Bellator 199 Draws Combined Audience of 605,000 to Paramount Network, CMT

Bellator 199 attracted a combined viewership of 605,000 to Paramount Network and CMT, according to ShowBuzz Daily.

The event drew 453,000 viewers to Paramount and 152,000 to CMT for a card that was headlined by the final heavyweight grand prix quarterfinal between Ryan Bader and Muhammed Lawal. Bader won the main event at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., via knockout just 15 seconds into the opening stanza.

The card also included the debut of former UFC welterweight title challenger Jon Fitch, who outpointed Paul Daley in the evening’s co-main event as well as the fourth professional appearance for bluechip prospect Aaron Pico, who knocked out Lee Morrison in 70 seconds.

Still, the event represented a step down from Bellator 198, which attracted 581,000 viewers to Paramount and 169,000 to CMT for a combined audience of 750,000. That card was headlined by a heavyweight grand prix contest pitting Fedor Emelianenko against Frank Mir.

Bellator 199 went head-to-head with some stiff combat sports competition on Saturday night, however. The UFC 224 prelims averaged 574,000 viewers on FX before the pay-per-view portion of the card began at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while a boxing match between Vasyl Lomachenko and Jorge Linares attracted an average audience of 1.024 million to ESPN for the entire card and 1.439 million for the headliner.