This past Wednesday night the UFC rolled out their newest Primetime series, this one focusing on the upcoming bout between Georges St-Pierre and Jake Shields at UFC 129. It is the first time they have given the long form Primetime treatment to a fight since last October’s Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez meeting. The show, which airs at 12am Wednesday night, was not a ratings hit as it only brought in 610,000 viewers. This downturn also correlates with the recent trouble the newest season of The Ultimate Fighter has been having despite having Brock Lesnar as one of the coaches.
The series is different than the UFC’s other preview show Countdown in that it dives deeper into the background of the fighters and takes place over three episodes. This is the fifth time they have used this format and the third time that Georges St-Pierre is one of the featured attractions. The previously lowest rated debut was the special that featured his fight with BJ Penn for UFC 94. That episode only brought in 880,000 viewers, however it must be noted that that was the inaugural episode of the series.
The following two episodes can be seen on Spike TV on Wednesday night/Thursday morning at 12am EST/PST with plenty of repeats throughout the week on Spike and Fuel TV.
