Bellator 55, Bantamweight Semifinals Net 168,000 Viewers on MTV2

The number represents a slight decrease from the previous week’s offering from the Chicago-based promotion, Bellator 54, which netted 185,000 viewers on average.
An immediate replay of Bellator 55 earned an additional 45,000 viewers, according to Sherdog.com’s source. MMAJunkie.com first reported the viewership statistics on Tuesday.

Bellator 55 marked the company’s second appearance at the Cocopah Resort and Casino in Yuma, Ariz. Featuring the semifinals of Bellator’s fifth-season bantamweight tournament, the show saw Alexis Vila and Eduardo Dantas advance to the finals, as they took home split decision wins over Marcos Galvao and Ed West, respectively.

Immediately following a preliminary card stream on Spike.com, the evening’s main draw also featured a non-title light heavyweight affair between reigning 205-pound champion Christian M’Pumbu and Travis Wiuff, as well as a lightweight contest between Ricardo Tirloni and Steve Gable. M’Pumbu became the first Bellator champion to lose in a non-title, non-tournament bout, as Wiuff received the nod on all three scorecards. Meanwhile, Tirloni kicked off his Bellator career with a bang, submitting Gable with a second-round rear-naked choke.