UFC on Fox 14 drew higher ratings than any other UFC on Fox event over the past two years.
Saturday’s event drew 2.82 million viewers, based on preliminary overnight ratings reported Sunday on TV By the Numbers (h/t Dave Meltzer of MMAFighting.com).
The fight card was headlined by a light heavyweight battle between Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. Johnson took the upset in Stockholm, Sweden, with a stirring knockout of Gustafsson two minutes and 15 seconds into the first round.
TV Ratings Saturday: ‘UFC Fight Night’ Rises, ‘U.S. Figure Skating Championship’ Falls,’48 Hours’ Down, ’20/20′ Up http://t.co/oTB7MHjXHO
— TVbytheNumbers.com (@TVbytheNumbers) January 25, 2015
When the final number comes in, it should be higher, as it will account for more accurate numbers from the event’s West Coast viewership.
The event pulled in a 1.1 rating in the all-important 18-49 age demographic, which also happens to be the primary demographic of MMA and the UFC.
Saturday night’s audience was a significant increase over the 2.27 million drawn by UFC on Fox 13, which featured heavyweights Junior dos Santos and Stipe Miocic in its main event.
The news has to be welcome for UFC and Fox officials, who not even a year ago saw the series post its lowest rating ever when UFC on Fox 11—behind a main event of Fabricio Werdum vs. Travis Browne—only mustered 1.98 million sets of eyes.
This announcement also comes on the heels of very good news for the UFC’s previous event on Fox Sports 1, which featured budding star Conor McGregor in its main event. That event drew in 2.75 million viewers, a record for a Fox Sports 1 MMA card.
Some of the credit should perhaps go to the NFL. Fox broadcasts NFL playoff games and frequently advertises its Fox and FS1 MMA events on that prime television real estate.
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