UFC 260 Earns Lowest Ratings of 2021 for Pay-Per-View Prelims

With the Von Flue!! @AlonzoMenifield locks in the early sub to close the #UFC260 prelims! pic.twitter.com/FpFP8NzHVQ

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) March 28, 2021

Though the event was headlined by a heavyweight championship bout, the UFC 260 prelims didn’t do a huge number in the ratings department.

According to ShowBuzz Daily, the preliminary portion of the card attracted an average audience of 718,000 to ESPN. That’s the lowest of the four UFC pay-per-view prelims thus far in 2021, as the other three — UFC 257 (1.433 million), UFC 258 (794,000) and UFC 259 (1.208 million) — all outdrew Saturday’s offering.

UFC 260 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card aired on pay-per-view via ESPN+ and saw Francis Ngannou claim heavyweight gold with a second-round knockout of Stipe Miocic in the evening’s main event. The preliminary draw wasn’t big on star power, but in the featured bout of that portion of the card, Alonzo Menifield submitted Fabio Cherant with the rarely-seen shoulder choke in the opening round.

The UFC 260 prelims went head-to-head with the NCAA tournament, which owned the top four rated programs on cable television Saturday night. The undercard fights were simulcast on ESPN+, but ratings figures are not released for the streaming platform.