UFC on Fox 23 Draws 2.02 Million Viewer Average in Saturday Overnight Ratings

The Ultimate Fighting Championship's latest card on Fox delivered action but so far, hasn't delivered in the ratings.

According to the overnight ratings released Sunday by Nielsen, UFC on Fox 23 which took place last Saturday at the Pepsi Center in Denver drew an average of 2.02 million viewers for the two-hour broadcast. The card, headlined by Valentina Shevchenko's second-round armbar victory over Julianna Pena, drew an average of 1.87 million viewers for its first hour from 8 to 9 p.m. ET, and 2.16 million for its second hour from 9 to 10 p.m.

The UFC on Fox 23 broadcast also did a 0.7 rating in the 18-49 demo.

It is expected that the viewership numbers will rise when DVR +3 adjusted ratings are released later this week, as is typically the case with UFC events. However, the numbers will likely fall short of recent UFC events in January, where the promotion has the benefit of strong cross-promotion due to the National Football League playoffs on Fox. Last January's UFC on Fox 18, headlined by Anthony Johnson's first-round knockout of Ryan Bader, drew 2.43 million for its overnight rating, compared to a 2.78 million average for the UFC's January events.

At UFC on Fox 20 in July, Shevchenko earned her breakout unanimous decision win over former UFC women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm. The broadcast averaged over 2.45 million viewers in overnights, jumping to an estimated average of 2,975,000 viewers after DVR +3, peaking over 4.68 million viewers for the main event.