Without even taking into account time zones and much of the main-event, which went well into the 10PM hour, Saturday’s UFC on FOX is showing significant improvement in the ratings.
The broadcast, which featured Benson Henderson successfully defending his Lightweight Championship against Nate Diaz, drew a 1.6 adults 18-49 rating with 3.41 million viewers. Down from the inaugural Heavyweight Championship FOX card and the follow-up, which featured more star power, the numbers are nonetheless up from the previous two shows.
And, once the overrun and live broadcast on the west coast are taken into account, the number should look even better.
Benefiting from a season’s worth of NFL coverage, in addition to a dearth of sports competition Saturday, UFC brought a positive ending to a somewhat disappointing first year on FOX. It easily won Saturday in the key 18-49 demo.
In addition to Henderson-Diaz, Saturday’s show also featured Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Alexander Gustafsson, BJ Penn vs. Rory MacDonald and Matt Brown vs. Mike Swick.