WWE Smackdown ratings rise again, beat out UFC on FX 1 on Jan. 20

Remember all that talk of WWE potentially moving Smackdown to a live format on Tuesday night's because it didn't want to directly compete with UFC on Friday nights once it starts its Ultimate Fighter (TUF) series on FX?

Well, the two went head on this past Friday (Jan. 20, 2012) when Smackdown aired opposite UFC on FX 1: "Guillard vs. Miller." And the winner is ... WWE.

First, the Smackdown ratings (via PWTorch):

WWE's "Sin City Smackdown" on Friday, January 20 scored a 2.14 rating, holding up well after the previous Smackdown surged 21 percent to a 2.18 rating.

Smackdown averaged 3.3 million viewers, up six percent compared to the previous week and the most Smackdown viewers since 3.6 million viewers on February 25, 2011 nearly one year ago.

As opposed to the UFC on FX 1 ratings, which saw the event average 1.3 million viewers, including a 1.19 rating in the coveted male 18-49 demo and a 1.20 in males 18-34.

Smackdown, of course, is far more established on SyFy in its time slot while the UFC on FX 1 event was a one-off of sorts taking place on a different night than most UFC events take place. From that perspective, the events numbers should be considered largely a success.

Nonetheless, WWE should be most pleased with both their ratings win and the fact that Smackdown's numbers are once again on the rise after a short lull over the past month or so.

To watch the complete episode of Smackdown from this past Friday night click here.