Spike TV’s “UFC 131 Prelims Live” special earned an average of 1.6 million viewers with its live broadcast Saturday night, according to numbers released Tuesday by the cable channel.
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.