TUF 17 Finale draws 5,382 fans, $569K gate

The TUF 17 Finale drew strong ratings, and performed at the box office as well.

The April 13 show, which was held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center instead of a customary smaller Las Vegas venue, drew a $569,075 gate on 5,382 sold tickets.

The information was released by the Nevada state athletic commission on Tuesday night.

According to NSAC, the UFC also gave out 536 comp tickets, while only 223 seats went unfilled.

By comparison, the TUF 16 Finale held in Dec. 2012 took place at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and drew a gate of $318,875 on attendance on 2,427. Most other TUF finales have been held at The Palms.

The UFC was forced to move from its customary spots because The Hard Rock was unavailable due to a planned concert series by Def Leppard.

"This worked out fantastic," UFC president Dana White said after the event. "The Hard Rock shouldn't have let us do this, because I like it. I like it a lot. Let me tell you what: we might be moving again. I like it over here."

The April 13 show was built on three major fights. In the main event, longtime bantamweight contender Urijah Faber defeated Scott Jorgensen, Cat Zingano stopped Miesha Tate in a bout that determined one of the next TUF coaches, and Kelvin Gastelum completed his Cinderella run by beating heavy favorite Uriah Hall in the final of one of the most buzzworthy TUF seasons in recent memory. The FX broadcast drew over 1.7 million viewers, the second-highest rated UFC show in network history.