Well now that the Strikeforce show on CBS has passed, I suppose it's time to turn out attention to UFC 105 this coming weekend. Oh wait, there's a UFC event this weekend? I found myself asking that question this morning. When I watched the UFC Main Events show that aired this past weekend on my dvr, the only thing I saw were commercials for UFC 106. So I pretty much forgot about UFC 105, because the UFC isn't promoting the event. I don't think I've seen any commercials advertising the event. There will not be a Countdown to UFC 105 show on Spike that I'm aware of either. It seems as if the UFC will depend on it's brand name recognition to carry the ratings on Spike TV, not to mention the show will air via tape delay because of the time difference. The original main event of Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin falling through has to be factored in now, because they have to promote a brand new main event in Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz 2 at UFC 106
I suppose the bottom line is that UFC 106 is a PPV event in America that has the potential to earn the UFC way more money than UFC 105. It'll be interesting to see what type of ratings UFC 105 will generate with Randy Couture fighting on cable tv for the first time. I wonder what effect the tape delay will have on the ratings as well. Here's a look at some of the ratings for foreign UFC numbered events that aired via tape delay on Spike TV:
-UFC 70 averaged 2.8 million viewers, peaking at 3.5 million viewers.
-UFC 75 averaged 4.7 million viewers, peaking at 5.93 million viewers
-UFC 89 averaged 2.6 million viewers, peaking at 3.4 millions viewers
-UFC 95 averaged 2.4 million viewers, peaking at 3 million viewers
All of the main events of those cards featured non-title bouts except for UFC 75, which featured the light heavyweight unification bout between Dan Henderson and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Obviously, that event had much higher ratings than the others. The main event at UFC 105 is a non-title affair, but will feature one of MMA's most beloved fighters in Randy Couture. What type of ratings will you be predicting for UFC 105 on Spike tv? Also, stay tuned to MMA4Real this week as we'll be providing previews of each main card bout for UFC 105. Don't forget about the MMA4Real betting game as well!
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