Jake Paul expects Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano to be most-watched MMA event in history: 'I'd be happy with 20 million'

MMA will air on Netflix for the first time this Saturday, May 16, when Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) takes the sport to Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome for what is expected to be a historic night.

Legendary women’s pioneers Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano headline MVP’s MMA debut alongside former UFC staples Nate Diaz and Francis Ngannou. Speaking on Monday’s edition of “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Paul said he expects the event to shatter the viewership record for an MMA event, as none has surpassed the 10 million mark.

"We believe that this event is going to be extremely successful — one of the most-viewed MMA events,” Paul told Uncrowned. “We love promotion. We love disrupting. We love helping fighters, and this has already been such a massive success and the fights haven't even happened yet, so I know it's only upside from here. Me and [MVP co-founder] Nakisa [Bidarian] are both motivated to keep disrupting MMA.

"Making a prediction is always fun, just to see how accurate you could be in terms of the viewership. But I don't know, man. I know it's going to do amazing, but I also think there's something parabolic that could happen here, where it even shocks us with how big it is.

"I’d be happy with 20 million. I think that's a very conservative estimate."

In years past, when a large-scale MMA event came along to compete with the UFC, the global giant often counter-programmed its rivals with stacked events of its own. However, the same can’t be said for Saturday’s MVP MMA debut.

Instead of a big marquee showcase, the UFC is holding a run-of-the-mill Fight Night in its Meta Apex facility in Las Vegas on Saturday. Paul believes that was a smart move.

"You wouldn't want to compete with this show. I don't think they could.” Paul said. “They're already comparing this — our first MMA event — to the most promoted and talked about card, which is UFC [Freedom] 250 at the White House. People are saying our card is better for our first event."

The UFC’s White House event on June 14, which was centered around U.S. President Donald Trump’s birthday and the 250th anniversary of American Independence Day, features two title bouts atop a seven-fight lineup.

Card-for-card, though, Paul doesn’t knock the UFC’s upcoming ambitious effort.