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Holly Holm may have lost two fights in a row, but her star power from the Ronda Rousey win in November made her one of the biggest ratings draws in FOX UFC history.
The final three rounds of Holm's loss to Valentina Shevchenko on Saturday night from the United Center in Chicago drew 4,687,000 viewers, the fifth-best fight since UFC signed on with FOX in 2011. More impressive is that three of the four fights that beat that figure were during football season, when UFC ratings, because of the promotion during NFL games, are traditionally much higher. The only non-football season fight to beat that figure was the April 30, 2013 lightweight title fight where Benson Henderson won a close decision over Gilbert Melendez, which did 4,977,000 viewers during its peak quarter hour.
The number was even more impressive given the overall lineup and name recognition of the show. While Melendez has been a top fighter for more than a decade and has headlined major events in the past, and Edson Barboza is a lightweight title contender, they were the only other fighters on the show with any kind of mainstream name recognition. Because fewer people watch television in July, compared to the winter, it makes the numbers even more impressive.
The overall rating was helped greatly because of the strong main event interest, and the fact that fight went five rounds. The strongest interest, not surprisingly, came in Holm's home city of Albuquerque, where the show did an 8.8 rating and 18 share, meaning 18 percent of the homes watching television in the city watched the two-and-a-half hour show. That was more than double of any other market.
http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/7/2...c-on-fox-20-to-best-summer-ratings-in-history
The final three rounds of Holm's loss to Valentina Shevchenko on Saturday night from the United Center in Chicago drew 4,687,000 viewers, the fifth-best fight since UFC signed on with FOX in 2011. More impressive is that three of the four fights that beat that figure were during football season, when UFC ratings, because of the promotion during NFL games, are traditionally much higher. The only non-football season fight to beat that figure was the April 30, 2013 lightweight title fight where Benson Henderson won a close decision over Gilbert Melendez, which did 4,977,000 viewers during its peak quarter hour.
The number was even more impressive given the overall lineup and name recognition of the show. While Melendez has been a top fighter for more than a decade and has headlined major events in the past, and Edson Barboza is a lightweight title contender, they were the only other fighters on the show with any kind of mainstream name recognition. Because fewer people watch television in July, compared to the winter, it makes the numbers even more impressive.
The overall rating was helped greatly because of the strong main event interest, and the fact that fight went five rounds. The strongest interest, not surprisingly, came in Holm's home city of Albuquerque, where the show did an 8.8 rating and 18 share, meaning 18 percent of the homes watching television in the city watched the two-and-a-half hour show. That was more than double of any other market.
http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/7/2...c-on-fox-20-to-best-summer-ratings-in-history
