No matter how big or how small the fighters are, title fights draw in combat sports.
With what seems to be a successful new formula exemplified by the UFC, the company now advertises its free cards on FOX with one word—championship.
This four-syllable word transcends to any fight fan. When two fighters fight for a championship belt, that normally means that they are the two best in the world at that weight class. Common sense, right?
That generates interest for fans who have no idea who they may be watching. It’s much easier to skip over a random fight rather than a title fight, while flipping through the channels on a lonesome Saturday night. That’s almost guaranteed if that person happens to be a male drinking his favorite brew.
Nonetheless, using championship fights is a great marketing tool for the UFC. Heck, it certainly helped the UFC on FOX 5’s ratings, as Benson Henderson vs. Nate Diaz peaked at 5.7 million viewers.
So can the UFC continue its momentum going into this UFC on FOX 6 card this Saturday night? Well, with a championship plastered on the marquee for UFC on FOX 6, odds are that it will.
What? Not convinced because it’s a flyweight title fight?
Look at the card as a whole. This is easily a pay-per view caliber card, but it’s also a card that was created out of strategy. It’s a strategy that’s sure to gain great viewership and maybe even blow all of the other UFC on FOX ratings out of the water.
First, let’s start with the main event as we dissect this bad boy.
Demetrious Johnson vs. John Dodson
Here we are again with the word “championship.”
If you’ll notice on most of the UFC on FOX promos airing during network programming, analysts tend to refrain from saying flyweight championship. Also, commercials seem to just put championship fight in large bold letters rather than flyweight championship bout.
No coincidence here. That’s because the general public doesn’t care about two 125-pound fighters going at it. Little do they know, the lighter weight classes tend to be more exciting. But they wouldn’t know, because they lack the knowledge possessed by hardcore fans like you and me.
So the UFC and FOX used this tactic to create a buzz around the event. This catches the eye of casual fans, as well as garnering the attention of the hardcore ones. Step one: complete.
Anthony Pettis vs. Donald Cerrone
The casual fans are intrigued by the main event because of, well, you should know by now. But UFC matchmaker Joe Silva needed to come up with a fight that would make this fight card irresistible to those who love the sport of MMA.
He did just that with Anthony Pettis vs. Donald Cerrone. Can you say Fight of the Year candidate?
If you call yourself a fight fan and your adrenaline isn’t rushing through your body at the thought of seeing these two great strikers throw down, well, you must be going through some sort of midlife crisis.
Pettis and Cerrone are two guys that love to stand in the middle of the cage/Octagon and put on a show for fans. This should be a crowd-pleaser that die-hard fans will drool over.
Rampage Jackson vs. Glover Texeira
Finally, the UFC capped off its brilliant card with one of the biggest names in MMA history, Rampage Jackson.
Once the title fight sparks a sense of awareness for casual viewers, they will most likely look up the fight card to see who else is fighting.
Seeing Jackson on the card should elevate their interest. And as for the hardcore fans, you can’t miss Jackson’s swan song (most likely) in the UFC.
Plus, Silva matched him up with a hungry, future contender in Glover Teixeira. Is there any more bite left in Rampage? Or will Teixeira steamroll him like he demolished Kyle Kingsbury? Is this card considered can’t-miss by everyone yet?
Final Assessment
When it comes to predicting ratings for UFC on FOX 6, it’s easily justifiable to believe the UFC will trample previous UFC on FOX ratings.
It’s even easier to predict the UFC continuing its momentum from its 4.4 rating from UFC on FOX 5.
Gather ’round, boys and girls. With cowboys, mighty mouses and magicians taking center stage on FOX this Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET, you can bet your bottom dollar it’ll be “Showtime.”
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