UFC Fight Night 71 took place last night in San Diego, California and was headlined by former UFC champion Frank Mir winning his second straight fight by knockout as he defeated Todd Duffee in the first round.
According to Nielson sources, the main card broadcast on FOX Sports 1 had an average live audience of 801,000 viewers and the show peaked at 928,000 viewers in the 11:15-11:30 p.m. ET quarter hour.
The UFC Fight Night 71 main fight card posted gains of 25 percent on viewership (801,000 vs. 640,000) and 36 percent among A18-49 (486,000 vs. 357,000) compared to the Fight Night main card the day after the MLB All Star game last year.
Prior to the main card broadcast, the televised preliminary card was also shown on FOX Sports 1 and averaged 543,000 viewers. This is an increase of 31 percent on viewership (vs. 415,000) compared to the Fight Night preliminary card from the day after the MLB All Star Game last year.
With the viewership from last night, the UFC preliminary and main card combined to propel FOX Sports 1 to the top spot in primetime among all ad-supported cable sports networks with an average of 632,000 viewers and 338,000 A18-49 from 8-11 p.m. ET.
The UFC will return to FOX Sports 1 on Saturday for UFC Fight Night 72: Bisping vs. Leites. The coverage on FOX Sports 1 will begin at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT on Saturday morning with the pre-fight show and the live fights on the cable sports network will begin at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT.