Bellator Fighting Championships followed up their record breaking Bellator 44 event, which averaged 325,000 viewers for the May 14 event, by scoring the second highest ratings for the promotions fourth season. MTV2, the broadcast carrier for this season, released the ratings on Tuesday.
Bellator 45 took place Saturday night, May 21, at the L’Auberge du Lac Casino and Resort in Lake Charles, La., and averaged an audience of 264,000 viewers, while peaking at 360,000 viewers by 9:30PM EST.
The event featured the first ever Bellator light heavyweight title bout, which saw Season Four finalist Christian M’Pumbu earn a third round TKO win over Richard Hale to become the first 205 lb Bellator champ. Season Four Featherweight finalists Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire squared off in the co-main event, with the ‘Pitbull’ scoring a decision victory to win the season and earn a title shot at champ Joe Warren.
Bellator will return this summer with their “Summer Series” of events, and will kick off it’s Fifth Season this September with weekly events.
Ratings for all of Bellator’s Season Four events, according to MMAjunkie.com, are as follows:
– Bellator 35 ratings: 200,000 viewers
– Bellator 36 ratings: 230,000
– Bellator 37 ratings: 173,000
– Bellator 38 ratings: 150,000
– Bellator 39 ratings: 174,000
– Bellator 40 ratings: 218,000
– Bellator 41 ratings: 132,000
– Bellator 42 ratings: 199,000
– Bellator 43 ratings: 182,000
– Bellator 44 ratings: 325,000
– Bellator 45 ratings: 264,000