Bellator 179 ratings: ‘MacDonald vs Semtex’ does well on Spike TV despite tape delay

Bellator 179: “Daley vs. MacDonald” went down at SSE Arena in London, England, last week (Fri., May 19, 2017), featuring the much-anticipated promotional debut of “Red King” Rory MacDonald, who signed with Bellator in Aug. 2016, but had to wait almost 10 months for a fight with hometown favorite Paul “Semtex” Daley.

Daley’s prodigious punching power was matched against MacDonald’s mat skills, and ultimately MacDonald emerged the victor via rear-naked choke. One might argue, though, that Spike TV was just as much the winner.

Ratings just released by Bellator show that despite airing on tape delay and facing strong sports competition from the NBA (Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics playoff game) and NHL (Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators playoff game) the MacDonald vs. Daley fight drew 877,000 viewers and peaked at 955,000 viewers.

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