UFC 65

I read somewhere the Times story was the most read sports story in the paper the day before and the day following the event - and it was by a pretty significant margin. The Washington Post story on the event was also its top-read story of the weekend.
Now that papers are dedicating time and space to the UFC, fans are reading.

 

The TImes finally woke up, then. Good for them; they virtually ignored it for a long time while other LA-area outlets were pounding the beat.
I'm no UFC fan (props for noting my sarcasm), but it should be covered when there's a local connection or local events.
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I agree with you for the most part. However, this year, UFC has drawn record ratings on SpikeTV and the pay-per-view numbers are incredible. At Ortiz-Shamrock in July, the PPV buyrate was over 700,000 buys, which is an incredible number for any sports event (the only two events that compare to that number of buys is an Oscar De La Hoya fight or a WrestleMania). I think if a newspaper is covering boxing on a regular basis, and it has no local ties, then UFC should definitely be getting the same coverage. UFC is also huge in the coveted male 18-40something demographic, which newspaper needs to appeal to more.