The landscape of mixed martial arts reached a potential turning point this weekend, as one of the sport’s most recognizable heavyweights delivered a devastating reminder of his dominance on the first MMA card ever broadcast live on Netflix.
Headlining the undercard for the highly anticipated Ronda Rousey-Gina Carano main event at Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome, Francis Ngannou, the 39-year-old Cameroonian powerhouse, lived up to his billing with a clinical first-round knockout of Brazil’s Philipe Lins. Staged by Most Valuable Promotions, the event marked a landmark moment for MMA, opening the door for a potential challenge to the UFC’s long-standing dominance of the sport if regular streamed events continue under the new model.
Ngannou, who left the UFC as the promotion’s reigning heavyweight champion in 2023, came into the bout with a eight-fight winning streak, seven of which ended in knockout. He made short work of Lins, who was returning to the heavyweight division after three years competing at light-heavyweight and entered the contest 30 pounds lighter than Ngannou. From the opening bell, Ngannou imposed his will, landing a thudding early leg kick before wearing down his opponent with his signature heavy strikes. As the first round wound down, Lins made a desperate, wild swing, and Ngannou capitalized with a flush, fight-ending left hook that dropped his opponent instantly. Confident the contest was over, Ngannou chose not to follow Lins to the canvas to add further damage, standing over his fallen opponent as the referee stopped the fight.
The win improves Ngannou’s professional MMA record to 19 wins against just 3 losses, and he used his post-fight interview to push for the biggest bout in the sport: a matchup against former UFC legend Jon Jones, who worked as part of Netflix’s broadcast team for the event. Calling Jones one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, Ngannou said the fight must happen before both athletes retire, adding a jab that Jones still has room to learn from Ngannou’s business acumen.
Jones, who retired from active competition in 2025, has expressed enthusiasm for the bout, but significant obstacles stand in the way of the matchup becoming reality. Jones remains bound by his contract with the UFC, and the long-standing frosty relationship between UFC leadership and Ngannou means a sanctioned bout under the promotion’s banner is off the table. Jones noted that the only path forward would be to finalize his exit from his UFC contract and stage the event through Most Valuable Promotions, adding: “If this fight is going to happen, I don’t think Dana [White] is going to do any business with Francis [Ngannou], so doing it with MVP is the only way.”
Despite the UFC crowning two new heavyweight champions since Ngannou’s departure, a large segment of MMA fans and analysts still recognize Ngannou as the best heavyweight in the world, making his signing with MVP a major breakthrough for the upstart promotion. After the bout, Ngannou doubled down on his claim to the throne, saying: “If someone doesn’t remember who I am, they must have amnesia or something because I made a statement here tonight again.”
The card’s co-feature, billed by fans as the “people’s main event”, delivered a similarly action-packed result, as American welterweight Mike Perry defeated fan favorite Nate Diaz when the bout was stopped at the end of the second round. Perry dominated the contest from start to finish, landing a barrage of punches, knees and elbows that opened a deep cut above Diaz’s eye, leaving the veteran unable to see as blood poured down his face. The ringside doctor determined Diaz could not continue, bringing the fight to a premature end.
Diaz, 41, a cult hero among MMA fans for his 15-year UFC career and rebellious persona, ended his tenure with the promotion in 2022 after submitting Tony Ferguson, and spent the intervening years testing the waters in professional boxing. He returned to MMA for the bout seeking high-profile matchups, but was hindered by an early injury. “I think I broke my finger in the first two seconds, and I spent too much time worrying about that rather than focusing on the animal that I am,” Diaz said after the fight, acknowledging the referee’s stoppage was the correct call. “I had blood in my eye. I couldn’t see anything, I wasn’t going to do anything but next time he’s not going to be able to do anything.”