"The Ultimate Fighter" Season 13 Continues To Struggle, Episode 6 Falls To 1.2 Million Viewers

The thirteenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter” has been plagued with up-and-down ratings, and that’s not a hyperbole. Many fans and insiders anticipated that the show would make at least one big splash and pull at least one huge rating thanks to Brock Lesnar’s involvement, since Lesnar remains one of the most controversial and highest-drawing athletes in the UFC. However, several issues have caused TUF 13 to fall far short of expectations, and the bad news just keeps on coming. Read on for all the details.

We head to MMA Weekly for an official word on the ratings for the sixth episode of the popular and long-running UFC reality TV show. According to their report, episode six pulled in an average of 1.2 million viewers, down from the past few week’s ratings of 1.3. The report also states that TUF 13 has never gone above 1.5 million average viewers, while the average viewers for all of Season 12 was 1.7 million. For all intents and purposes, things look bleak and appear to be getting bleaker.

I’ve talked about the failings and shortcomings of this thirteenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter” at length, but I’d like to focus on something a bit more positive now: after a relatively weak season, episode six was definitely one that was well worth watching. In fact, I’m even a little sad that this had to be the episode that saw another decline in the ratings.

What was so bad about episode six? I really can’t name a single thing I absolutely hated about it. Not only did we have two fights instead of the usual one, both fights were action-packed bouts that ended with some pretty dramatic stoppages. We also got some great drama from both sides of the spectrum. Over at Team Lesnar, we had two of the team’s standout fighters both avoid serious injury. And over at Team Junior dos Santos, we had JDS finally get fed up with the egotistical Lew Polley and kick him to the curb.

So, what needs to change? I’m not so sure, at least, not until the entire season is over and done with. I will say this, though: “The Ultimate Fighter” needs to return to its regular timeslot. Dana White has spoken about this at length, and I find myself really agreeing with him. Spike TV made a bad decision when they moved one of its bread-and-butter shows ahead one hour in order to focus on a reality television show about coal miners of all things.

I know that type of reality TV is very popular with a certain amount of people, hence the deluge of shows focused on all manner of life-threatening jobs, but this is Spike TV we’re talking about. Spike TV appeals to a certain demographic, and I don’t think I’m in the wrong when I say that that’s a demographic that would rather see MMA action at an hour that doesn’t compete with most of their favorite shows, instead of a dreary reality TV show about the dangerous life of coal miners.

But maybe that’s just me, fans and friends. So I’ll throw it over to you: what do you think went wrong and continues to go wrong with TUF Season 13? And what changes would you like to see implemented?