Normally, I like to beat up on UFC for airing too many events, which results in watered-down fight cards and tepid ratings across the board. UFC Moncton, however, was likely screwed no matter who was headlining, thanks to game four of the World Series pitting Boston against Los Angeles.
Red Sox beat the Dodgers 9-6 and yes, a lot of people watched, including UFC President Dana White. The final tally was 13,563,000 viewers, according to MMA Fighting, compared to 531,000 average viewers for UFC Moncton on FOX Sports 1.
That’s a record low for Saturday night and far below the series average of 736,000, though it also faced competition from college football and HBO boxing. For example, Oklahoma State vs. Texas pulled 3,486,000 viewers.
As expected, UFC Fight Night 138 peaked at 805,000 for the Volkan Oezdemir vs. Anthony Smith light heavyweight main event (highlights), which took place Oct. 27, 2018 inside Moncton Events Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
UFC will abandon the FOX network in 2019 following a new broadcast deal with ESPN.