Bellator MMA and the UFC went into competition with each other this past weekend, with Bellator 183 leading the way.
That’s because the Bellator 183 card, headlined by Patricky Pitbull defeating former UFC Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson, drew an average of 598,000 viewers on Spike TV.
It was the aforementioned main event fight between Pitbull and Henderson that drew the most viewers, with 847,000 people checking out that encounter.
The Bellator 183 card aired on a Saturday Night, going up against major sporting events like NCAA Football, a NASCAR race and the replay of the GGG/Alvarez boxing match.
UFC Fight Night Japan, headlined by Ovince St. Preux destroying a returning Yushin Okami, drew an average of 502,000 viewers for the main card on FXX. The UFC Fight Night events usually air on Fox Sports 1, but the event aired live on FXX this time around.
A four fight preliminary card, which also aired on FXX, drew the rating of 416,000 viewers and it was the Rolando Dy/Teruto Ishihara fight that drew the highest rating as 622,000 viewers. The pre-fight show that aired on FXX drew a total of 139,000 viewers and the post-fight show that also aired on FXX averaged 158,000 viewers.
October 6 is going to mark the Bellator MMA return to TV with Bellator 184, with bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas and Darrion Caldwell headlining the Spike TV card. The UFC 216 preliminary card is what will air next on the FX network, with Tom Duquesnoy and Cody Stamann acting as the featured fight on October 7.
