Michael Chandler choking Rick Hawn (photo via Bellator.com)

By FCF Staff

Bellator has been championing its move to the SPIKE for several months now, and according to a report, the promotion’s debut on the television network drew very solid numbers. The event, which went down last night in Irvine, California, featured two title fights as well as three opening round bouts for the latest light-heavyweight tournament.

In a report by MMA Junkie, SPIKE TV President Kevin Kay has relayed that Bellator 85 drew an average of 938,000 viewers Thursday night. The card’s peak was during the featherweight title fight between champion Pat Curran and Patricio Freire, which drew nearly 1.1 million viewers.

Curran went on to win the bout by split decision. In the other title fight, lightweight champion Michael Chandler submitted Rick Hawn.

Considering that Bellator events drew just under 200,000 viewers on average during its run on MTV 2, last night’s numbers are a considerable improvement. Bellator’s MTV 2 cards took place on Friday nights.

Both MTV 2 and SPIKE are properties of Viacom, which is also the parent company of Bellator.