We know that the UFC 249 pay-per-view buyrate was reportedly a smash hit, and now the numbers are in for the televised preliminary card.
Nielsen ratings place Saturday’s four-hour ESPN broadcast 2nd among all cable programming, narrowly behind Live PD on A&E. The average viewership was 1.15 million viewers, peaking at roughly 1.6 million for the Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis matchup in the 9:45-10 PM ET quarter-hour.
On the surface it’s actually the least-watched PPV prelim special of the year for the UFC. However, this card’s entire preliminary slate was broadcast compared to just the two-hour window from 8-10 PM ET.