The Strikeforce Challengers series on Showtime was back on this month with “Strikeforce Challengers 8,” and the viewership totals for the event are in. The event drew in an average of 249,000 viewers, reaching its pinnacle with 294,000 viewers during the main event of the evening according to MMAjunkie.com. The numbers are surprisingly comparable to the ratings of “Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery”, which came in around 308,000 viewers. However, it was less than the previous Challengers card, which drew an estimated 316,000 viewers.
This past weekend’s event was headlined by a middleweight bout between mixed martial arts pioneer Matt “The Law” Lindland and “King” Kevin Casey. Lindland was in trouble early when Casey took his back, but the veteran managed to ward off the rear naked choke and finish the first round strong. The second and third round were all Lindland, as the Oregon native dictated the pace and action at every turn en route to a technical knockout victory late in the third and final round in front of his home crowd.
Also on the card, highly-touted prospect Tyron Woodley earned his fourth victory with the promotion, defeating Nathan Coy via split-decision after a very close three round fight. The card also featured an odd bout that went to the judges’ scorecards prematurely, as Roger Bowling defeated Bobby Voelker via unanimous decision.
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