UFC White House Event Draws 17 Million Viewers Across the Americas

"Paramount+" has released viewership figures for UFC Freedom 250, confirming the event as one of the most-watched in mixed martial arts (MMA) history.

On Thursday, the UFC's broadcast partner announced that a total of 17 million viewers across the United States and Latin America tuned in for the unique event, held on the South Lawn of the White House. This makes it the largest exclusive live event in "Paramount+" history, boasting an average viewership of 8.2 million. The data was compiled by Nielsen in the US and Adobe Analytics in Latin America.

The press release indicated that UFC would disclose viewership data from outside the US and Latin America next week. The 17 million total refers to unique viewers who watched the broadcast for at least one minute. These figures do not include recorded viewings or those within 24 hours of the event (known as +1 viewership).

The UFC Freedom 250 fight night featured a total of seven bouts, all of which, for the first time in UFC history, ended in a finish. In the main event, Justin Gaethje delivered a massive upset in the lightweight title unification bout, forcing Ilia Topuria to retire on his stool after the fourth round. In the co-main event, Ciryl Gane claimed the interim heavyweight title, defeating Alex Pereira via TKO in the second round.