UFC 143 Prelims Averaged 1.4 Million Viewers on FX

Dustin Poirier submitted Max Holloway live on FX at UFC 143. | Photo: Sherdog.com

The two-hour special featured four fights and immediately preceded the evening’s pay-per-view offering. Headlined by an interim welterweight title contest pitting Carlos Condit against Nick Diaz, UFC 143 took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

The total viewership for the undercard marks a sharp increase from January’s UFC 142 special, which netted an average of 880,000 viewers in the promotion’s first prelims broadcast on FX.

Highlighting the UFC 143 preliminary card was another excellent performance by rising featherweight Dustin Poirier. “The Diamond” submitted 20-year-old Octagon newcomer Max Holloway with a mounted triangle armbar in just 3:23.

The FX broadcast also saw bantamweight upstart Edwin Figueroa edge “The Ultimate Fighter” alum Alex Caceres via split decision in a bout marred by a pair of low blows. Matt Brown and Matt Riddle each emerged victorious in their welterweight contests, besting Chris Cope and Henry Martinez, respectively.