Source: Strikeforce ‘Marquardt vs. Saffiedine’ Draws 310,000 Viewers for Final Card on Showtime

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Saturday night’s Strikeforce swan song averaged just 310,000 viewers, making it the promotion’s least-watched event since September 2011.

An industry source Tuesday informed Sherdog.com of the viewership figure.

Headlined by a titular welterweight title showdown between Nate Marquardt and Tarec Saffiedine, the Jan. 12 event took place at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. In addition to Saffiedine’s unanimous decision win in the evening’s headliner, the show also saw heavyweight standouts Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier cruise to victories against overmatched opponents Nandor Guelmino and Dion Staring.

Former champions Gegard Mousasi and Ronaldo Souza also picked up routine wins on the evening’s main card, while Ryan Couture, Tim Kennedy, Pat Healy and Roger Gracie all triumphed during the Showtime Extreme-broadcast preliminary card.

Strikeforce was last seen on Showtime back in August, when Ronda Rousey successfully defended her women’s bantamweight title against Sarah Kaufman, attracting 529,000 viewers in the process. The promotion was scheduled to return on Sept. 29 with a lightweight title pairing between Gilbert Melendez and Healy, but injuries forced the organization to cancel the card. Unfortunately, the same fate would await a planned Nov. 3 show, which was expected to be headlined by a heavyweight contest pitting Cormier against former UFC king Frank Mir. Strikeforce will now close its doors, and a portion of the Zuffa-owned promotion’s remaining talent is expected to transition to the UFC.