The Bellator 198 viewership numbers have been revealed.
The Paramount Network’s main card broadcast drew an average of 581,000 viewers, while the CMT broadcast took in 169,000 viewers (via MMAFighting.com). This the second most-watched Bellator event of 2018. With that said, the number isn’t up to par with what Bellator was pulling in before Spike turned into the Paramount Network. This card was going up against a boxing match on FOX. That event took in just 839,000 viewers for the Josesito Lopez vs. Miguel Cruz match-up. It was also going up against Daniel Jacobs vs. Maciej Sulecki on HBO, which took in 811,000 and Isaac Dogboe vs. Jessie Magdaleno, which earned 701,000 viewers on ESPN.
In the main event of Bellator 198, heavyweights Fedor Emelianenko and Frank Mir did battle inside the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. “The Last Emperor” vs. Mir didn’t even last one minute. Emelianenko survived a knockdown quickly and dropped Mir with an uppercut. Some followup strikes later and Emelianenko earned his first victory in the United States since Nov. 2009.
The co-main event delivered featherweight action. Emmanuel Sanchez and Sam Sicilia went one-on-one. It didn’t take long for Sanchez to earn a victory. He locked in an arm triangle standing and eventually the two hit the mat with Sanchez’s submission still in place. He earned the submission win and called for a title shot during his post-fight interview.
Rafael Lovato Jr. and Neiman Gracie were also featured on the card. Lovato Jr. earned a submission victory over Gerald Harris, while Gracie nabbed his own tap out win over Javier Torres. In the main card opener, Dillon Danis made his professional mixed martial arts debut. He stopped Kyle Walker in the first round via toehold submission.
Check out MMANews.com for the event’s results, highlights, interviews, and more.
Did you expect the viewership number for Bellator 198 to be around this range?
