On Friday, the third episode of UFC Primetime: Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans went up while the latest The Ultimate Fighter was the same as the week before, possibly good signs for the UFC 145 pay-per-view buyrate.
Primetime drew 646,000 viewers — up from 573,000 for the second episode and 462,000 for the debut. The series aired after TUF at 11 PM EST on FX. The eighth installment of the HBO 24/7 inspired series was designed to hype the Jones/Evans clash that headlined this past Saturday’s UFC 145.
TUF’s viewership was 1.05 million for the seventh episode of the series, which featured a fight between Vinc Pichel and John Cofer. Pichel picked up a third round submission victory, evening the series between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber at 3-3.
The ratings high for the season was seen in the first week with 1.3 million viewers tuning in, but fell to a season low 947,000 in the fifth week.