Bellator 214 Averages 697,000 Viewers, Peaks at 1.2 Million for Bader-Emelianenko Title Bout

Bellator 214 attracted an average audience of 697,000 to Paramount Network for this past Saturday’s card, according to an industry source.

That figure is the highest for the California-based promotion since Bellator 192, which drew 770,000 viewers for a card headlined by a clash between Chael Sonnen and Quinton Jackson.

Bellator 214 took place at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and saw Ryan Bader claim the vacant heavyweight title with a 35-second stoppage of Fedor Emelianenko in the evening’s headliner. Ratings peaked at 1.2 million viewers for the abbreviated heavyweight grand prix final at 11:34 p.m. ET.

The co-main event, where Henry Corrales knocked out highly-touted prospect Aaron Pico in 67 seconds, averaged 808,000 viewers, while the debut of former professional wrestling star Jake Hager — better known as “Jack Swagger” — averaged 809,000.

Final ratings should increase with the addition of DVR +3 figures later in the week.