Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was back in action last night (Tues., Feb. 5, 2013) with episode three of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 17: "Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen" on the FX channel.

And despite teasing the most "shocking" finish ever in the Middleweight bout between Uriah Hall vs. Adam Cella, including a spoiler-laden social media push as the episode neared its savage conclusion, the ratings continued to slide slightly.

When the final bead of sweat was wiped from the concerned brow of UFC President Dana White, "Embrace the Suffering" averaged 1.2 million viewers and scored a .92 household rating, according to Sherdog.com. By comparison, episodes one and two averaged 1.5 and 1.27 million viewers, respectively.

Despite the shift to Tuesdays, as well as the addition of high-profile coaches Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen, TUF on FX continues to struggle when compared to Spike TV (Ep. 3 of TUF 14: "Bisping vs. Miller" did 1.3 million viewers).

It is certainly not for lack of jaw-dropping mixed martial arts (MMA) action. In the episode three, Team Sonnen's Uriah Hall registered an insane spinning back-kick knockout of Team Jones' Adam Cella. It was a scary scene, which White detailed here.

If you missed it (shame on you), click here for our full results and recap. And to watch the hair-raising video replay of the Hall knockout click here.

Next week, Team Sonnen, which is undefeated (2-0), will send Kevin Casey into the Octagon to keep its perfect record intact against Collin Hart of Team Jones.