The card may have been stacked, the event sold out at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, but the overnight ratings for UFC on FOX 11 are the lowest in the history of the series. According to TV By The Numbers, the event pulled an 0.8 rating in adults 18-49, and averaged 1.986 million viewers. That number is a 27 percent drop from January’s UFC on FOX 10.
The numbers were good enough only to beat CBS in the share of adults 18 to 49 viewing, however, the event lost in total viewers to all the other major networks.
UFC on FOX 11 was headlined by a heavyweight fight between Fabricio Werdum and Travis Browne. Werdum won the bout via unanimous decision.
The final ratings number, which will be out on Monday or Tuesday, is expected to be higher. The rating measures the viewership only for 8-10 p.m. time slot nationwide (and its corresponding earlier slots in the Central and Mountain time zone). However, it measures what West Coast FOX affiliates did from 8-10 p.m. instead of from 5-7 p.m. when the show aired. It also doesn’t measure anything after 10 p.m.
Overnight ratings figures for the first ten UFC on FOX events is as follows:
– UFC on FOX 1: 5.7 million average viewership, 3.1 rating in adults 18-49.
Date: November 12, 2011, headlined by Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos
– UFC on FOX 2: 4.57 million average viewership, 2.2 rating in adults 18-49.
Date: January 28, 2012, headlined by Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis
– UFC on FOX 3: 2.25 million average viewership, 1.0 rating in adults 18-49
Date: May 5, 2012, headlined by Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller
– UFC on FOX 4: 2.36 million average viewership, 0.9 rating in adults 18-49
Date: August 4, 2012, headlined by Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua vs. Brandon Vera
– UFC on FOX 5: 3.41 million average viewership, 1.6 rating in adults 18-49
Date: December 8, 2012, headlined by Benson Henderson vs. Nate Diaz
– UFC on FOX 6: 3.77 million average viewership, 1.7 rating in adults 18-49
Date: January 26, 2013, headlined by Demetrious Johnson vs. John Dodson
– UFC on FOX 7: 3.3 million average viewership, 1.6 rating in adults 18-49
Date: April 20, 2013, headlined by Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez
– UFC on Fox 8: 2.08 million average viewership, .9 rating in adults 18-49
Date: July 27th, 2013 headlined by Demetrious Johnson vs. John Moraga
– UFC on FOX 9: 2.41 million average viewership, 1.0 rating in adults 18-49
Date: December 14th, 2013, headlined by Demetrious Johnson vs. Joseph Benavidez
– UFC on FOX 10: 2.55 million average viewership, 1.1 rating in adults 18-49
Date: January 25th, 2014, headlined by Ben Henderson vs. Josh Thomson