To date I’ve been pretty critical of UFC’s recent event schedule, as I feel like supersaturation will equate to apathy towards the sport. I am happy to say that so far it appears that this cynicism has been challenged by the MMA viewing public. UFC on Fuel TV 1 turned out to be the biggest success in the history of the fledgling Fuel TV – and with six more events planned for the station throughout the year, this partnership is sure to be a profitable one.
Everything said, the net benefit of this event on Fuel does need to be taken with a grain of salt. While the average viewing audience for Fuel was up over 500% during the time the event aired, reaching a peak viewing point during the Ellenberger/Sanchez main event, Fuel TV is one of the lowest rated cable TV (specialty TV for Canadian readers) in the US.
What’s going to be interesting to watch from a marketing perspective is whether or not the UFC can do for Fuel what it did for Spike TV. Prior to its relationship with the UFC, it was in a much similar situation to Fuel – low viewership, heavy reliance on syndication and support. The UFC, with the The Ultimate Fighter as the engine, propelled Spike to one of the higher rated specialty stations in the US. The average fight night on Spike was averaging in around 500,000 to 1,000,000 viewers per event, not bad for a station of that caliber. Can same thing work for the benefit of Fuel?
The event aired this past Wednesday may not have had the same strong line-up that has been seen on the FOX cards, but I firmly believe that it had enough gusto to generate interest from the lay-person; which is the target that the UFC wants zero-in on right now. A perfect symbiotic relationship has been forged here, and it will be interesting to watch it grow.
The only pillar standing in its way is oversaturation from the parent company (FOX). If FOX/UFC pour it on too heavy on the higher rated FX and FOX networks, it could stop this Fuel from ever catching fire.
Notes from the event…
· In a hard fought, and bloody decision, Jake Ellenberger pulled out a surprising victory over Diego Sanchez. Sanchez needs to go back to being the “Nightmare”, because the “Dream” just isn’t cutting it.
· Stefan Struve did what he did and back from near defeat to chalk up a TKO victory against Dave Herman.
· Ronny Markes edged out Aaron Simpson for the split-decision win.
· TJ Dallishaw put on a striking clinic against Walel Watson, gaining two scores of 30-25 and on score of 30-26.
· Ivan Menjivar rallied from behind to land the rear-naked choke against John Albert in the first round.
… and that is the last word.
