Matt Brown dismisses Rousey and Paul's ratings victory lap over UFC White House card

UFC veteran Matt Brown has dismissed the ratings celebration from Ronda Rousey and Jake Paul after their MVP MMA card on Netflix averaged 9.

Rousey’s return from retirement against Gina Carano also peaked at 17 million viewers, and the slightly higher average prompted Rousey to publicly taunt UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell on Twitter — writing “Lmao! Kiss my ass Hunter Campbell” — while Paul declared himself “the biggest MMA promoter” after waking up to the numbers.

Brown, speaking on The Fighter vs. The Writer podcast, was unimpressed. “I don’t know what they’re celebrating there,” he said. “It’s already forgotten that card happened. The only reason we’re talking about it now is because they’re doing their victory lap or whatever.”

The UFC legend was equally sceptical that the dig at Campbell would land with its intended target. “I highly doubt Hunter Campbell is sitting around saying ‘oh shit, they got more viewers than us, what are we going to do?’ No, he’s eating dinner at a five-star Michelin restaurant and talking to his buddies about the Conor McGregor–Max Holloway fight. I don’t know where these people think that this stuff actually matters that much.”

Brown’s broader argument centres on sustainability. Most Valuable Promotions, the company run by Paul and business partner Nakisa Bidarian, has stated its intention to continue promoting MMA, but no second card has been confirmed following Rousey vs. Carano. Rousey herself has repeatedly said she will not fight again, and Brown suggested Carano is unlikely to generate comparable interest without her.

“If you’re building something meaningful, sustainable, long-lasting and actually threatening their business in some capacity, now things might be a little different,” Brown said. “You were able to” — his remarks were cut off in the source — but the implication was clear: a single strong ratings performance does not constitute a structural challenge to the UFC, particularly with McGregor’s scheduled return in July looming as the promotion’s next major draw.