UFC on ESPN 16 drew 1.097 million viewers on Saturday night according to Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily. It also pulled 514,000 viewers in the A18-49 demo.
The event featured Holly Holm versus Irene Aldana in a bantamweight matchup. Holm scored an impressive unanimous decision victory over Aldana.
The telecast took place from Abu Dhabi and aired later than most UFC telecasts as it did not start until 11:00pm on the east coast. The main card started on ESPN2 due to a college football overrun of Auburn-Georgia which drew 4.220 million viewers per Nielsen.
Main Cards on ESPN
UFC on ESPN 8: 1.198M
UFC on ESPN 9: 1.021M
UFC on ESPN 10: 908,000
UFC on ESPN 11: 912,000
UFC on ESPN 12: 1.07M
UFC on ESPN 13: 536,00
UFC on ESPN 14: 908,00
UFC on ESPN 15: 869,000
UFC on ESPN 16: 1.097M
Payout Perspective:
Saturday’s event saw a significant increase over the last three UFC on ESPN cards. The last UFC on ESPN card prior to Saturday was in August which drew 869,000 viewers and featured Frankie Edgar and Pedro Munhoz. The high ratings are impressive considering this card was later in the evening and probably favored west coast viewers as the main event did not start until past 1:00am (10pm west coast). The ratings are a testament to the brand power of the company as well as smart placement with college football dominating most of television Saturday.
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