Kamaru Usman backs Netflix’s first MMA card, calling it “great for the sport”

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One of the UFC’s most decorated welterweights is looking forward to the first-ever MMA event broadcasT on Netflix.

The streaming service will step into the sport on May 16, with a card topped by Ronda Rousey’s comeback at Inglewood’s Intuit Dome. Ngannou and Diaz are also set to feature before Rousey faces Carano in the main event.

Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions is organising the show, but not everyone’s impressed with the card, which includes a number of inactive veterans. Usman doesn’t share that view and has been nothing but supportive about it.

Usman backs Netflix stepping into MMA as a different option to UFC

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In recent weeks, there has been plenty of discussion comparing the MVP MMA card to the UFC’s upcoming event at the White House in June.

Rousey has fuelled those comparisons by criticising her former promotion and downplaying their event in Washington D.C. while promoting her return.

But Usman isn’t viewing May 16 as a head-to-head battle.

“It’s going to be an incredible night,” Usman said on his Pound 4 Pound podcast with Henry Cejudo. “I think this is great for the sport of mixed martial arts. A new promotion to really shine a light on the sport of mixed martial arts.”

He added, “I think it is all a win-win for everybody here to get the opportunity, and for the sport. The sport wins this night.

“It’s not this promotion vs this promotion. I think it’s the sport as a whole that wins, especially (by) giving an opportunity to more and more fighters.

Usman made those remarks after speaking with Ngannou, who he has supported since Ngannou left the UFC in 2023. That backing continues with Ngannou’s latest move under MVP, who could become a significant player in MMA if everything goes well on May 16.