The numbers are in for Gegard Mousasi’s Bellator debut against Alexander Shlemenko last week and, according to MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer, the event scored below the 660,000 Bellator average.
Meltzer reports that Mousasi, who edged out a decision over Shlemenko in the main event, pulled in 476,000 views on Friday night and another 47,000 DVR views over the next three days, bringing the weekend total to 523,000. Bellator 185 peaked at 792,000 viewers in the main event.
Bellator 183, which was the last event to feature a former high-profile UFC fighter (Benson Henderson), netted 598,000 viewers on Sept. 23. Former UFC heavyweight Roy Nelson also made his debut on the card, beating Javy Ayala via unanimous decision. Paul Daley, who was booted from the UFC in 2010, knocked out Lorenz Larkin in the co-main event.
Mousasi was met with criticism for his underwhelming Bellator debut, but the 32-year-old MMA veteran told fans to ‘suck it’ in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. ‘The Dreamcatcher’ had his eye swollen shut from a punch in the first round and was forced to fight on ‘instinct’ for the remaining two rounds.
Despite the criticism, Mousasi is on a six-fight win streak and is still very much one of the best middleweights in the world. The multi-promotion, multi-division MMA champion has beat the likes of Dan Henderson, Vitor Belfort, Uriah Hall and Chris Weidman and will look to impress in his next bout under the Bellator banner.