The UFC 289 preliminary fights on ESPN ranked second among cable originals on Saturday behind the Stanley Cup Finals.
The prelim fights from Vancouver, British Columbia aired from 7-10 p.m. ET on Saturday averaging 836,000 viewers and 0.34 in the 18-49 demographic. (Showbuzz Daily)
The breakdown saw the prelims average 673,000 viewers and 0.27 in the demo from 7-8 p.m. ET for the early prelim fights involving Stephen Erceg against David Dvorak, and Diana Belbita taking on Maria Oliveira. The 8-10 p.m. ET prelim fights averaged 999,000 viewers and 0.40 in the 18-49 demo and the card was headlined by a no-contest between Nassourdine Imavov and Chris Curtis.
The UFC prelims topped everything on cable except for the Vegas Golden Knights vs. Florida Panthers, which drew 1,728,000 viewers and 0.50 on TNT.
Last month, the UFC 288 prelims only aired from 7:50 p.m. ET until 10 p.m. The two-hour block averaged 853,000 viewers and 0.32 in the demo, so the same 8-10 p.m. slot for the UFC 289 saw a 17 percent increase in viewers and a 25 percent increase in the 18-49 demo.
The Top Rank Boxing card involving Junior Welterweights Teofimo Lopez and Josh Taylor at 10 p.m. ET averaged 781,000 viewers and 0.22 in the demo on ESPN following the UFC prelim card.
In Canada, the UFC 289 prelims from 8-10 p.m. ET averaged approximately 57,000 viewers and 18,000 in the 25-54 demographic on TSN.
