UFC on FX 5 prelims tank on Fuel TV with just 44,000 viewers

Earlier today, it came out that the UFC did decent numbers for the main card of UFC on FX 5, and it provided a strong lead-in to the highest-rated Ultimate Fighter 16 episode of the season. But before that, the prelims took place on Fuel TV, and they did not do well ratings-wise. The show did just 44,000 viewers on Friday afternoon, which is the worst number they've drawn so far by a huge margin. Here's a look at the numbers for the previous four FX prelims shows on Fuel:

UFC on FX 1: 148,000
UFC on FX 2: 113,000
UFC on FX 3: 84,000
UFC on FX 4: 160,000
UFC on FX 5: 44,000

Live reports of the show were similar, stating that there was barely anyone in the arena for the show. Two bouts that were penciled in for the prelims, Dennis Hallman vs. Thiago Tavares and Jeremy Stephens vs. Yves Edwards, ended up getting scrapped but that's no reason for low numbers. And sure, the show started in the afternoon on Friday. But that has happened before as well, and shouldn't lead to such a steep dropoff in viewers either.

Basically, it just seems that no one cared to watch. That's not a good thing.