UFC on ESPN 16 ratings are in, and the broadcast pulled in very strong ratings Saturday night with its elite women’s bantamweight competition on display.
UFC on ESPN 16 took place Saturday, October 3 from Fight Island, with the main card airing on ESPN. According to an MMA Fighting report based on the Nielsen Ratings System, the card averaged 1.097 million viewers throughout the broadcast and a .40 in the 18-49 year old demographic. The strong numbers were delivered by the event while also being streamed live on ESPN+. The 1.097 rating is the second-highest number for UFC on ESPN events for the year, second only to UFC on ESPN 8, which was headlined by Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris in May.
UFC on ESPN 16 was headlined by former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm taking on Irene Aldana. Holm was able to dominate Aldana for a one-sided unanimous decision victory to close the night. In other bantamweight division action, Germaine de Randamie defeated Julianna Pena with a third-round guillotine that choked Pena into unconsciousness. In the co-main event, Carlos Felipe defeated Yorgan de Castro. You can view the full results for UFC on ESPN 16 here.
On the heels of one of the strongest pay per views of the year in UFC 253, which saw Israel Adesanya defeat Paul Costa in the headliner, the success of UFC on ESPN 16 is further indication that business is strong right now for the UFC during the COVID-19 era of sports.
