Ronda Rousey's first title defense was a hit on Showtime.



Saturday night's Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman event drew an average of 529,000 viewers for the live and delayed broadcast, according to Annie Van Tornhout, a Showtime Sports publicist. As a result, the event became the most-watched Strikeforce card on Showtime this year and the sixth most-watched of all-time. That number doesn't include the replays that have since aired on the premium cable network.



The broadcast peaked at 676,000 viewers for the Rousey vs. Kaufman Strikeforce bantamweight title, which is also the highest number this year for Strikeforce. In total, the Rousey vs. Kaufman bout drew 908,000 viewers, if you include Sunday's replay of the fight, which Rousey won via armbar in just 54 seconds.

The average viewers presents a 23 percent increase in viewers since Rousey's last fight against Miesha Tate in March, which reportedly drew an average of 431,000 viewers.



Rousey vs. Kaufman drew the largest male 18-49 audience for an individual fight since Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Silva in Feb. 2011. That event, which reportedly drew 741,000 viewers, remains the most-watched Strikeforce card on Showtime.