UFC On ABC Breaks Multiple Viewership Records
With two of the three scheduled events on the first leg of UFC Fight Island for 2021 complete the event appears to have been an overwhelming success.
In a post by ESPN’s press room, some stats were shared from the first event on Fight Island that also marked the UFC’s return to network television airing on the ABC network in the US.
UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Kattar became the second most viewed fight night main event since 2019 while the UFC 257 Countdown broke a long-standing record becoming the most viewed UFC countdown telecast of the past decade.
UFC 257 is set to host the much-anticipated return of Conor McGregor who has yet to compete since he made short work of Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in January of 2020.
The first card to air on ABC was the fight night between Max Holloway and Calvin Kattar. This fight produced an intense five-round striking clinic by the former champion Max Holloway who emerged victorious with some of the most one-sided scorecards in UFC history. Outside of the main event, the entire main card delivered with three straight KO’s to open followed by a three-round war between veterans Matt Brown and Carlos Condit.
Following this, a mid week card was held showcasing a matchup in the Welterweight division between Michael Chiesa and Neil Magny, however, this card did not air on the broadcasting network.
While this move to ABC may have only been for the single event, after pulling in record numbers as it has it is likely the UFC will return to the network in the future.
Fight Island is set to close out this weekend as UFC 257 sees Conor McGregor take on Dustin Poirier in the main event. According to UFC President Dana White, the upcoming PPV event is trending to exceed all expectations and become one of the biggest events the UFC has put on since COVID.
