“THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER”® ON SPIKE TV DRAWS MORE MEN 18-34 THAN GAME 5 OF MAVS/SUNS AND GAME 7 OF SABRES/HURRICANES ON THURSDAY, JUNE 1 FROM 10-11:00PM ET/PT

NEW YORK, NY, June 5, 2006 – The Ultimate Fighter 3 on Spike TV continues to dominate Thursdays nights with the hard-to-reach Men 18-34 demographic. Despite the much hyped pivotal Game 5 of the NBA Western Conference Finals on TNT and Game 7 of the NHL Eastern Conference Finals on OLN, episode #9 of The Ultimate Fighter ®drew 903,000 M18-34 compared to TNT’s 858,000 and OLN’s 52,000 head-to-head from 10:00-11:00pm ET/PT on Thursday, June 1.  

After nine weeks, The Ultimate Fighter 3 is averaging a 1.75 HH rating, with a 2.30 in M18-49, a 3.06 in M18-34 and an average audience of 2.2 million viewers.  Compared to the timeslot last year, the hit series is up +178% in HH, +326% in M18-49, +410% in M18-34 and +191% in average audience.

On the heels of a successful UFC 60 pay-per-view event at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the Ultimate Fighting Championship® topped the Yahoo Buzz Index last Wednesday for the most searched item of the day.

In The Ultimate Fighter 3 episode airing on June 1, light heavyweight Matt Hamill of Cincinnati, Ohio defeated Mike Nickels of Denver, Co.  The live finale of Season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter is Saturday, June 24 at 9:00pm ET/PT.

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 Senior 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.