Conor McGregor Draws Record Ratings, Jon Jones Resumes Training, Urijah Faber Booked
- The Conor McGregor project paid off huge for UFC and Fox Sports 1, as UFC Fight Night 59 did record numbers for the network.
The event peaked during the Conor McGregor vs. Dennis Siver main event after midnight eastern, and drew 3.16 million viewers for that fight. The previous UFC record for the network was 2.27 million viewers for the Chael Sonnen vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua main event, which launched the network.
In all, the event was the highest on cable for the UFC in over five years. Conor McGregor will now face UFC Featherweight champion Jose Aldo in a fight tentatively scheduled for May.
- MMA legend Urijah Faber has his next bout booked, as he'll be taking on #4-ranked Raphael Assuncao. The two will square off at UFC Fight Night 62 on March 21 from Rio de Janeiro.
Assuncao was rumored to get a crack at UFC Bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw in the wake of Dominick Cruz's ACL injury, but the bout went to former champion Renan Barao instead. Faber himself has been involved in title fight rumors despite adamantly denying he'd face his teammate Dillashaw.
- UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones returned to training this week following his UFC 182 win and the news of his cocaine use broke. Jones posted the following on his Instagram account:
Working towards being a better man, can't be held down #Champion2015 #AndStill #UnBroken
A video posted by Jon Bones Jones (@jonnybones) on