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Strikeforce: Challengers 10 performed better than expected on Showtime last Friday night. The event outperformed last month's Challengers 9 card by 17%, and peaked with 280,000 viewers.
The peak numbers came during the night's only pre-taped bout, the women's tournament reserve between Colleen Schneider vs. Liz Carmouche, but that aired before the night's women's tournament final between Meisha Tate and Hitomi Akano and the main event between Joe Riggs and Louis Taylor.
The overall average for the event was 237,000 viewers, falling just below the ratings for Strikeforce Challengers 8 in May, which drew 249,000 viewers on average. The Challengers 7 card in March was by far the best drawing Challengers event, bringing 316,000 viewers to Showtime, though that was during a free preview weekend for the premium cable network.
Penick's Analysis: It's no surprise to see viewership up a bit from last month's card. The Challengers 9 card came in the middle of a completely dead month, so visibility was low with no major events around it. This card benefited from two UFC events to kick the month off, and more MMA in general this month. The card itself was just alright, as the women's tournament format was terrible and unfortunate for the four fighters involved, but there was some good action strewn throughout the night. They didn't do much to sell this weekend's Strikeforce: Houston card, however, so I'll be intrigued to see what that card pulls in terms of viewership on Saturday night.
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