It took me 18 seasons, plus a few extra international editions, but I can officially say that I am now bored of The Ultimate Fighter, the TV show better known to fans as TUF. I’ve heard fans saying they were bored of TUF for the last few years, but I guess it took me a bit longer to finally see the light and realize that this show is stale and needs a change.
When I first started watching TUF, it was because the show housed some of the best unsigned prospects in the world of MMA. Look at the first season, for example. You had talent like Forrest Griffin, Diego Sanchez, Josh Koscheck, and Chris Leben in the TUF house, fighters who would end up turning into some of the biggest stars in the sport.
The fact that the coaches were stars like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell helped, too.
Fast-forward to TUF 18, though, and I really can’t say the same thing. Looking at the TUF 18 roster, there are only a handful of fighters I see having star potential. One is Julianna Peña, who made it to the finals of the female bantamweight bracket. Another is Chris Holdsworth, who made it to the finals of the male bantamweight bracket. But, other than those two, I just don’t see many who command star power. If the purpose of the show is to build stars, I think it’s failing. And if that’s not the purpose of the show, then I don’t know what is.
If you think I’m being harsh towards the fighters, consider that the UFC didn’t sign any of the male fighters other than the two who made the finals (Holdsworth and David Grant). That should tell you all you need to know about what UFC matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean Shelby think about these guys, although to be fair, the female talent seemed pretty good for the most part. And another thing that bears mentioning is the fact that two of the eight male fighters missed weight. This in particular bothered me, because clearly the UFC is bringing in fighters that don’t really care about their careers all that much, and all for the sake of television ratings.
As for the coaches, I would definitely say Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate did a good job as far as teaching their respective teams, but I was really bothered by how annoying they were due to their grudge. I can do without the drama between these two, and I can’t wait until they fight at UFC 168, so I never have to hear these two flip out on each other again.
Had Cat Zingano been the coach opposite Rousey, as was the plan before she got hurt, I probably would have been less critical of the coaches, because I almost guarantee there would have been fewer annoying moments. But the UFC decided to go with Tate and Rousey, and the end product actually made me less of a fan of both fighters, which I don’t think is the purpose of the show. And I know I’m not alone in saying that.
I’m not really sure what the UFC needs to do, but they have to do something to re-energize the show, because it’s boring not just me, but some of the most influential people in the sport. When UFC president Dana White says that his favorite part of the season is the Coaches’ Challenge, you know the fighter talent just isn’t there, because in reality a fight promoter should be saying the fights are the best part of the show. You never would have heard White say that during season one.
Sadly, with the news that the UFC is going to take the TUF product all over the world in an attempt to deliver the sport of MMA to new locales, it doesn’t seem like there are going to be changes in the TUF format. But there needs to be, because the show is boring now. And while I’m desperately hoping the upcoming season with BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar changes my mind about this, I have a feeling it won’t, and that I’ll be even more disappointed than ever. And that in itself is a disappointment, because at one point TUF was must-watch television for me. But not anymore, and that’s not a good thing, because if you know me, I typically eat up anything MMA related. So if it’s happening for me, TUF is in a really bad spot.
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The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale is due to take place on November 30, 2013 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Click the stars to rate how good you think the TUF 18 Finale will be.
