The second edition of the UFC on FOX was down double-digits from the inaugural telecast in November, with some caveats.
FOX earned a 2.6 final rating and 4.7 million viewers for UFC coverage Saturday night, down 16% in ratings and 17% in viewership from the network’s first UFC telecast in November (3.1, 5.675M).
Keep in mind Saturday’s telecast lasted over two hours and included three different bouts. By comparison, the November telecast was just one hour long and featured only one fight.
The Rashad Evans/Phil Davis fight was the highest rated of the three Saturday, earning a 3.4 rating and over six million viewers. Earlier in the night, the Chael Sonnen/Michael Bisping fight earned a 2.7, and the Demian Maia/Chris Weidman bout earned a 2.2.
For some perspective, the second EliteXC bout on CBS earned a 1.7 and 2.6 million viewers in July 2008, down from a 3.0 and 4.9 million for the inaugural telecast two months earlier. The second Strikeforce telecast on CBS drew a 1.8 and 2.9 million in April 2009, down from a 2.5 and 4.0 million for the inaugural telecast the previous November.
(Saturday’s numbers from Fox Sports Media Group press release via The Futon Critic)
