Ratings for the thirteenth season of the Ultimate Fighter continue to disappoint in week number two. The show earned a 1.0 household rating while pulling in an average audience of 1.2 million viewers. The numbers break down to a 1.13 in males 18-49 and 1.4 in males 18-34.

Last week's debut episode drew a 1.0 household rating and 1.5 million viewers.

In Wednesday's live thread for episode two, I talked about a few factors that might be contributing to the decline in ratings from previous seasons. I'm inclined to believe that the new time slot is hurting the show more than anything else.

The show may have become formulaic, but that formula still drew a 1.2 debut rating for season 8 featuring Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, neither of which is near the star that Brock Lesnar is today. And I have a hard time believing that people have lost interest in the former heavyweight champ, considering the traffic boosts his name gives this very site.

That leaves us with the time change as the biggest variable between this season and seasons prior. Presuming that the Ultimate Fighter won't serve as a lead-in for Coal for its fall season, it will be interesting to see if Spike TV reverts the show back to its 10 p.m. ET time slot, and if that brings the ratings back up to its former numbers.

SBN Coverage of the Ultimate Fighter 13