TUF 17 Hitting Its TV Ratings Stride in Week 4

Four weeks into its 17th season and The Ultimate Fighter is settling into its stride in regards to TV ratings.

Tuesday night’s Episode 4 drew an average audience of 1.2 million in the quick overnight ratings, according to MMAWeekly.com industry sources.

That matches week three, and falls closely in line with the season average of 1.3 million viewers per episode. 1.3 million is well above last season’s 829,000 viewers per episode and TUF Live’s 1 million viewers per show.

“The Ultimate Fighter is pacing +50% above last season,” tweeted FX senior vice president of media relations John Solberg on Wednesday.

This season’s Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen coaches, Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen, likely have a strong part in the ratings improvement, as do the series’ move to Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. ET. The past two seasons aired on Friday night at 10 p.m. ET.

TUF 17 TV Ratings:

Week 1: 1.51 million viewers
Week 2: 1.30 million viewers
Week 3: 1.20 million viewers
Week 4: 1.20 million viewers