WEC 48 ratings on Spike TV reach 1 million for 'Aldo vs Faber'

The brandless WEC 48: "Aldo vs. Faber," which marked the first-ever pay-per-view (PPV) event for the Zuffa-owned promotion, reeled in 1 million viewers on Spike TV, according to figures released earlier today from the network.

That might seem a bit low, considering that the two preliminary fights that aired -- Leonard Garcia vs. Chang Sung Jung and Anthony Pettis vs. Alex Karalexis -- were among the best fights of the night.

In fact, Garcia-Jung, which earned "Fight of the Night," is an early contender for "Fight of the Year," while Pettis scored a nifty submission of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) alum to lead-in to the PPV broadcast.

By comparison, the UFC-branded prelim specials often average about 400,000 more viewers. Nonetheless, April 24 was a great night of fights from start to finish at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California.

WEC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo successfully defended his 145-pound belt in a dominating performance over hometown favorite, Urijah Faber. And lightweight champion Ben Henderson made quick work of Donald Cerrone with a first round submission in their rematch in the co-fatured fight of the night.

For complete WEC 48 results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here and here.