Best TUF Episode Since 2006

by Michael Rome on May 22, 2008 12:09 AM EDT in News Comment 10 comments

We've all been harsh on The Ultimate Fighter of late. It's not that it's worse this season than last (it's better), it's just that the show has been very stale. Tonight the show broke out of its funk, and delivered something awesome. Here's a list of the things they did right:

1. Building a star: The whole goal of this show was to establish CB Dollaway as the guy to beat. They are hedging their bets on him, and from what I've seen so far this season, it is a good bet. By showing him own Rampage and having everyone talk him up the whole episode, he instantly got put on a pedestal above everyone else.

2. Humor: This show was hilarious the whole way through. Forrest and Rampage both had good lines, and then Amir and Tim came through with awesome one-liners too. I'm starting to think we will get one of those two against Dollaway in the finals.

3. The fight was awesome: UFC can't control whether fights are good, but they can choose which fighters are on the show. This fight was excellent, both guys showed a lot of skill, and the finish was really cool. Dollaway has a lot of power in his strikes on the ground, and despite numerous submission attempts, he was never really close to being submitted. On a side note, it was ironic seeing Mazzagatti choose not to take a point away for shots to the back of the head when he took a point away from Lesnar for much less.

4. Future Feuds: The build-up for Dollaway-Cale made me really want to see them fight, and I'm stoked for Amir and Matt Brown. I think the season is going to finish strong.

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Could it be the drama??

Matt Brown. This guy could be a great addition to the UFC roster. He’s got that bad ass appeal that fans would go for. If he puts on a couple of good showings with his aggravated, bad dude mentality he could be an attraction. Good for the sport.

Is it the fact that there was a little more story/background/drama to this show instead of two fights that influenced this opinion??

I was kinda rooting for Klein in this fight, just because I’m an underdog type of guy, but as soon as he pulled guard in the 2nd I just wanted him to get knocked out. Same reason I was so happy when Amir landed that knee and put Harris down. Pulling guard and pressing guys against the fence or pinning them to the floor and doing little else for an entire fight is what will drive the casual fan away. Guys that bring excitement bring the fans, which bring that money, which takes the sport to the next level.

Dollaway has some sick skills, but I don’t know if he has the exciting style or personality that would make an impression on new or casual fans. That’s kind of a major factor for me at this point. The longer a casual fan watches, the more they start to understand the intricacies of the fight game and the better it is for all of us.

by PeteDx on May 22, 2008 1:20 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don’t think Matt Brown has a future with the UFC. At least not long term.

by Luke Thomas on May 22, 2008 9:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why not? Just curious…

by lucas_x on May 22, 2008 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

In short

I don’t think he’s a UFC-caliber fighter.

by Luke Thomas on May 22, 2008 2:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Somewhat agree, but 185 is full of bjj players/grapplers, so a good striker may stick for just that reason. I definitely would need to see more of him to say for sure.

"They said you was hung!!"

"And they was RIGHT!"

by BJJDenver on May 22, 2008 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think some of the biggest stars ever in the ufc have had a similar style, and I think he’s actually a pretty entertaining talker. His striking obviously needs work, but he has major potential.

I agree with you that the extra drama and story stuff made this show better. I started demanding two fights a show after last year because the fights were short and poor last year, and the drama in the house was repetitive and boring. I think the one fight shows can be excellent if done creatively.

by Michael Rome on May 22, 2008 2:01 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It also helps when the fight is entertaining and possibly somewhat competitive (e.g. like this fight).

When the “drama” is between Forrest and Rampage, chances are it’s going to be pretty entertaining (much more so than drama between the contestants). Looking at seasons past, it always seemed like the “drama” between the coaches is what drew my wife into watching the show (my case study of the casual fan). She actually watched every episode of the Tito/Shamrock season, and was initially drawn in by their conflict. So perhaps a key element of the drama for the show should be between the coaches (which has been suggested before, I think that this episode just strengthened that argument).

by Estrada on May 22, 2008 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It was a good show, my wife who normally doesn’t watch finished watching the episode because of Rampage’s antics of this show.
I wonder if it’s too late for the show to boost viewership though. If the ratings were low before I can’t see them spiking for this show.

by pr0cs on May 22, 2008 9:30 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs