SUPERMAN!!@Superman_Spann silences the Rio crowd and puts Lil Nog away in round 1! #UFC237 pic.twitter.com/KjiqceRpD0
— UFC (@ufc) May 12, 2019
The UFC 237 preliminary card averaged 813,000 viewers on ESPN, according to ShowBuzz Daily.
That figure is the lowest for a pay-per-view preliminary card that has aired on ESPN since the promotion began its partnership with the network. UFC 235 drew the highest ratings for prelims so far on ESPN, with an audience of 1.48 million, while UFC 236 prelims (893,000) were the previous low.
The featured bout of Saturday’s preliminary card saw Ryan Spann defeat Brazilian veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira via knockout at the 2:07 mark of the opening stanza. That portion of the event led off with a marquee bout as well, when Clay Guida took a unanimous verdict over former two-division champion B.J. Penn.
Ratings peaked at 1.1 million viewers during the final 15 minutes of the preliminary draw.
UFC 237 took place on Saturday night at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. In the main event of the pay-per-view, Jessica Andrade captured the strawweight crown with a second-round knockout of Rose Namajunas.