Without having to compete with March Madness and the Final Four, fans were free to tune in to watch Bellator 40 or Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley this past Saturday night on April 9.
Both events did very well in ratings according to MMAjunkie.com, who posted the ratings for both events on their site.
Bellator drew it’s second highest rated show on MTV2 Saturday night, while the audience numbers for the Strikeforce event reached high enough to rank fourth among the promotions top five viewed events on Showtime.
Bellator Fighting Championship brought in 218,000 viewers, with 190,000 tuning in for the immediate replay. The replay earned more viewers than the previous three live events. Bellator 40 was held at the First Council Casino in Newkirk, Oklahoma. The show featured a non-title bout between welterweight champ Ben Askren and Nick Thompson, as well as the welterweight and lightweight semifinals between Jay Hieron vs. Brent Weedman, and Michael Chandler vs. Lloyd Woodard, respectively.
Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley averaged 528,000 viewers for the event, peaking at 806,000 viewers who tuned in to watch Nick Diaz defend his welterweight title against Paul Daley. The event took palce at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California and also featured a title defense by lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez versus Japanese fighter Tatsuya Kawajiri.