The UFC’s “Ultimate Fighter” franchise will get its much-wanted new night for season 17, when it debuts on Tuesday at 9 p.m. on Jan. 22. It will continue to air on FX.
Though the shift has yet to be officially announced, it was confirmed by UFC officials after a UFC 360 magazine advertisement touted the change with the tagline “Tuesdays just got TUF.”
Season 17, which began taping in October, features teams headed by UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen.
According to a recent story by TV industry news site Zap2It, TUF will be followed at 10 p.m. by a new season of the drama “Justified.”
FX usually ranks among the top cable networks in primetime viewership, averaging 1,450,000 viewers over the last week for which ratings were available.
The hope is that the move will make the series available to a larger segment of the coveted 18-34 demographic, with ratings for the two Friday editions of the show failing to meet past numbers.
The confirmation ensures that a possible nightly battle with Bellator will not happen. The promotion, which will move to Spike in January, has not officially announced a move to Thursdays, but has tickets on sale to an event on Jan. 17 that may serve as the kickoff to the season.