UFC 142 will be an exciting event for fans of mixed martial arts, but the popularity and excitement over the NFL playoffs will steer casual fans away from this weekend’s UFC event.
Let’s be real, the NFL playoffs would dominate anything in a television ratings battle because pro football is king in America.
Last Sunday’s Denver Broncos vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game on CBS got a 25.9 rating, the highest ever for an AFC Wild Card game since the 1988 playoffs.
With Tim Tebow competing with the UFC on Saturday night, the ratings for UFC 142 will be very low, and few people will buy it on pay-per-view.
Tebow is the most popular player in sports right now, and his matchup against the New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady is so exciting.
The Broncos and Patriots game starts at 8 p.m. ET, and could easily run past 11 p.m. With the game going deep into the night, people will not want to buy UFC on pay-per-view when they can watch Tebow, because that game is what everyone will be talking about on Saturday night.
The best-case scenario for the UFC is if the Patriots are destroying the Broncos by halftime or during the third quarter. That is the only way that casual fans will feel inclined to move from the football game to UFC 142.
Tebow’s journey with the Broncos this season is the most compelling story in sports, and against the UFC, the NFL playoffs will dominate the televisions of sports fans in America on Saturday.
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