The UFC on FOX turned in one of its worst performances yet over the weekend.
UFC on FOX 23 scored a 1.3 final rating and 2.2 million viewers Saturday night, down 19% in ratings and 18% in viewership from last January (1.6, 2.7M) and down 28% in both measures from January 2015 (1.8, 3.0M). Compared to the most recent live UFC card on FOX in December, ratings fell 28% from a 1.8 and viewership 31% from 3.2 million.
Saturday’s telecast, which peaked with 3.0 million viewers during the main event from 9:45-10 PM ET, delivered the second-lowest rating and viewership ever for the UFC on FOX (24 telecasts dating back to 2011). UFC on FOX 21 last August holds the all-time low marks of 1.2 and 2.0 million.
It was the third UFC on FOX card headlined by a female bout, this time Valentina Shevchenko against Julianna Peña. The previous such telecasts delivered much stronger numbers, including 3.0 million for Shevchenko’s win over Holly Holm last July and the aforementioned 3.2 million for Paige VanZant/Michelle Waterson in December — two of the three largest UFC audiences in the past three years.
Head-to-head, UFC on FOX was beaten soundly by the Clippers/Warriors NBA game on ABC (2.0, 3.3M).
In adults 18-49, coverage scored a 0.8 rating — down 20% from last January (1.0) and down 27% from the most recent card in December (1.1).
