UFC TV Ratings Continue at a Record Pace on Fuel TV with TUF 17 Finale Coverage

The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale continued the UFC’s streak of setting TV ratings records for Fuel TV.

The TUF 17 Finale Prelims on Fuel TV on Saturday delivered the highest rated UFC prelims of all time for the network, drawing 269,000 total viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. It was also Fuel TV’s second most-watched program of all time falling short only to the UFC on Fuel TV 8: Silva vs. Stann main card, which aired live on the network to an audience of 485,000 in March.

The TUF 17 Finale Prelims audience of 269,000 dwarfed that of the TUF 16 Finale Prelims, which drew 96,000 viewers in December.

Even the TUF 17 Finale weigh-in cover on Friday set high marks, drawing 126,000 viewers. It was the third most-watched UFC weigh-in in network history.

The Ultimate Fighter will move to FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports’ newly minted multi-sport national cable channel, when it returns in September. The next installment, featuring UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and challenger Cat Zingano as coaches, also moves to Wednesday evening at 10 p.m. ET.

FS1 launches Saturday, Aug. 17, and season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter premieres Wednesday, Sept. 4 at 10 p.m. ET.