TV Rating For UFC on FOX

[Ben]

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White optimistically declared a few months ago that the first ever foray for his promotion on network television on Nov. 12, 2011, would blow the previous ratings record for a mixed martial arts (MMA) event "out of the water."
He was wrong.
The ratings are in for UFC on Fox 1, which was an hour-long historic event for the promotion, featuring a heavyweight championship bout between Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos that White declared was an homage to the good 'ole days of boxing and Muhammed Ali, George Foreman and Joe Frazier, among others.
Despite White's nostalgia and best intentions, UFC on Fox 1 reeled in about 4.5 million viewers last night, which is about 2 million less than the sport's very first taste of terrestrial television three years ago (May 31, 2008) on CBS, when Miami bareknuckle brawler Kimbo Slice took on James Thompson in the Elite XC: "Primetime" main even

Really thought they would of crushed the old record. Think it's still a possibility to happen down the road though as long as they put out solid cards.

 

[Chriss]

Love UFC <3

 

[PHX]

I think unless they change the set up of putting all their eggs in one basket that the rating is gonna decline next time. Not by a whole lot or anything but I think given how fast that fight ended it's not gonna exactly attract more people.

 

[Dale]

I could only imagine what it might have been had they put Guida/Henderson on there aswell. The casuals tune in and get a 3 round non stop war then the main event which featured a quick, heavy knockout. Would have been the best of both worlds that way. Something for them to think about next time to try and get the balance spot on.

 

[Ben]

A longer fight or another fight def would of help, but it's hard to say how much.

Kimbo Slice was the headliner on the EliteXC card and he was already hyped as hell both on Youtube and the media as a street fighter, he's not a better fighter than Cain or JDS but he was better known than both these guys.

A true test would be to put guys like Rampage, GSP, and Silva who have main stream exposure already on a FOX card. Keep in mind though they still so a huge increase in ratings going against there Spike shows which hover around right under 2 million.

 

[Slim]

The problem wasn't just that there was 1 fight... but it was the fighters. Outside of UFC fans Cain and JDS aren't that well known. So they really had to hype things up and hyping two guys up that aren't that well known to the casual fans isn't an easy thing. It would have been a lot easier and better publicity if they were to use someone more well known in the main stream like Brock. Rampage since Brock is really well known thanks to WWE and Rampage did A-team.

But of course Brock is fighting in December so that wasn't gonna happen. But yeah the next card definitely should be better. At least more than one fight and a more main stream fighter. Anderson Silva I wouldn't say is a good one for the second show but the third or fourth since that way with the second one they could use a main stream fighter and get a lot more hype for it which would draw a lot more casual fans. That's how the Kimbo fight attracted so many people. For Elite XC and for his fight on The Ultimate Fighter against Big Country.

So... this was a test and getting that many people watching is good. So just imagine how many more they could get if they had someone that people actually knew.

 

[Kiffy Lube]

I heard the main event was awesome despite how short it was. UFC should be happy with how this turned out.

 

[No More Sorrow]

UPDATE: Fox Sports has now confirmed what this report initially stated, the final tally for the UFC’s first trip to Network Television is higher than early estimates. The figure Fox executive have confirmed are in the ballpark of 5.7 million viewers. This still falls short of the numbers Kimbo Slice pulled in on CBS, however it makes the event the most watched UFC broadcast in the companies history.

FoxSports.com

 

[Troy]

Reading these posts I am curious as to what was shown on Fox.

In Australia we supposedly had a live show but we were shown Guida vs. Henderson, then Velasquez vs Dos Santos and finally DaMarques Johnson vs. Clay Harvison. It had a nice flow to it and it was full of action for the whole hour.

5.7 million viewers is good but much lower than expected. I do agree that a more marketable name like a Lesnar or GSP or Silva would have drawn higher ratings. If they put a Lesnar fight on free tv that will smash all records.