Strikeforce ratings on Showtime for 'Fedor vs Henderson' reach average audience of 571,000 viewers

Strikeforce: "Fedor vs. Henderson" went down on July 30 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and featured one of the biggest fights in the history of the promotion with the great Fedor Emelianenko taking on Light Heavyweight Champion Dan Henderson.

And with the paychecks the organization was doling out for both fighters ($1.5 million for Fedor, $800,000 for Henderson), the show was expected to be a ratings success on Showtime.

While it didn't quite live up to what executives had hoped for, it was still a relative success, bringing in an average of 571,000 viewers on the premium subscription cable channel, according to MMAWeekly.com.

What it didn't do is sniff the record-setting ratings that the first leg of the promotion's heavyweight grand prix tournament Strikeforce: "Fedor vs. Silva" pulled back on Feb. 12, 2011 (741,000).

And that's too bad. Because those who failed to tune-in over the weekend missed out on a fantastic evening of mixed martial arts action.

Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Dan Henderson and Russian legend Fedor Emelianenko fought to what can only be described as one of the most insane opening rounds in MMA history, enough for company CEO Scott Coker to call it the greatest fight in the short history of the promotion.

"Hendo" landed one of his trademark "H-Bombs," planting "The Last Emperor" and forcing an opening round stoppage that saw the first knockout in Fedor's storied career.

Insanity.

In other action, Miesha Tate solidified herself as the new face of women's MMA by executing a flawless game plan to submit Marloes Coenen in the fourth round of their co-main event bout.

Tyron Woodley, Tim Kennedy and Tarec Saffiedine all also notched victories over Paul Daley, Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith, respectively.

For complete results and coverage of Strikeforce: "Fedor vs. Henderson" click here and here.