UFC Austin ratings: Sorry haters, Sage Northcutt is a legit draw

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight slugger, Matt Mitrione, lambasted the world’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion for giving lightweight newcomer Sage Northcutt a $40k/$40k split, which is far more than what “Meathead” was earning.

Read those comments here.

With that in mind, it should be considered a victory for Northcutt that 1,078,000 viewers tuned in to watch his unanimous decision win over Thibault Gouti last Saturday evening on FOX Sports 1, compared to 775,000 eyeballs who watched Mitrione outpoint Roy Nelson on Paramount Network (formerly Spike TV) the night before.

That’s according to a report from MMA Fighting.

While there are too many variables to draw a direct comparison, it’s certainly worth noting. Overall, UFC Fight Night 126, headlined by the welterweight pairing of Donald Cerrone vs. Yancy Medeiros, averaged 893,000 viewers (get full results here).

Impressive, considering UFC was up against the Olympics, as well as the NBA All-Star Game. As for Mitrione and Bellator 194, that telecast returned 555,000 looks, spread across live and DVR viewers (those results here).

For more UFC and Bellator ratings numbers click here.