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On this week’s edition of ESPN MMA Live, Jon Anik and crew recap Strikeforce “Evolution” and WEC 45.

WEC 45’s ratings are in, and they’re not exactly a cause for celebration.

This past weekend’s broadcast of “WEC 45: Cerrone vs. Ratcliff” on Versus drew a 0.4 household rating and averaged 330,000 viewers, Versus officials today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

That’s nearly 90,000 less viewers than WEC 43 & WEC 44 pulled in.

WEC 43: 419,000
WEC 44: 414,000
WEC 45: 330,000

Several factors likely contributed to the ratings drop. Versus wasn’t on DirecTV for either WEC 43 or WEC 44, so that wasn’t really a factor, but Versus did lose 9 million more homes on Dec. 1 when a free trial period ended with the DISH Network, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable. Plus, the show lacked a title fight, it was the weekend before Christmas, and last but not least, they went head-to-head with Strikeforce “Evolution” on Showtime. Not ideal conditions for maximizing ratings.

Speaking of Strikeforce and Showtime, their ratings are also in. They fell in line with previous Showtime MMA events of similar scope.

WEC 45 drew 330,000 viewers, and Strikeforce’s latest offering topped it slightly with 341,000 viewers, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed with officials.

Strikeforce narrowly topped the WEC if you make a straight comparison of the viewership numbers, however if you compare the percentage of average viewers over availability — Strikeforce’s 2.8% (341k/12m) vs. WEC’s 0.4% (330k/75m) — Strikeforce clearly won the ratings battle on Dec. 19.

I guess fans didn’t get WEC president Reed Harris’ Strikeforce fights mean little memo.

Image via Esther Lin for Showtime

The NSAC has released the fighter payouts for WEC 45 “Cerrone vs Ratcliff.” Keep in mind, these figures represent the base contracted pay the fighter receives from the promotion. These figures do not include any additional undisclosed bonuses or sponsorship money, which in many cases exceeds a fighter’s base pay. These numbers also do not account for taxes, insurance, and license fees.

Same story, different show. Little guys mean little paychecks. Donald Cerrone and Joseph Benavidez topped the list with $24k and $25k, respectively. Chris Horodecki took home $12k in a losing effort. I wonder how that compares to what he was scheduled to make for Affliction.

Payouts

Courtesy of MMA Junkie:

• Donald Cerrone: $24,000 ($12k + $12k win bonus)
  Ed Ratcliff: $9,000
• Anthony Njokuani: $8,000 ($4k + $4k)
  Chris Horodecki: $12,000
• Joseph Benavidez: $25,000 ($12.5k + $12.5k)
  Rani Yahya: $9,000
• Scott Jorgensen: $14,000 ($7k + $7k)
  Takeya Mizugaki: $8,000
• Bart Palaszewski: $10,000 ($5k + $5k)
  Anthony Pettis: $3,000
• Zach Micklewright: $4,000 ($2k + $2k)
  Muhsin Corbbrey: $4,000
• Chad George: $5,000 ($3k + $2k)
  John Hosman: $3,000
• Brandon Visher: $6,000 ($3k + $3k)
  Courtney Buck: $3,000
• Brad Pickett: $6,000 ($3k + $3k)
  Kyle Dietz: $3,000
• Erik Koch: $4,000 ($2k + $2k)
  Jameel Massouh: $3,000

Bonuses $10,000

• Knockout of the Night: Anthony Njokuani
• Submission of the Night: Brad Pickett
• Fight of the Night: Donald Cerrone & Ed Ratcliff ($10,000 each), Takeya Mizugaki & Scott Jorgensen ($5,000 each)

Total Payout

A disclosed total of $213,000, including all bonuses, was paid out to the fighters.

WEC 45 took place earlier this evening at the The Pearl at The Palms Casino & Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.

WEC 45 “Cerrone vs Ratcliff” kicks off later tonight. The event takes place at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada and airs live on Versus at 10PM ET. If you’re looking to put down some cash on the fight, BetUS has the latest odds below. Good luck and enjoy the fights!

The WEC 45 weigh-ins took place earlier this evening at Key West Ballroom at the Palms Casino & Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Both Takeya Mizugaki and Anthony Njokuani missed their respective targets by a pound. They have an hour to drop the weight.

Update: Mizugaki and Njokuani both successfully made weight on their second attempts.

The weigh-in results:

• Donald Cerrone (155) vs. Ed Ratcliff (155)
• Chris Horodecki (155) vs. Anthony Njokuani (156)
• Joseph Benavidez (135) vs. Rani Yahya (135.5)
• Takeya Mizugaki (135) vs. Scott Jorgensen (135)
• Bart Palaszewski (155) vs. Anthony Pettis (155)
• Muhsin Corbbrey (156) vs. Zach Micklewright (155)
• Chad George (135) vs. John Hosman (135)
• Brandon Visher (144) vs. Courtney Buck (146)
• Kyle Dietz (135) vs. Brad Pickett (136)
• Erik Koch (146) vs. Jameel Massouh (145)

Fighters in non-title fights are allowed to weigh in one pound over the weight class limit.

WEC 45 will take place tomorrow, December 19, at The Pearl at the Palms Casino & Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada and will air on Versus at 10PM ET.

Image via CombatLifestyle.com

WEC 45 ‘Cerrone vs. Henderson’ takes place tomorrow, Dec. 19, at The Pearl at The Palms Casino & Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. The official WEC 45 fight card can be found in our fight cards section.

On this week’s edition of ESPN MMA Live, Jon Anik and crew recap UFC 107 and preview Strikeforce “Evolution” and WEC 45.