Bellator 149 breaks record with almost 2 million viewers

An event that featured arguably the worst fight in mainstream MMA history and an anti-climactic finish in the main event between two legends resulted in a massive rating for Bellator and the Spike television network.

Estimates place the average viewership for Friday's Bellator 149 show at 1.964 million viewers, the highest ever for a Bellator broadcast.

Headlined by Kimbo Slice, Dada 5000, Royce Gracie, and Ken Shamrock, the card was expected to draw a strong number due to the high level of casual interest in the four featured fighters. The previous viewership record was 1.6 million set by Bellator 138 in June, which saw Slice defeat Shamrock in the main event.

Slice has consistently proven to be one of the biggest draws in the sport, as evidenced by how MMA shows on cable television fare when he's involved (numbers courtesy of Mookie Alexander of BloodyElbow.com):

• Win vs. James Thompson (EliteXC, CBS) - 4.85 million (with 6.5 million peak)
• Loss to Seth Petruzelli (EliteXC, CBS) - 4.56 million (with 5.5 million peak)
• The Ultimate Fighter 10 premiere (UFC, Spike) - 4.1 million
• TUF 10 loss to Roy Nelson (UFC, Spike) - 5.3 million
• TUF 10 Finale win vs. Houston Alexander (UFC, Spike) - 3.7 million (with 5.2 million peak)
• Win vs. Ken Shamrock (Bellator, Spike) - 1.6 million (2.4 million peak)
• Win vs. Dada 5000 (Bellator, Spike) - 1.964 million (peak unknown)

For comparison's sake, UFC Fight Night 82, headlined by former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks and Stephen Thompson, drew an average of 1.317 million viewers earlier this month.