Combate Americas presented a special “Mexico vs. Spain” card on March 8 and the event was a rousing success in the TV ratings department, bringing in over 500,000 viewers in the United States.
The following press release was issued by the promotion:
COMBATE AMERICAS
DOMINATES TELEVISION RATINGS ONCE AGAIN
WITH EPIC MMA EVENT LIVE ON UNIVISION ON MARCH 8
“Combate Americas: Mexico vs. Spain”
crushes competitors on ESPN 2 and Telemundo
with a live U.S. television audience of 537,000 at midnight ET
Ratings also knock out MLS and LigaMX soccer, which aired over the weekendNEW YORK- March 14, 2019- Combate Americas today announced spectacular ratings for its second live televised Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event of 2019 – ‘Mexico vs. Spain’ – that pulled in more than 537,000 viewers on Univision despite its midnight ET start time, on Friday, March 8.
The numbers garnered for Friday night’s show continue a pattern of ratings dominance over other MMA and major sports competitors, and represent an increase of over 13 percent from its last live show, “Combate Americas: Mexico vs. USA” on February 22.
“Our viewership proves Combate Americas to be a rising ratings magnet,” said Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren. “Our momentum is building, and we see no ceiling for how high our numbers can go. The industry may not have seen this coming, but we have known all along that we will change the face of the sport one telecast at a time.”
The live event, which took place at the historic Arena Coliseo in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico produced a number of ratings highlights that includes overpowering Telemundo’s “Boxeo Telemundo,” which began at 11:35 p.m. ET, by 42 percent, or nearly 160,000 viewers.
With its UDN viewership (139,000 viewers) alone, “Combate Americas: Mexico vs. Spain” also outperformed the general market leader and longest standing MMA franchise, beating “UFC Unleashed,” which aired on ESPN2 on Friday at 1 a.m. ET, by a margin of more than 13,000 viewers.
Combate Americas’ ratings also defeated other major sports over the weekend including the Major League Soccer (MLS) match between FC Dallas and LA Galaxy (243,000 viewers), which aired on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET, and Sunday’s two leading soccer matches: Liga MX soccer between UNAM and Monarchs Morelia (510,000 viewers) and English Premier Leagues’ Chelsea vs. Wolverhampton (157,000 viewers).
The live, U.S. television viewership was the highest rated of any show in the same time slot on Univision on any other day last week.
In the “Combate Americas: Mexico vs. Spain” main event contested at a catchweight of 157 pounds, Ignacio “Levium Armorum” Capella (6-1) of San Luis, Menorca, Spain shocked the world by scoring a thunderous, first round (2:59) TKO (punches) on a far more experienced Alvaro “Chango” Herrera(9-7) of Guadalajara, while Victor “Periquito” Hugo Madrigal (8-2) defeated Zebenzui “El Niño Roca” Ruiz (7-3) via second round (3:50) TKO (punches).
The 10-bout “Combate Americas: Mexico vs. Spain” event saw an amazing 8 fights end in (T)KO or submission.
Source: Nielsen###
ABOUT COMBATE AMERICAS
Combate Americas is the premier Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise, rapidly becoming the number two sport after soccer, for Spanish speaking fans worldwide. The Combate Americas franchise includes live event and original shoulder programming on some of the biggest television, OTT and digital platforms in Spanish and English, including Univision and Univision Deportes Network (UDN), DAZN, ESPN, GOL and Facebook Watch worldwide. The company also owns and operates a multi-platform media studio, La Jaula Studios.
Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren, also the co-founder/co-creator of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), has been described by New York Magazine as "the marketing genius behind the UFC,” while Yahoo Sports has said he "knows more about the sport than just about anyone in it today." With an unprecedented and cutting edge product and a blue-chip ownership and management team, Combate Americas is poised to break new ground and bring about a new era in world championship level MMA competition.
About Univision Deportes
Univision Deportes is the multimedia sports division of Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) and includes UDN, the No. 1 Spanish-language sports network in the U.S. Univision Deportes’ portfolio of rights includes all 18 teams in Liga MX, the Mexican National Team, the U.S. Men’s & Women’s National Teams, Major League Soccer, Copa MX, Copa Centroamericana, Copa América, CONCACAF Gold Cup, CONCACAF Champions League, international friendlies, select matches from Liga de Ascenso in Mexico, Portuguese First Division, Dutch First Division, FC Barcelona TV and Bayern Munich TV, Mexico’s Campeón de Campeones and SúperCopa, and Formula 1. Univision Deportes is also the exclusive home to shows such as Premios Univision Deportes, Solo Boxeo, Zona NBA, Republica Deportiva and Contacto Deportivo, the highest-rated Spanish-language sports studio show in the U.S., and delivers comprehensive coverage across platforms on all the latest from the NBA, NFL, MLB, and world of boxing.
