Boxing
“He had a abrasive night, Eubank Jr. is done.”
Most Valuable Promotions held its first MMA event with Ronda Rousey, former boxers Francis Ngannou and Nate Diaz, Mike Perry, Netflix support, and one obvious problem that the cameras couldn’t completely hide.
Despite the star-studded lineup and global streaming interest, much of the arena remained empty throughout the night as MVP officially transitioned into mixed martial arts.
The atmosphere seemed strangely flat compared to the scale of the names featured.
Ronda Rousey returns
Former UFC champion Ronda Rousey needed just 17 seconds to defeat Gina Carano in the main event, defeating the women’s MMA pioneer with the trademark armbar that once made her one of combat sports’ biggest stars.
After charging across the cage almost immediately, the Olympic medalist took down Carano, then wrapped it all up with the armbar that made her eminent.
However, while the action was speedy in the cage, it was demanding to ignore the empty seats around the arena during MVP’s heavily promoted debut event.
Netflix broadcast the event worldwide as part of its deal with MVP following the success of Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson and several major boxing events.
Perry defeats Diaz
In a joint feature film Mike Perry stopped Nate Diaz after two brutal rounds of welterweight trading.
Both men went at each other from the opening bell before Diaz’s corner finally stopped the penalty at the end of the second round.
After the break, Perry called for an MMA fight with Jake Paul, while agreeing to a future rematch with Diaz.
Elsewhere on the card, there was a former boxer Francis Ngannou he crushed Philipe Lins in the first round, then immediately renewed calls for a future showdown with Jon Jones.
Salahdine Parnasse impressed in his US debut, stopping Kenneth Cross in the first round, while “Massive Boy” Robelis Despaigne knocked out Junior Dos Santos in another explosive heavyweight finish.
Empty arena
For MVP, the event was still another attempt to prove that the company could transcend boxing.
But the empty seats were an uncomfortable reminder of reality. Outside of the UFC banner, even Netflix, Ngannou, Rousey, Diaz and Perry weren’t enough to fill the building.
MVP was already a huge boxing streaming success with Netflix, but the optics surrounding his first MMA release told a completely different story.
Dana White won’t be shaking in her boots.
About the author
Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.
Keith Connolly claims the arrival of Zuffa Boxing changed the direction of Conor Benn’s career and changed negotiations with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom.
“The offer was many times higher than what they were offering,” Connolly said, discussing Benn’s departure from Matchroom. “People thought there was no competition at the time because DAZN was the only game in town and Zuffa came along around the time Conor was going into free agency.”
Connolly believes Benn entered free agency right when a fresh player entered the market.
“I think maybe people miscalculated that it was the only show in town and that there would be no other offers. It’s possible. And then a huge offer came along and that’s where we are,” Connolly told iFL TV.
Connolly said Benn’s team met with Matchroom before making their decision, but said the figures discussed did not match the final offer they received elsewhere.
“We had one in Recent York the week of Teofimo-Shakur and we told them what we expected. They scored much lower than we thought. Since he was a free agent, we decided to test the market.”
The discussion also touched on the breakdown in communication that followed Benn’s departure from Matchroom. Connolly defended the decision to send the offer by email rather than handle everything privately over the phone.
“We protected ourselves legally by emailing the offer as to what we should do,” Connolly said. “This is the mechanism that should be used when you receive an offer where the promoter has the rights.”
Connolly added that Benn still wanted Hearn involved once a fresh deal was finalized.
“We still want you on the team,” Connolly said. “Conor wanted Eddie in the band.”
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Last updated: 17/05/2026 at 23:00
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