UFC Fight Night 66, headlined by a battle between two of the most enduring lighter weight stars in MMA history, Urijah Faber and Frankie Edgar, averaged 575,000 viewers for a show that aired from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the East Coast, and 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Saturday on the West Coast.
The number blew away anything the company has done for a show in that time slot. However, FOX Sports 1 has never had a fight of this caliber on a show that early in the morning. The closest comparison would be a November 10, 2002, show on Fuel (now FS 2) from China, headlined by Cung Le vs. Rich Franklin, which did 88,000 viewers. On April 4, the FS 1 main show headlined by Chad Mendes vs. Ricardo Lamas, which started three hours later in the day, did 389,000 viewers on average.
The latter rounds Faber vs. Edgar fight peaked the rating at 718,000 viewers.
The prelims, which aired from 8-10 a.m. Eastern and 5-7 a.m. on the West Coast, did 246,000 viewers.
With the combination of the UFC, Major League Baseball and NASCAR live events, it was the eighth-most watched day in the history of FS 1.
FS 2 aired a prime time replay on Saturday night which did 155,000 viewers.
Bellator, on Friday night, for a show that featured Brandon Halsey vs. Kendall Grove, where its middleweight title was supposed to be at stake, did 594,000 viewers, and did 636,000 viewers if you include DVR viewership as of Monday night. Bellator averages just under 700,000 viewers for its live broadcasts, not including DVR numbers. Halsey, the defending champion, missed weight, but then won the fight, resulting in the title being vacated. The show peaked at 768,000 viewers.
Ratings for the Blackzillians vs. American Top Team version of Ultimate Fighter were down to 286,000 for the show that aired on May 13, with another 129,000 viewers watching as of Saturday night via DVR.