UFC Fight Night 108 ratings fall below average for ‘Swanson vs Lobov’ on FOX Sports 1

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to the hurt business last Saturday night (April 22, 2017) for UFC Fight Night 108: "Swanson vs. Lobov," which took place inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, live on FOX Sports 1.

The ratings were merely so-so.

The promotion's “Music City” fight card featured a featherweight showdown pitting division stalwart Cub Swanson against The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 22 slugger Artem Lobov, in which the former walked away with a unanimous decision victory (video).

MMA Fighting has the numbers:

The late start on FS 1, beginning 32 minutes past the scheduled start, as well as sports competition from the NBA and NHL playoffs as well as boxing, saw the main card on FS 1 do 745,000 viewers, well below usual. The show peaked at 831,000 viewers for the Cub Swanson vs. Artem Lobov main event.

UFC Fight Nights usually do around 900,000 viewers, but the number varies wildly based on the main event and competition. The Golden State Warriors vs. Portland Trailblazers NBA playoff game on ESPN did 4,384,000 viewers, while an NHL playoff game on NBC did 2,055,000 viewers.

The FOX Sports 1 numbers have not been so hot this year.

The FOX Sports 2 preliminary card, however, finished second-best of all time on the strength of the Mike Perry vs. Jake Ellenberger welterweight showdown, which ended in a “Platinum” finish in the second stanza (see it).

It will be interesting to see what UFC 211 can do.

For much more on the UFC Fight Night 108 event from last weekend in Nashville click here.