Update: The ratings for Saturday night’s UFC on FOX: Shogun vs. Vera are in.
After debuting to strong ratings for the Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos special and returning with another solid performance for the Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis show, UFCs’ FOX ratings took a nosedive for the May airing.
Though it was unequivocally called the most exciting of the three FOX cards, the show, headlined by Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller, posted very disappointing adults 18-49 and viewership numbers that fell by nearly fifty percent from the marks set by the second show.
Saturday’s card, the fourth UFC special to air on FOX, was not a marquee card by any stretch of the imagination, but it did feature bigger names than the second show. Headlined by former champions like Lyoto Machida and Maurico “Shogun” Rua, the four-show fight was certain to have more casual credibility than the Miller-Diaz show.
Unfortunately, it also faced numerous challenges. Whereas UFC on FOX 3 went head-to-head with NBA playoff games and the juggernaut cinema opening of “The Avengers,” Saturday’s UFC fox show faced an even more intimidating, sports-centric Goliath in the form of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Combined with that threat and the mere reality of airing on a summer Saturday, expectations for ratings were not optimistic.
Following the show, UFC President Dana White weighed in on ratings expectations, noting the very real challenge of going against a monster like the Olympic Games.
“The Olympics are doing really well. Most of the networks aren’t really airing anything serious for the two weeks that the Olympics are on,” explained White.
But the UFC President still recognized the importance of the show, and gave his organization’s fighters one key goal for the evening: entertain the viewers who are watching.
“I told these guys yesterday after the weigh-ins, if people are f*cking channel surfing, they better have a reason to stay on fox,” explained White. “They did it, man.
“Whatever the rating is on Monday, these guys did it tonight–they delivered. I’m not even thinking about it; we put on a great performance tonight.”
The fast national ratings report, which is the first to contain numbers for total viewers and the adults 18-49 demographic, is due by around noon on Sunday.
