UFC Vegas 25 scores big in the ratings

UFC Vegas 25 aka UFC on ESPN 23 performed well in the ratings on ESPN2 this past Saturday night.

According to the Nielsen Ratings System, the card headlined by Jiri Prochazka vs. Dominick Reyes averaged 538,000 viewers over the broadcast that kicked off at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN. With a .17 rating in the coveted 18-49 year old demographic, UFC Vegas 25 ended the night as the No. 10 rated program across all of cable.

ESPN dominated the ratings with all of the top-10 programs that took place on Saturday including a pair of NBA regular season games as well as coverage of the NFL Draft.

The prelims for UFC Vegas 25 averaged 497,000 viewers after kicking off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN 2 this past Saturday night as well. That was good enough to land at No. 20 overall for cable ratings.

While the average of 538,000 viewers is down from the previous show the UFC had on ESPN2 — UFC Vegas 16, which earned 658,000 average viewers — this still has to be seen as a win overall for the promotion by landing in the top-10 ratings for the night.

The next major card for the promotion, UFC Vegas 26, will air on ESPN this Saturday night with the main card kicking off at 8 p.m. ET.