The ratings are in for the Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine mixed martial arts (MMA) event that took place last Saturday night (Jan. 12, 2013) at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
And they stink.
The Showtime-televised fight card, cobbled together with whatever scraps were left after ZUFFA pillaged the organization's roster (and whoever didn't get injured), averaged just 310,000 viewers, making it "the promotion's least-watched event since September 2011," according to a report from Sherdog.com.
Considering it was the network's free-preview weekend, that's quite a feat.
By comparison, Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman drew 529,000 viewers last August when female fight phenom Ronda Rousey defended her 135-pound title against former division queenpin Sarah Kaufman.
Last weekend's effort had Nate Marquardt coughing up his belt to Tarec Saffiedine, while Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier stepped on regional talent in glorified squash matches. In addition, Gegard Mousasi retired Mike Kyle while Ed Herman was imported from UFC as a sacrificial lamb for Ronaldo Souza.
If you missed any (or all) of the promotion's final event, click here for all the results, reactions and fallout from Strikeforce: "Marquardt vs. Saffiedine."