UFC has been an dominent force in MMA for years but recently, they have faced an sharp decline in viewership.
Conor McGregor, aka Notorious, who has been the face of UFC for years and has highest career earnings from UFC, returned to the ring recently in TUF 31 to revive UFC's declining viewership. With this return, the event was expected to draw good viewership.
There is a sense, however, that his charm has waned. In spite of the show airing at the main channel of ESPN, it is still unable to get good ratings.
In the season 31 premiere of The Ultimate Fighter with McGregor and Michael Chandler as head coaches, 294,000 viewers tuned in.
The number of viewers is a substantial drop from McGregor's previous appearance on TUF season 22, which launched to an average of 622,000 viewers on FOX Sports 1.
The show was expected to boost with the return of Conor McGregor on board as coach but it seems fans have been expecting more.
The hype around Conor's return to the ring has always been greater than that around him coaching the team. As a result of his fighting skills and charisma, he has become a household name in mixed martial arts, and his impact on the sport cannot be overstated.
But it seems that the long awaited confirmation surrounding Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler's fight has also faded from the enthusiasm and interest that surrounded it before the show began.
In the show, his team has faced some sincere tear off that tends to lose fans' interest in the show.
The defeat of Gutierrez, the group's number-one ranked bantamweight, not only struck a blow to the team but also to his fans.
Moreover, Roosevelt Roberts performed the fastest knockout in Ultimate Fighter history with a ten second knockout of team McGregor's Nate Jennerman, which took all hope from fans of the McGregor team.
Conor was intended to get the viewership back on track, but it seems the team needs to pull off more tricks to increase viewership, but until then, this ship appears to be sinking.
As the show is still far from its conclusion, a surprising turn of events in the ring or the confirmation of Conor and return of Michael could turn things around.
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