MMA Fighting · Apr 2, 2019
NCAA basketball competition leads to UFC’s lowest marks on ESPN
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY SportsEver since UFC moved to ESPN in January, its ratings have been constantly boosted by college basketball lead-ins.
On Saturday, the shoe was on the other foot.
The second UFC Fight Night main card on ESPN, headlined by Justin Gaethje’s first-round knockout win over Edson Barboza from the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia averaged 828,000 viewers for the main card. The main card aired earlier than usual for a UFC televised show, from 7-10 p.m. Eastern. That number compares unfavorably to the 1,463,000 viewers for the show headlined by Cain Velasquez vs. Francis Ngannou on Feb. 17.