UFC Glendale Viewership Falls Short of 2 Million on Fast Nationals

Fast Nationals viewership numbers for the main card of UFC Glendale have been released and it looks to be par for the course.

The FOX broadcast drew 1,780,000 viewers overnight. The event took an overnight rating of 0.55 in the 18-49 demo. This card was going up against a Stanley Cup playoff game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins. The game produced a higher viewership number at 2,180,000.

UFC Orlando was the previous UFC on FOX event and it took in an overnight number of 1,826,000. Headlining that card was a featherweight bout between Jeremy Stephens and Josh Emmett. It’s important to note that UFC Glendale’s main event was longer and a majority of it was not taken into account with the Fast Nationals number.

In the main event of UFC Glendale, lightweights Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje went to war inside the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. In a bout that is already a front runner for “Fight of the Year,” Poirier eventually earned a fourth round TKO victory. It was an action-packed fight that delivered in terms of hype from hardcore fans. The question remains, did more casuals eventually tune in through word of mouth during the chaos?

The co-main event certainly delivered in action as well. Alex Oliveira took on former UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit. After an exciting opening round where both men had their moments in the grappling, Oliveira was able to get a dominant position and cut open Condit. During a scramble, Oliveira locked in a guillotine choke to force a second-round submission.

The card also saw middleweight prospect Israel Adesanya earn another victory, but he showed some flaws in his game. He defeated Marvin Vettori via split decision. Michelle Waterson got back in the win column with a split nod over Cortney Casey.