We’re a week away from Christmas, but if you’re a combat sports fan, you probably had your shopping postponed to last-minute status on account of the fight-filled weekend we just enjoyed. Even if you’re the most savviest shopper in the world, the mixed martial arts world had you glued to your screen and disrupting your schedule. The chief culprit? The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s final card on Fox’s family of networks: UFC on Fox 31.
Going into Saturday’s card in Milwaukee, things seemed rather mundane, which was almost apropos; viewership numbers have been slumping across the platform for years now, and the UFC was all-too-happy to jump over to ESPN and try to expand its product -- a far cry from the way MMA folks envisioned this relationship seven years ago.