UFC Brasilia Does Extremely Poor Viewership Numbers
As it turns out, being the only major sports organization holding an event did not save UFC Brasilia from having poor viewership. As the numbers roll in, it seems that they are actually exceptionally low.
UFC Brasilia took place over the weekend, with a pivotal lightweight matchup in the headlining role. Kevin Lee would be submitted by Charles Oliveria in the main event. However what was unique about this card is that it took place in an arena that had no fans in attendance.
The reason for this, is obviously the growing concerns about the coronavirus. Moreover this resulted in UFC Brasilia being the only major sporting event for the weekend, with the NBA and other leagues suspending action. Regardless of this, according to recent reports, this event did the lowest amount of views of any UFC card in the ESPN era.
“UFC Brasilia card ratings on ESPN – average of 672,000 viewers. Lowest number of UFC on ESPN era – also streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast on ESPN Deportes.”
This is not great news for the company, considering there was nobody else competing against them. Then again, most people likely have other things on their minds, besides this event. Regardless, the UFC has since announced that their next three shows are being postponed, so there will be nothing to compare it to moving forward.
Honestly, it was pretty foolish for the UFC to attempt to proceed with UFC Brasilia, even without a crowd. Hopefully they learned that the returns are not necessarily worth the investment, and they will stop trying to push their luck on regulation for fights.
