After initial reports pegged the audience size as good, but not spectacular, it was a pleasant surprise to hear the UFC's debut on Fox actually posted a mighty impressive number.
Reports emerged yesterday on MMAjunkie that the UFC on Fox peaked at 8.8 million during the Junior dos Santos-Cain Velasquez fight. UFC's PR person Ant Evans confirmed that number and said there's a chance when DVR and Fox Deportes numbers are rolled in that the audience could actually eclipse nine million.
In the video above, the fighters readying for UFC 139 were asked about the big number.
"It's awesome. I think it's just a matter of time before mixed martial arts and the UFC is the biggest sports organization in the world. I think even more impressive was the 60 million viewers in Brazil. That's crazy. And all around the world as well. It's exciting. It's an exciting time," said Urijah Faber.
Dana White was more than thrilled with the big number. Sources say the UFC president jumped on a desk in the UFC's Las Vegas offices on Tuesday, congratulated the staff for its hard work and told everyone to go home for the day. When a few employees decided to stick around to continue working, White playfully yelled once again for everyone to clear the office and go celebrate.
Watch UFC 139 right here on Yahoo! Sports
