This past weekend’s MMA action was dominated by Bellator MMA, which hosted the Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix semi-finals on two different events.
Everything kicked off Friday Night with Bellator 207, which saw light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader defeat Matt Mitrione via unanimous decision to advance to the grand prix finals. That show, which aired live on the Paramount Network, brought in a total of 416,000 viewers according to MMA Fighting. Other fights on the main card saw Sergei Kharitoniv defeat Roy Nelson, Lorenz Larkin defeat Ion Pascu, Corey Browning defeat Baby Slice and Mandel Nallo defeat Carrington Banks.
The next night was Bellator 208, which was headlined by Fedor Emelianenko defeating Chael Sonnen by first round TKO to advance to the grand prix finals. That show also aired live on the Paramount Network and that brought in a total of 521,000 viewers. The show was also simulcast on CMT, unlike Bellator 207, which brought in an additional 169,000 viewers.
Other fights on that main card saw Ben Henderson defeat Saad Awad, Cheick Kongo defeat Timothy Johnson, Anatoly Tokov defeat Alexander Shlemenko and Henry Corrales defeat Andy Main.
A short time after the first ratings report came out, a press release from Bellator MMA states that Bellator 208 actually drew over a million viewers.
Here is that press release:
Bellator 208: Fedor vs. Sonnen Peaks With Over 1 Million Viewers
The main event of Bellator 208 featuring the Heavyweight World Grand Prix semifinal between Fedor Emelianenko vs. Chael Sonnen drew 802,000 viewers peaking with 1,090,000 viewers on Saturday, October 13 on Paramount Network. Going up against heavy sports competition, the entire card delivered 604,000 viewers.
3.9 million people watched at least one minute of Bellator MMA on Paramount Network over the weekend.
(The numbers do not include viewership on DAZN)
(All numbers DVR +3)
The main event of Bellator 207 featuring the Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix semifinal between Ryan Bader and Matt Mitrione delivered 620,000 viewers peaking with 798,000.
Bellator 207 also delivered the highest ratings among Adults 18-49 for a Friday event since May 2017 (Bellator 179)
(The numbers do not include viewership on DAZN)
The entire telecast drew 493,000 viewers
(All numbers DVR+3)
Up next for Bellator MMA is Bellator 209 on November 15, but it will air via tape delay the next day on the Paramount Network.
