UFC Freedom 250 hits 17M on Paramount+, Rubio’s billion-viewer blitz flops
White House spectacle sets streaming record but exposes the gap between niche MMA and mass-market sports hype.
UFC Freedom 250 shattered streaming records by drawing 17 million viewers on Paramount+, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s prediction of a billion eyes proved wildly off the mark. The event, staged on the South Lawn of the White House, delivered a knockout-heavy seven-fight card capped by Justin Gaethje’s third-round TKO over Ilia Topuria. The tally obliterated Paramount+’s prior high of five million for UFC 324, cementing the streaming platform’s role in UFC’s digital push.
