The Gustafsson hype machine is in full effect following the recent TKO victory over Matt Hamill at 3:34 of round 2, which was highlighted live on Spike TV this past Saturday.
Effects of the Swede’s impressive victory continue to come out, including the recent announcement of the retirement of Hamill, after a more than respectable 9-4 record in the Octagon.
Spike TV has now announced that the televised bout of UFC 133’s “UFC Prelims” show averaged an impressive 1.4 million viewers and was the number 1 rated program on cable television among men ages 18-49 and 18-34 for the day giving substantial exposure to The Mauler.
A list of “UFC Prelims” broadcasts and ratings as compiled by MMAjunkie.com includes:
1) UFC 126 (February 2011): 2 million viewers
2) UFC 109 (February 2010): 1.7 million
3) UFC 131 (June 2011): 1.6 million
3) UFC 114 (May 2010): 1.6 million
5) UFC 129 (April 2010): 1.5 million
5) UFC 108 (January 2010): 1.5 million
5) UFC 121 (October 2010): 1.5 million
5) UFC 123 (November 2010): 1.5 million
9) UFC 133 (August 2011): 1.4 million
9) UFC 104 (October 2009): 1.4 million
9) UFC 103 (September 2009): 1.4 million
12) UFC 130 (May 2011): 1.3 million
12) UFC 128 (March 2011): 1.3 million
12) UFC 119 (September 2010): 1.3 million
12) UFC 116 (July 2010): 1.3 million
12) UFC 115 (June 2010): 1.3 million
12) UFC 106 (November 2009): 1.3 million
18) UFC 132 (July 2011): 1.2 million
18) UFC 111 (March 2010): 1.2 million
20) UFC 118 (August 2010): 1.1 million
21) UFC 125 (January 2011): 829,000*
22) UFC 127 (February 2011): 714,000*
* – Aired on ION Television, not Spike TV
Gustafsson was also on the tape-delayed broadcast on Spike as he was victorious over Cyrille “The Snake” Diabate on the UFC 120 card, which had an audience that grew from 1.5 million to 2.5 million viewers. The Swede was also on Spike for the UFC 125 against James Te Huna.
