The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation is in the process of reopening combat sports events to fans. According to a memo published by the agency, promoters will be able to have fans with a cap of 50% of the listed capacity of the venue. The promoters will have to follow TDLR compliance for COVID-19 […]
UFC
UFC on ESPN 16 draws 1.097M viewers
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 […]
UFC on ESPN 16 bonuses
UFC on ESPN 16 took place Saturday night from Fight Island. Germaine de Randamie’s impressive submission over Julianna Pena led the bonuses for the night. The striker earned a Performance of the Night bonus with her guillotine submission over Pena which put her to sleep. It was her second career post-fight bonus and her first […]
Report: UFC 253 draws 700K worldwide buys
The Athletic reports that UFC 253 this past Saturday drew 700,000 worldwide buys on ESPN+. The main event featured Israel Adesanya as he took on Paulo Costa. The 700K buys ties it with UFC 249 this past May as Justin Gaethje fought Tony Ferguson in the main event. UFC 251 is this year’s reported high […]
Report: ESPN did not pressure the UFC to return to action
The Sports Business Journal reports that ESPN did not pressure the UFC in a return back to the Octagon during the pandemic. In an interview with the UFC’s COO Lawrence Epstein, he indicated that despite the lack of programming, the network did not attempt to apply pressure on them. The article does not inquire as […]