Press Release – LOS ANGELES, CA – UFC ON FUEL TV 7: BARAO VS. MCDONALD on Saturday, Feb. 16, highlighted by the network’s first-ever Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) title fight, delivered FUEL TV its most-watched day ever, according to Nielsen Media Research. Audience for the London card, which saw interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao defend his belt against Michael McDonald, averaged 195,000 viewers, and peaked from 3:45 PM ET to 4:00 PM ET with 255,000 viewers. On the day, FUEL TV averaged 72,000 viewers, surpassing its prior total day record set on April 14, 2012 (71,000 viewers).
Average household viewership for UFC® ON FUEL TV 7 was up +122% (195,000 vs. 88,000) and +121% among M18-49 (115,000 vs. 52,000) compared to UFC® ON FUEL TV 6. A re-air of the fight at 8:00 PM ET delivered an additional 116,000 viewers, and led the network to its third most-watched Saturday primetime ever (95,000 from 7:00 – 11:00 PM ET). Altogether, the event aired three times on Feb. 16, delivering a combined 352,000 viewers.
The live, action-filled three-hour program on Saturday was the seventh UFC® fight telecast on FUEL TV. UFC® coverage continues this coming weekend with the live Weigh-in and Postfight shows for UFC® 157: ROUSEY VS CARMOUCHE. FUEL TV’s eighth UFC® fight is the following week, with UFC ON FUEL TV 8: SILVA VS STANN airing on Saturday, March 2 (10:00 PM ET).