Despite having a great night of fights, “UFC on FOX 23: Shevchenko vs. Pena” did not pull the numbers experts expected it to. Paige VanZant, Michelle Waterson, and Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino have all seen success with ratings after headlining FOX/FS1 broadcasts, but it appears as Valentina Shevchenko and Julianna Pena, who sit atop the women’s bantamweight division, could not get the job done last night.
While Shevchenko certainly got the job done inside the octagon when she submitted Pena, MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer is reporting that the headline fight only drew 2.02 million viewers in overnight ratings. This is the lowest ratings have been for a UFC on FOX show in January, with the average being 2.47 million in overnight ratings.
Those fans who tuned in were treated to one hell of a night of fights; Where do you think the issue lied with pulling the viewers in?
