Alexander Volkanovski is taking a positive outlook on the upcoming Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano comeback fight.
The women’s MMA pioneers shocked everyone when Most Valuable Promotions recently announced it had signed the two fighters for a bout to take place May 16 in Los Angeles, with Netflix handling the live broadcast. Rousey and Carano have not fought in years, but Rousey’s status as a dominant champion during her UFC run and Carano successfully parlaying her fighting career into high-profile acting gigs all but guarantees the matchup will have healthy mainstream buzz.
Discussing the fight on his YouTube channel, Volkanovski compared Rousey vs. Carano to the postponed matchup between UFC bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison and all-time great Amanda Nunes, and believes the event will be a boon for business.
“When it comes to numbers, what do I think would do better?” Volkanovski said. “I think the numbers might be the same as—I don’t know. I feel like Amanda Nunes and a Kayla Harrison, would that do better numbers? I don’t know, you tell me. I’m just trying to gauge this sort of situation. I think when it comes to fighting, they’re sort of still in their prime. You could still say Amanda Nunes is still in her prime. Kayla Harrison, obviously in her prime, so they’re going to do their thing.
“But Ronda Rousey, Carano, now in a lot of movies. WWE. It being on Netflix, a whole different audience, which I like. Me, being a UFC athlete, me just being an MMA fighter, I think it’s great for the sport. I think more people might tune in. If it is the same numbers as a Kayla Harrison-Amanda Nunes, I think that it’s different people watching. I think you are going to get some of your hardcores in that as well and you’re going to get a lot of people that are maybe tuning in for other reasons. Or it’s just on Netflix. I think just MMA being on Netflix is massive.”
Rousey vs. Carano also marks Netflix’s first venture into MMA after providing viewers with a pair of huge boxing matches involving MVP founder Jake Paul, whose fights with Mike Tyson and Anthony Joshua were both featured on the streaming service. Though Netflix is unlikely to serve as a direct competitor to the UFC in regards to MMA, Rousey has already boasted her fight with Carano could outdo the UFC’s recent numbers in the Paramount+ era.
At the end of the day, Volkanovski doesn’t think it matters who wins the viewership battle.
“You’re going to get a lot of people that are going to be talking about how it’s not good, that it’s not with the UFC, and obviously acting like there’s this rivalry between the two and whatnot,” Volkanovski said. “I don’t really look at it that way. I think it’s good for the sport.
“Why is it good for the sport? If we’re talking numbers, I think you might get some numbers, I think it’s a decent fight. Are you going to get the hardcores going nuts about it? Maybe, because they remember what these fighters used to be. But I think you’re going to get a lot more people outside of fighting that are going to tune in, so that’s something that I think would be good for the sport.”
Rousey vs. Carano could end up being a one-off return for both fighters even if it does open the door for Netflix to host more MMA events in the future. Even if that happens, Volkanovski sees all roads leading back to the octagon.
“You know, UFC probably looking at it, ‘We could have made money on this fight,’ or do we just want eyes on our sport?” Volkanovski said. “Is that the main focus? Because at the end of the day, the more eyes on the sport, the more people are going to watch UFC anyway. If you can get people interested in MMA however you want. … If they are interested and they start taking a liking to it and they start watching a bit more, what are they going to watch? You’re probably going to watch the best of the best go at it.
“So if you can get introduced to this sport, mixed martial arts, a different way, I still feel like eventually if you like the sport you’re going to eventually just be watching UFC.”
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Let’s be honest, UFC Mexico is not the best card on paper; HOWEVER, there are no 205 of heavyweight fights, meaning it’s all good weight classes, so all the fights will be fun. Enjoy the weekend and see y’all on Monday.
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