UFC Fight Night 58 ratings: 'Machida vs. Dollaway' FOX Sports 1 event peaks with 1.2 million viewers

UFC Fight Night 58 took place last weekend (Sat., Dec 20, 2014) from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and featured a middleweight clash between former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida and C.B. Dollaway.

And the event, which aired on FOX Sports 1, was a ratings hit for the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion, as it drew an estimated 1.2 million viewers according to a press release courtesy of FOX Sports.

Last Saturday night's UFC® FIGHT NIGHT: MACHIDA VS. DOLLAWAY from Barueri, Brazil averaged 966,000 viewers for FOX Sports 1, a 28% increase over last December's comparable Fight Night (755,000). Saturday night's event ranked as fourth most-watched ever on FOX Sports 1, peaking at 1,237,000 million viewers. Preliminary bouts airing from 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM ET on the cable network averaged 626,000 viewers.

Machida blitzed through Dollaway thanks to a thunderous body kick that put "The Doberman" down for the count (recap). The event also saw former bantamweight kingpin, Renan Barao, get back into the win column after he submitted Mitch Gagnon in the third and final round.

Full video highlights here.

Those numbers are a significant jump from UFC Fight Night 57, which featured a featherweight scrap between former lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar, taking on the heavy-hitting Cub Swanson.

Despite all of the recent bad press UFC has been getting lately, business is still good for the ZUFFA-owned company on FOX Sports 1.