MMA fans love quick knockouts, but from a ratings standpoint, they are not exactly the friend of broadcasters and promoters.
Because Saturday’s UFC Heavyweight Championship fight between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos was over in just a minute, the show had little opportunity to retain its peak audience. The near-entirety of the broadcast was pre- and post-game analysis and commercials, none of which captivate most television audiences.
Given the limitations, it appears Saturday’s UFC on FOX performed pretty well. F4WOnline.com is reporting time-adjusted fast nationals at a 3.0 adults 18-49 rating with 5.7 million viewers. When all is said and done, the fight has a chance of topping the performance for the Roy Nelson vs. Kimbo Slice episode of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which did huge numbers on Spike TV.
Earlier data, before the time-adjustment, reflected a 2.4 adults 18-49 rating with 4.6 million viewers, which looked far bleaker–coming in behind the Slice-Nelson fight and barely edging an Elite XC broadcast on CBS that also featured Slice.