

After today, the answer is officially no.

MVP just broke the all time US viewership record on their first card. They confirmed they're staying in MMA. They're targeting the biggest name the UFC has ever produced. They're talking about Amazon and Fox as potential partners. And their co-founder just sat on national media and told the UFC that announcing Conor McGregor on Instagram live is "bad for the sport."

Dana can hijack as many Instagram lives as he wants. The numbers don't lie. 17 million people watched Saturday night. The conversation has officially changed. And Conor McGregor's next contract negotiation just got a whole lot more interesting.

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