A look into the past ratings of UFC 157 main event fighters

As we get ready for Saturday’s fights, we take a look at how well the top of the card did in its recent fights with respect to ratings.

Ronda Rousey

Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman – 529K viewers
Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey – 431K viewers

No PPVs to go on here but Rousey’s fights have been some of the highest rated on Showtime.  However, the media blitz has been unprecedented which may equate to more casual/first time MMA fans to buy the PPV.  A win here against Carmouche and we could see a rematch against Miesha Tate.

Liz Carmouche

Showtime: Henderson vs. Fedor – 571K viewers (4th highest SF show of all time on Showtime) vs. Marloes Coenen

Carmouche’s only fight of note was her March 2011 loss to the Strikeforce champ.  While she has been marketed well for UFC 157, no one believes she is the draw here.

Urijah Faber

UFC 149 – 235K main event vs. Renan Barao
UFC 139 – 250K co-main event vs. Brian Bowles
UFC 132 – 350K main event vs. Dominick Cruz
UFC 128 – 490K co-main event vs. Eddie Wineland (Jones vs. Shogun main)

Remember the California Kid?  He’s on this card although its lacked the hype of his previous fights.  Faber’s biggest draw was on the Jon Jones card at UFC 128.  He did have a solid number at UFC 132 considering the lighter weight divisions usually do not do well on PPV when headlining.  Can Faber make another run at a title shot?

Ivan Menjivar

UFC 154 – 700K GSP main event
UFC 148 – 925K Silva v. Sonnen II

Menjivar has appeared on the under card of two of the biggest PPV buys in the past year.  We’ll see if he can score an upset and be on the card of another big PPV.

Dan Henderson

UFC 139 – 250K main event vs. Shogun Rua
Showtime: Henderson vs. Fedor – 571K viewers (4th highest SF show of all time on Showtime)
Showtime: Feijao vs. Henderson – 412K viewers

It feels like Henderson has been in the UFC for years but he’s only been on one card since coming back from Strikeforce–the memorable fight with Shogun in San Jose.  Similar to Rousey, his fights have been well-received on Showtime.  With a win, could Henderson make a plea for another shot at the title?

Lyoto Machida

UFC 140 – 490K main event vs. Jon Jones
UFC 129 – 800K co-main event vs. Randy Couture
UFC 123 – 500K main event vs. Rampage Jackson
UFC 113 – 520K main event vs. Shogun Rua II
UFC 104 – 500K main event vs. Shogun Rua
UFC 98 – 635K main event vs. Rashad Evans

We take a look at Machida’s past PPV appearances since the “Machida-era” started with his win against Evans.  We also excluded his last appearance on Fox this past August.  Based on the numbers, its safe to say that Machida is a good PPV draw for the UFC.  He’s averaged 578K PPV buys since UFC 98.  Machida will look to make another run at Jones’ title with a win here.

Payout Perspective:

With the previous history of the top of the card fighters, its a toss up as to how successful this card will be in terms of PPV buys.  This event is drawing a lot of eyes to it for the simple fact that people want to know how the women will do.  I was a little surprised that the UFC Countdown show didn’t highlight Machida-Henderson or Faber-Menjivar.  It was previewed on the UFC’s YouTube Channel but I don’t think it was shown on tv.  Correct me if I’m wrong. Its also interesting that Josh Koscheck-Robbie Lawler is on this card and no one knows because of the Rousey-Carmouche fight.  Certainly this fight could have been sold to fight fans.  The Honda Center is a reported sell out so we will see if this equates into PPV buys.