Ratings Report: UFC 153 Prelims Average 1 Million Viewers on FX; Bellator 76 Nets 175,000 on MTV2

Sherdog.com confirmed the ratings Tuesday morning with an industry source. UFC 153 took place at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro and showcased a headlining light heavyweight attraction pitting reigning middleweight king Anderson Silva against “Ultimate Fighter” Season 1 finalist Stephan Bonnar. “The Spider” floored Bonnar with one perfectly-placed knee to the solar plexus and then forced the stoppage with ground-and-pound at 4:40 of round one.

Meanwhile, Bellator’s Friday night effort saw Eddie Alvarez stop Patricky Freire in emphatic fashion, as the former lightweight champion caught “Pitbull” with a head kick late in the first round of their 155-pound headliner at Caesars Windsor Hotel and Casino in Windsor, Ontario. The event also featured the Season 7 featherweight tournament quarterfinals, in which Rad Martinez, Wagnney Fabiano, Mike Richman and Shahbulat Shamhalaev picked up victories to advance to the Nov. 9 semifinals at Bellator 80.

Bellator’s viewership figure represents a slight upturn for the Viacom-owned promotion when compared to last week’s Bellator 75, which attracted 145,000 viewers. However, the UFC figure marks a small drop off when compared to the organization’s most recent broadcast on the Fox-owned cable network, as UFC on FX 5 earned 1.1. million viewers on Oct. 5. Nevertheless, the UFC 153 prelims did trump the most recent preliminary card showing on FX, as the UFC 152 undercard netted just 955,000 observers last month.