UFC
UFC NEWS: UFC 118 Prelims Live special draws 1.1 million viewers for lowest rated Prelims special
Aug 31, 2010 - 2:31:25 PM UFC NEWS: UFC 118 Prelims Live special draws 1.1 million viewers for lowest rated Prelims special

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Saturday's broadcast of the UFC 118 Prelims Live special on Spike TV was the lowest rated version of the specials to date. The one hour lead in to the UFC 118 pay-per-view brought in 1.1 million viewers on average, 100,000 less viewers than the previous worst at UFC 111 in March.

Viewership started off strong in the first quarter hour, with 1,204,000 viewers tuning in to the start of the first bout between Nik Lentz and Andre Winner, but the fight turned fans off quickly and the ratings took a precipitous dip in the next two quarter hours. It had dropped to 1,128,000 in the second quarter hour before going to 1,062,000 in the third.

Unfortunately, the two fights that aired to less viewers in the second half of the show were much better than the Lentz-Winner tilt, with Joe Lauzon and Dan Miller each scoring impressive submission victories before the pay-per-view broadcast.

Penick's Analysis: It's not surprising to see the number drop like that, because the Lentz-Winner fight was one of the least entertaining televised fights in a long, long time. Still, they draw well enough on Spike TV, and we've seen that the lower ratings don't necessarily translate into poor pay-per-view buys. And, it has to be remembered that neither of the live fights were originally planned for this special, as injuries changed both spots late. Putting the Lentz-Winner fight on the televised portion of the event was a poor move in retrospect, but they couldn't have known it would be as bad as it ended up being. And both fighters are better than that fight would suggest.