NEW YORK, NY, May 23, 2006 – The seventh episode of Spike TV’s hit series, The Ultimate Fighter 3® reached more men in the hard-to-reach demographic of M25-34 then the hotly contested Game 6 of the Western Conference second-round series featuring the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers on ESPN. Spike TV tallied 525,000 M25-34  on Thursday, May 18 (10:00-11:00pm ET/PT) compared to 503,000 for the NBA match-up.

The Spike TV telecast averaged a 1.90 HH rating, with a 2.14 in M18-49, a 2.92 in M18-34 and an average audience of 2.2 million viewers.

After seven weeks, The Ultimate Fighter 3 is averaging a 1.72 HH rating, with a 2.25 in M18-49, a 2.97 in M18-34 and an average audience of 2.1 million viewers. It is up +237% in HH, +436% in M18-49, +471% in M18-34 and +250% in average audience. 

In The Ultimate Fighter 3 episode airing on May 18, light heavyweight Josh Haynes of Medford, Oregon defeated Tait Fletcher of Los Angeles, Ca. to advance to the semifinals later this season. 

About The Ultimate Fighter 3:

Sixteen of the best up-and-coming mixed martial artists from around the world have convened in Las Vegas in pursuit of one goal -- to be named the "ULTIMATE FIGHTER" and to be given a contract in the Ultimate Fighting Championship® organization. UFC legends and bitter rivals Ken Shamrock “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” and Tito Ortiz, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” train and coach the participating light-heavyweights and middleweights. The Ultimate Fighter 3 is hosted by Dana White, UFC President.

Craig Piligian of Pilgrim Films and Television, Frank Fertitta III, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White of Zuffa, LLC, and Kevin Kay of Spike TV are the show’s executive producers. Brian J. Diamond is Vice President, Sports & Specials, Spike TV and Co-Executive Producer. Peter V. Symuleski serves as Executive in Charge of Production for Spike TV.

Spike TV, the first network for men, is available in 90 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks.  MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc.