Spike: UFC 131 ‘Prelims Live’ Averaged 1.6 Million Viewers

The hour-long special, which immediately preceded the pay-per-view event, also earned a 1.0 household rating, and scores of 1.34 and 1.3 in the Male 18-34 and M18-49 demographics, respectively. According to Spike, the “Prelims Live” broadcast ranked No. 1 in both of the aforementioned male demographics for its time slot.

The broadcast featured two preliminary contests from Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, as Chris Weidman choked out Jesse Bongfeldt before Sam Stout blasted Yves Edwards into unconsciousness. The ratings for the broadcast steadily climbed for the special’s duration, peaking during the show’s final 15 minutes with 1.76 million viewers.

UFC 131 was headlined by a one-sided heavyweight tilt that saw Junior dos Santos batter Shane Carwin en route to a unanimous decision, while the co-main event featured the successful featherweight debut of Kenny Florian, who outpointed Diego Nunes. Both Dos Santos and Florian are now expected to receive title shots at respective divisional champions Cain Velasquez and Jose Aldo.