"If I hadn't tapped, my bones would have broken," even the opponent admitted. Female heavyweight fighter Ronda Rousey delivers a '15-second K.O.'... Netflix's highest-ever viewership record

*This content was translated by AI.

Ronda Rousey's (39) comeback after a decade drew 17 million viewers worldwide, rewriting the history of mixed martial arts (MMA) promotions in the United States.

On the 21st (Korean time), the UK's BBC reported that "Rousey's bout against Jina Kara-no surpassed the previous record of 9 million viewers, breaking through 17 million viewers globally on Netflix."

On the 17th (Korean time), Rousey secured a submission victory over Jina Kara-no in just 17 seconds of the first round at the main event (women's featherweight) of Jake Paul's 'Most Valuable Promotion (MVP)' first MMA event held at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, USA.

It was an overwhelming match. Immediately after the start, Rousey pressed forward against Jina Kara-no, secured a takedown, and from the full mount position, immediately applied her signature armbar to force a submission. After the match, Rousey stated, "I hoped the opponent would not get hurt as much as possible. Today's match was true martial arts and art."

The media reported, "Although it was a comeback match after 10 years, she displayed overwhelming skills reminiscent of her prime."

This event held at the Intuit Dome in California was the first MMA event to be broadcast live by Netflix. With Francis Ngannou and Nate Diaz also on the main card, the average viewership per minute reached 12.4 million. Ticket revenue for the live event recorded $2.2 million (approximately 3.3 billion won).

These figures overwhelmingly surpass all past records. The media reported that the event "completely surpassed the 2018 'UFC 329' featuring Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, which held the record for the most pay-per-view (PPV) purchases (2.4 million), as well as the 2011 'UFC on FOX 1,' previously considered the highest viewership record (8.8 million viewers)."

Nakisa Bidarian and Jake Paul, co-founders of the event organizer MVP, evaluated that "this incredible viewership metric has paved the way for hosting more MMA events on Netflix in the future."

After the match, the paths of the two legends diverged. Rousey declared that she would retire completely after this event. In contrast, Jina Kara-no, who surrendered too early, swallowed her disappointment and expressed her intention to extend her career.

Jina Kara-no admitted her complete defeat via her social media (SNS), stating, "I wanted a striking match, but I kicked at the wrong timing and collapsed. If I hadn't tapped, my arm would have made a sound and broken." She continued, "This defeat has made me very humble. But this is just the beginning. I want to push myself again to see how far my body's limits go," promising a future match.

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*This content was translated by AI.