The final numbers are in for UFC on FOX 26.
UFC on FOX 26 appeared to be a viewership did, failing to crack the two-million mark for the overnight numbers. Since the card ended after 10 PM ET, there was expectation that the event would receive a boost in the final total, and while it did, it still wasn’t anything special.
MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer has the details:
The final same-day ratings for Saturday’s UFC on FOX 26 broadcast, where Rafael dos Anjos won a unanimous decision over Robbie Lawler, was 2,107,000 viewers.
While it was the fourth-lowest number for a UFC on FOX broadcast to date, it will also end up being the second most-watched MMA event on television this year, and largest since January.
The numbers rose significantly from the fast nationals due to a combination of the entire main event being factored into the average and the addition of the West Coast viewers that aren’t figured into the first numbers. It ended up as the most-watched show on network TV for Men 18-34 and 18-49, Overall 18-49 and Overall 18-34, and in what is considered the key demos, beat everything else on television aside from the NFL on the NFL Network.
The NFL game on the NFL network that went head-to-head with the main card did 6,993,000 viewers, and the belief is Star Wars opening weekend led to lower than usual television viewing Saturday night..
The peak of the show was the last three rounds of the main event, which averaged 3,071,000 viewers.
The final Nielsen rating was 0.7 for the coveted 18-49 demographic, so FOX topped its rival broadcast networks in the primetime slot.
UFC on FOX 26 viewers are still well down from last December’s UFC on FOX 22, which averaged 3,178,000 viewers and was headlined by Michelle Waterson’s quick finish of Paige VanZant. Viewership totals have fallen significantly for UFC shows on FOX in 2017, with none of the cards averaging more than 2.189 million. In fact, the worst one among the four was UFC on FOX 24: Johnson vs. Reis in April, as that card drew in an average of 1,996,000. January’s UFC on FOX 23, which saw Valentina Shevchenko’s submit Julianna Pena, will stand as the most-watched MMA event of 2017.
The next UFC on FOX card is January 27th in Charlotte, North Carolina, as Ronaldo Souza takes on Derek Brunson in the night’s main event. 2018 will be the final year of the UFC’s broadcasting deal with FOX Sports.