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Spike Releases UFN Numbers; Near Deal to Televise UFC 89 in October

Jul 22, 2008 4:38 PM John Chandler


Anderson Silva. Photo property of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

In a press release sent out to the media today, Spike TV announced that this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night 14 event, which featured the light heavyweight debut of current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, averaged a 2.1 household rating - a great success for an event put together on such short notice.

From the release:

The telecast peaked at 11:30pm for the Silva vs. James Irvin bout drawing 3.8 million viewers and a staggering 4.9 rating for Men 25-34 and a 4.1 rating in Men 18-34. The UFC fight card also drew more viewers than FOX’s coverage of MLB (3,072,000) earlier in the day. Overall, the three-hour live UFC event averaged a 2.1 household rating, a 2.8 with Men 18-49, a 3.2 with Men 18-34, a 2.0 with P18-49 and 3.1 million total viewers.

The event now ranks as the third highest live UFC event ever broadcasted on the network. Only the third fight between Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz and UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion, which featured a light heavyweight unification bout between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Dan Henderson have scored higher ratings.

Other potential Spike-related news involves the network being reportedly close to finalizing a deal that would air UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben on October 18th, just one week before the UFC’s planned Chicago show on October 25th.

While a rumored middleweight title bout between Silva and Patrick Cote has previously been expected to be take place at UFC 88: Breakthrough in September, MMA Junkie indicates that the bout may now move into UFC 89’s main event slot, likely due to the success both sides experienced with Silva headlining this past weekend.

General • Media • Spike TV • Anderson Silva • Patrick Cote • UFC • Middleweight

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Comments:

1. Jason M
from Chicago, IL
Jul 23, 2008 5:12 PM

I was hoping that Silva would go against Forest next but i guess he is staying true to his responsibilities at 185.

2. John Chandler
from Philadelphia, PA
Jul 23, 2008 5:38 PM

I know Anderson kept on saying that he wanted to stay at 185 but I think that he needed the win over Irvin to mentally show himself that he can compete at a high level at 205. At the post-fight press conference he mentioned that he wanted to set up big fights, regardless of what weight class it was in.

I think Anderson truly means it when he says that he’s willing to do whatever the UFC tells him to, which is why I think he’s agreed to defend his belt at 185 so quickly. Also, with the exception of next month’s GSP-Fitch fight, the UFC really won’t be able to showcase another title fight until December most likely. At least I think that’s part of their thinking in setting up Silva-Cote.

You also have to remember that the light heavyweight division is completely stacked. There are so many potential contenders that throwing Silva right in there for a title shot would be pretty unfair to the rest. On top of that, there’s so many potential big-money fights that the UFC can set up involving Silva. Who wouldn’t want to see him fight guys like Wanderlei, Jardine, Vera, or Liddell?

3. AdaMBomB
Jul 23, 2008 6:33 PM

silva v cote did you say??? That would be a decent fight i think?

4. John Chandler
from Philadelphia, PA
Jul 23, 2008 8:12 PM

Cote would last longer than Irvin, that’s for sure. Since Yushin Okami reportedly suffered another broken hand, it’s looking like Silva-Cote for the MW title at one of the UFC’s events this fall.

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