The Ultimate Fighter 9 & Ultimate Fight Night 18 Pull Strong Ratings

Via UFC.com:

New York, NY, April 3, 2009 - Unlike most television series which suffer ratings decline as they get older, the ratings for “The Ultimate Fighter” are like fine wine, getting better with age. The season nine premiere of “The Ultimate Fighter: U.S. vs. U.K.” on Wednesday, April 1 drew its highest rating in Men 18-49 since Season 4 (August, 2006) and its most watched season premiere since Season 5 (April, 2007). The episode also drew more Men 18-34 and 18-49 than anything else on cable in its timeslot (10:15-11:15pm ET/PT), besting all sports competition including the NBA on ESPN.

Overall, the series drew a 1.8 in M18-49, a 2.1 in M18-34, a 2.7 in M25-34, and an average audience of 1.8 million viewers.

Overall, the “UFC Fight Night” delivered a 1.7 among M18-49, a 2.1 for M18-34, a 2.7 in M25-34, and attracted an average audience of 1.9 million viewers

So in a sense, the premier of The Ultimate Fighter 9 was able to keep almost all of the viewers from the Ultimate Fight Night 18 event that served as the lead-in show.  Now let's see if they can hold these numbers throughout the season.