WEC 45 scores 330,000 viewers, falls short of competition

Last weekend World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and Strikeforce went toe-to-toe with two separate events on different networks scheduled for the same time slot, making mixed martial arts fans choose which one to watch live and/or record for later.

WEC 45: "Cerrone vs. Ratcliff" from "The Pearl" at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Versus attracted about 330,000 viewers. Meanwhile, Strikeforce: "Evolution" hauled in approximately 11,000 more with 341,000 fans.

It's safe to say that the relatively low turnout certainly does not reflect the outstanding action that both cards delivered -- from bottom to top they were thrilling to watch.

Perhaps the name recognition (or lack thereof) had something to do with it -- Cung Le and Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez are bigger draws than Donald Cerrone and Anthony Njokuani. Then again, the amount of Versus viewers gradually declined since Brian Bowles defeated Miguel Torres at WEC 42 several months ago.

Keep in mind that DirecTV recently dropped the network from its line up, which could be having a larger impact than anyone at Zuffa or Versus had ever planned. 

And that's too bad because "Cerrone vs. Ratcliff," as well as just about every other event that the promotion puts together, was top notch.