Most viewed MMA bouts of all time

Butterbean says this (Friday’s Moosin event in Worcester, Mass.) could be the most viewed MMA show ever, what with 5 million Poles expected to watch one of their most popular athletes,” notes the latest edition of USA TODAY. But even makng the top 10 most-viewed list in the Pacific Rim or Russia, an MMA event would have to crack the 15 million mark just to get within shouting range:

54,000,000

During the heyday of Pride and K-1 MMA, the top-10 New Year’s Eve MMA fights each drew more than 30 million viewers, led by the K-1 2003 bout between Bob Sapp and Akebono, that drew an estimated 54 million people.

16,000,000

Strikeforce says their November show headlined by Fedor vs. Rogers generated an audience of 25 million viewers, including 16 million in Russia.

10,800,000

Last year’s UFC 100 drew a reported 1.6 million pay-per-view buys. UFC internal research indicates each pay-per-view sale represents an average of eight to 10 people, which suggests that at least 10.8 million saw Lesnar vs. Frank Mir in July.

7,280,000

The main event of EliteXC‘s CBS debut in May 2008, featuring Kimbo vs. James Thompson, drew an estimated 7.28 million viewers.