UFC 137 Spike TV 'Prelims' Ratings Collect 1.1 Million Viewers, Second Worst All-Time

The UFC's longterm relationship with Spike TV appears to be ending on a down note. For the second straight major event, a Spike-broadcast "UFC Prelims" special wound-up on the low-end of the viewership scale. Fresh off the record-low ratings of UFC 136's 1 million viewers, Saturday's UFC 137 prelims special collected just 1.1 million viewers, matching the second-worst performance in the partnership's history.

Altogether, the hour-long broadcast scored a 0.8 household rating, with an unusually poor .89 rating among men ages 18-49 and a .85 rating among men ages 18-34, according to figures collected by MMA Nation.

This despite the fact that the one-hour broadcast featured two of the night's three finishes. Bart Palaszewski smashed Tyson Griffin en route to a first round KO, and Donald Cerrone blasted through Dennis Siver for a rear-naked choke victory. The two performances earned "Knockout of the Night" and "Submission of the Night" honors.

Though one has to wonder the effect Halloween weekend had on the numbers. In all likelihood, a large sect of the UFC's target demographics were siphoned off by the festivities. Also, a power outage in the northeastern United States may have contributed to the surprising downturn.

'UFC Prelims' ratings on Spike TV (figures gathered by MMA Junkie):

1) UFC 126 (February 2011): 2 million viewers
2) UFC 109 (February 2010): 1.7 million
3) UFC 135 (September 2011): 1.6 million
3) UFC 131 (June 2011): 1.6 million
3) UFC 114 (May 2010): 1.6 million
6) UFC 129 (April 2010): 1.5 million
6) UFC 108 (January 2010): 1.5 million
6) UFC 121 (October 2010): 1.5 million
6) UFC 123 (November 2010): 1.5 million
10) UFC 133 (August 2011): 1.4 million
10) UFC 104 (October 2009): 1.4 million
10) UFC 103 (September 2009): 1.4 million
13) UFC 134 (August 2011): 1.3 million
13) UFC 130 (May 2011): 1.3 million
13) UFC 128 (March 2011): 1.3 million
13) UFC 119 (September 2010): 1.3 million
13) UFC 116 (July 2010): 1.3 million
13) UFC 115 (June 2010): 1.3 million
13) UFC 106 (November 2009): 1.3 million
20) UFC 132 (July 2011): 1.2 million
20) UFC 111 (March 2010): 1.2 million
22) UFC 137 (October 2011): 1.1 million
22) UFC 118 (August 2010): 1.1 million
24) UFC 136 (October 2011): 1 million