UFC on FOX Results: TV Ratings Not Amazing, Not Terrible Either

When Dana White announced that the UFC was going to be on network television, long-time fans began speaking about their favorite sport as finally breaking into the mainstream. It certainly did that with the main event heavyweight fight between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos.

But just how successful was the event in terms of the almighty television ratings?

Early estimates brought serious concerns as MMAJunkie and other reputable sources reported that the inaugural UFC on FOX event might have only brought in about 4.64 million viewers.

While this number would’ve still been decent, it certainly was a disappointing number as the event put quite a bit of time and money into promoting this fight, even setting up a red carpet event with celebrities to help draw in more of the casual audience.

Many believed that the fight lasting only about a minute may have had a big negative impact on the numbers as many fans likely tuned in for the bout and then flipped the channel back to another program once the actual fight itself was over with.

This makes a lot of sense as we have seen this kind of thing happen in the past, especially in combat sports.

However, new reports have now come in that are estimating UFC on FOX as having a significantly better rating, more around the 5.7 million mark than the originally speculated 4.64 million.

As expected, this makes the event the most-viewed event in UFC history, narrowly edging out the Kimbo Slice vs. Roy Nelson fight on episode three of The Ultimate Fighter: The Heavyweights in September 2009.

The record-breaking night is great for the UFC, but it further highlights the point that although Velasquez and dos Santos are unquestionably better fighters, they simply are not on the same level of mainstream popularity that a “freakshow” like Slice was at in the height of his popularity.

If the original estimates were correct, there could have been some seriously upset executives. However, given these updated numbers and the circumstances of the competition it was up against on Saturday night, it’s hard to think that the event was anything but a success.

Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC on FOX. B/R is your home for post-fight analysis of the Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos fight card. Also, be sure to check out our fight card hub page for news and opinion on the entire UFC on FOX fight card.