World Series of Fighting Pulls 198,000 Viewers with Debut on NBC Sports Network

The World Series of Fighting averaged 198,000 viewers for its Saturday night debut on NBC Sports Network, Sherdog.com learned Tuesday from an industry source.

WSOF 1 took place Nov. 3 at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas and was headlined by a heavyweight showdown between former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski and ex-IFL fighter Devin Cole. “The Pitbull” earned a technical knockout over his foe to bring the evening’s broadcast to a close, clipping Cole with a right hand to the temple before finishing him off with hammer-fists in 2:37.

The televised card also saw former UFC welterweight Anthony Johnson earn a highlight-reel victory in his first WSOF appearance. Now competing at light heavyweight, “Rumble” overcame an accidental eye poke in the first round to knock out former Bellator talent D.J. Linderman, starching “Da Protege” with a counter right straight that turned out Linderman’s lights at 3:58 of the opening frame.

Just prior, Marlon Moraes outpointed onetime World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight titlist Miguel Torres, taking a split decision from the 31-year-old and handing Torres his second straight loss.

Former kickboxing star Tyrone Spong opened the main card by blasting overmatched opponent Travis Bartlett, consistently beating the American to the punch before knocking him out with a hard right hand just over three minutes into the light heavyweight contest.

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Source-World-Series-of-Fighting-Pulls-198000-Viewers-with-Debut-on-NBC-Sports-Network-47119

good debut numbers!!!

Update: According to a WSOF official, the second half-hour of the live broadcast hit 224,000 viewers, while the third half-hour dropped slightly to 222,000 viewers, only to peak at 228,000 viewers in the final half-hour. The same source said there was some kind of glitch during the first 30 minutes of the show, so those number may not be made available. - Ariel Helwani

According to MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani, the Sunday replay of WSOF did 80,000 viewers...1am last night...

http://www.mmafighting.com/2012/11/6/3610502/ufc-and-bellator-both-do-season-high-ratings-on-friday-night

I like WSOF more than the mafia promotion UFC already. Hopefully WSOF signs all the top fighters from the Zuffa roster. After all they are both just promotions and I always support the good guys.

Nice numbers for Bellator. WSOF did alright, about expected on NBC Sports from what I read.