Ronda Rousey Continues to Upgrade Strikeforce TV Ratings

As Strikeforce champion Ronda Rousey continues to gain star power, the carryover to her fights on Showtime continues to boost the network’s TV ratings.

The Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman event, which took place on Saturday night in San Diego, aired on Showtime, drawing an average of 529,000 viewers for the broadcast.

While 529,000 viewers isn’t in any sort of record territory, it’s a solid number for Strikeforce on Showtime, and represents an increase over the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Final in May, which did 463,000 viewers, and the recent Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy, which dipped down to 420,000.

Perhaps a more important indicator is a Rousey vs. Rousey comparison.

Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey, where Rousey captured the title from then-champion Miesha Tate, pulled in TV ratings of 472,000 viewers. The bump up to 529,000 for the fight with Sarah Kaufman represents a moderate increase, likely indicative of Rousey’s increasing popularity.

The question now will be if Strikeforce and Showtime can sustain the growth without having Rousey on every fight card.