Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez Special Draws Big Ratings Ahead of UFC 121

While the reviews were not glowing for the latest installment of “UFC Primetime,” which largely lacked the intensity of the previous Quinton Jackson-Rashad Evans episodes, the third and final episode of the Brock Lesnar-Cain Velasquez hype special drew a big audience.

Conveniently sandwiched between the televised version of the UFC 116 pay-per-view card and a new episode of “The Ultimate Fighter,” the UFC 121 promotional tool garnered a strong 1.203 million viewers Wednesday night, which would be one of UFC’s top-rated preview show numbers of all time. The show did a 0.6 rating among adults 18-49.

Following a disappointing buyrate for UFC 119 and a disappointing television rating for UFC 120, UFC is banking on Saturday’s pay-per-view, which features a heavyweight title bout between Lesnar and Velasquez, Jake Shields vs. Martin Kampmann and Tito Ortiz vs. Matt Hamill, delivering a big buyrate to generate favorable momentum for the end of the year.

The UFC 116 special, which featured Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin in the main event, posted a 0.6 adults 18-49 rating with 1.196 million viewers. “TUF” scored a 1.0 with 1.678 million viewers, which provided ample lead-in support for “Blue Mountain State” (0.6 demo rating, 1.094 million viewers).

Ratings Source: Mediaweek

Brian Cantor

Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002. Brian's reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader -- and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. Contact Brian at brian.cantor[at]headlineplanet.com.

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