(Photo courtesy of the LA Times.)

Final viewership figures from EliteXC/CBS’s Saturday Night Fights broadcast were announced today via press release, and despite all the unfortunate aspects of the event itself, it was undeniably a smash in terms of drawing an audience. The final 51 minutes of the 171-minute program delivered an average of 6.12 million viewers, peaking at 6.51 million viewers during the main event. Compared to CBS’s regularly scheduled programming at 9:00-11:00 PM on Saturday during the 2007-08 season, the ratings were up an astounding 357% among men aged 18-34. In other words, as troubled as SNF was, you’ll definitely be seeing it again. (Apologies, squeamish Middle America.) Here’s the demographic breakdown released by CBS, showing rating figures and peak viewership:

The 4.31 million average viewers pulled in by SNF from 9 to 11 p.m. edged out the 4.23 scored by ABC during that time and the 4.31 recorded by NBC, which was showing an NHL playoff game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings. CBS’s beating of NBC was especially prominent in L.A., where EliteXC peaked at a 7.2 share, while the NHL averaged a 3 share. (FOX kicked everyone’s ass with the perennial Saturday night twofer of Cops and America’s Most Wanted.)

And if you need more useless information, here are the top 10 markets for CBS from 11:30-11:45 PM on Saturday:

1) Oklahoma City/KWTV: 11.1 rating/18 share
2) Nashville/WTVF: 10.3/19
3) New Orleans/WWL: 9.7/15
4) Memphis/WREG: 8.4/14
5) Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville/WSPA: 8.0/15
6) Las Vegas/KLAS: 7.5/15
7T) Tulsa/KOTV: 7.3/13
7T) Miami/WFOR: 7.3/12
9) Los Angeles/KCBS: 7.2/17
10) St Louis/KMOV: 7.1/13

I guess you could call this CagePotato’s first original highlight reel. We rounded up the most insane TV commercials starring MMA fighters and stuffed them into a single video for your convenience and enjoyment. Some of them are beloved classics; some you’ve probably never seen before. Noticeably absent are the unauthorized Fedor Emelianenko honey-drink spot (because we’d like to avoid any rude letters from Fedor’s lawyers), and the Rich Franklin “Xyience Teacher” commercial (because it seems to have disappeared from the Internet). But if we’ve left out any other good ones, shoot us some links in the comments section. As Randy Couture might say, “Oh, you’re gonna like this.”

One thing we weren’t aware of when we were posting that story about ex-UFC champ Ricco Rodriguez auctioning off his championship belt is that Rodriguez will reportedly be appearing in a new VH1 series called Celebrity Rehab, in which Loveline host and addiction medicine specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky guides a group of down-and-out ex-celebrities (and the term is being used very loosely here, even for VH1′s standards) through an arduous recovery process. Ricco Rodriguez, who was suspended by the CSAC in 2006 for testing positive for cocaine and marijuana following a local MMA event in Bakersfield, will be appearing alongside actor Daniel Baldwin, former pro wrestler Joanie “Chyna” Lauer, porn star and one-time gubernatorial candidate Mary Carey, actress and Flavor Flav-paramour Brigitte Nielsen, and five other faded pop culture figures; the show debuts on January 10th.

So, first off, we’d like to take back what we said about Rodriguez’s situation not being as sad as when Corey Haim tried to auction off his teeth and hair; this is possibly sadder. Haim can get a wig and dentures to replace his hair and teeth (and hopefully he has by now), but Rodriguez will never get another championship belt. Plus, the fact that he’s an addict sheds some doubt on this claim that he’ll be using the money to open up a new MMA school. If you’ve ever watched Intervention (or, you know, dealt with addicts in real life), you’d know that any monetary windfalls usually wind up feeding the monkey, no matter how many promises are made otherwise.

We’d also like to say that Dr. Drew is a God among men and we cannot fucking wait for this show to start. It’s everything that Celebrity Apprentice should be!

UPDATE: With four days left in the auction, there are still no bids for Rodriguez’s belt.

(Hong Man Choi/Choi Hong Man on “Heroine 6″)

Have you ever seen a seven-foot-tall man move like that? And how ’bout that flower bouquet trick?!