UFC 207 preliminaries on FS1 averaged 1.5 million viewers, peaked at 1.8 million

The UFC 207 preliminaries on Fox Sports 1 did huge numbers on Friday, further showing ex-women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey’s drawing power.

Rousey competed in the pay-per-view main event, but fans generally tune into the preliminary fights when the PPV main event is compelling. UFC president Dana White attributed the success of the show on Fox Sports 1 to Rousey’s appeal. He referred to her as the most powerful woman in combat sports history.

The four-fight preliminary card peaked at 1.8 million viewers, which came in the show’s final 15 minutes, during Neil Magny’s victory over ex-welterweight champion Johny Hendricks on Friday at T-Mobile Arena. It averaged 1.5 million viewers for the two-hour broadcast. It exceeded the preliminary viewership from UFC 193, Rousey’s previous fight, by 200,000. That show, on Nov. 14, 2015, came on a Saturday and attracted 1.3 million viewers.

The UFC doesn’t release pay-per-view numbers but indications are strong that Friday’s show will significantly exceed 1 million sales.

The FS1 preliminaries Friday were the No. 2 show in its time slot, and trailed only ESPN’s college football bowl game telecast of Michigan against Florida State.

“What she has accomplished in her past fights and this one on a Friday on the eve of New Year’s Eve [is incredible],” White said. “Everyone predicted death for us going on that day, but she crushed it.”

That wasn’t the only good news for the UFC. Monday’s debut episode of the second season of the web series, “Dana White: Lookin’ for a FIght,” which has produced Mickey Gall and Sage Northcutt, was one of Monday’s most viewed clips on YouTube.

It’s already been viewed more than 504,000 times and became one of the trending top 10 shows in less than 24 hours.