MMA fans were treated to the UFC 235 card this past weekend, which featured UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones defeating Anthony Smith.
A four fight preliminary card, which featured Zabit Magomedsharipov defeating Jeremy Stephens in the featured spot, brought in an average of 1,148,000 viewers according to MMA Fighting.
Other fights on that portion of the preliminary card saw Johnny Walker defeat Misha Cirkunov, Cody Stamann defeat Alejandro Perez and Diego Sanchez defeat Mickey Gall. The show was helped by a strong lead in, which was an NCAA Basketball game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Clemson Tigers.
The show won key demographics for Saturday Night, including the Males 12-34, 18-34, 18-49 & 25-54, as well as overall in 12-34, 18-34, plus it tied for first place in 18-49 and second place in 25-54.
It was the opening fight on the ESPN portion of the preliminary card that brought in the most viewers, with 1.65 million people checking out the welterweight division encounter.
Up next for the UFC is UFC Fight Night Wichita, featuring Derrick Lewis and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos in the main event. The entire event, both main card and preliminary card, will stream live on ESPN+.
