Last weekends UFC 105 event was available to watch for free on tape delay via Spike TV in the U.S and the viewing figures for the show have now been published.
The event averaged 2.9 million viewers, peaking at 3.7 million for the headline bout between Randy Couture and Brandon Vera.
"The telecast's stellar M 18-34 rating and delivery (994,000 viewers) outperformed anything else on television, broadcast or cable on November 14, including heavy sports competition from college football," the press release states.
The results are decent but certainly not the biggest the UFC has delivered on Spike TV for a free event. For example, at UFC 75, which featured a title unification bout between Quinton Rampage Jackson and Dan Henderson, an average of 4.7 million viewers tuned in, peaking at 5.6 million.
It does however correspond with other previous events like UFC 70, when an average of 2.8 million viewers, peaking at 3.5 million tuned in to see a card with Gabriel Gonzaga and Mirko Cro Cop headlining.
Though comparisons will be drawn between UFC 105 and Strikeforce: Fedor Vs Rogers which notched up an average of 3.79 million viewers and peaked at 5.46 million, it should be noted that NBC has a bigger audience base than Spike TV, and their event was more heavily promoted.
The UFC will also point to the fact that UFC 105 scored higher in all the major demographics for male viewers than Strikeforce which is a key factor for advertisers.