Viewership numbers for the main card of UFC Liverpool have been released and there was a clear spike in interest for the main event.
The FOX Sports 1 main card broadcast drew an average of 552,000 viewers (via MMAFighting.com). The event peaked at 811,000 viewers for the main event between Darren Till and Stephen Thompson. The event also took in 10,224 viewers from FOX Sports Go and FOX now. This card had an afternoon start time of 1 p.m. ET due to it being held in Liverpool, England. The UFC has had their overseas events air live since the FOX deal was finalized.
The UFC Liverpool headliner ended in controversy. Till picked up the unanimous decision over Thompson inside the Echo Arena. While the Liverpool crowd certainly was happy, the rest of the world wasn’t exactly sold. Many had “Wonderboy” winning the fight, and two of the three judges scored the fight 49-46 for Till which many find to be egregious. To top it off, “The Gorilla” came into this contest overweight.
The co-main event delivered welterweight action as well. Neil Magny took on last minute replacement Craig White. Magny was initially set to take on Gunnar Nelson, but “Gunni” went down with an injury. Despite pushing Magny against the fence often, White couldn’t string anything together and went crashing down from a knee in the opening frame. Magny finished the fight with ground-and-pound.
Also featured on the main card was a featherweight tilt between Arnold Allen and Mads Burnell. It looked like Allen was on his way to a unanimous decision loss, but he caught Burnell in a front choke to force the tap in the final round.
Check out MMANews.com for the event’s results, highlights, interviews, and more.
Given the early start time on a holiday weekend, are you impressed with UFC Liverpool’s viewership numbers?
