How Bad Is "The Ultimate Fighter 8" Going to Be?

by Luke Thomas on May 13, 2008 10:21 AM EDT in MMA News

Fightlinker issues a very relevant question:

Now here's a question for you: Why the fuck are there so few websites out there screaming "WEAKSAUCE" over this shit? I mean, go onto any forum out there and you'll read reactions from people that range from angry to confused to resigned to utter ambivalence (which means not giving a shit for those of you who hate my uppity big-wordiness). Yet go read the countless blogs out there and no one is giving the UFC a hard time over this lame-ass uninspired choice.

Let's get something straight: a fight between Frank Mir and Big Nog is barely interesting enough to carry a PPV on it's own, let alone an entire season of TUF. As for the argument that TUF exposure is a great way for Nog to become popular, that's ass backwards thinking. Sticking a relatively unknown guy on TUF is just going to result in less people giving a shit about it. And it's not like Nog just needs a showcase for his shining personality. The guy looks / acts like a big lumbering Frankenstein. For all the excitement he creates in the ring, he's duller than matte paint in real life.

For the record, I think this season is terrible and that's with two coaches who are good on camera, legitimate MMA stars and generally amiable and funny guys. If this format can't even work with them at the helm, I seriously doubt Mir and Noguiera is going to be any better (or even as good).

Look, the show - in its current format - has jumped the shark. I think there are a host of reasons for this, but part of it is that the talent well has run dry. If the UFC were able to space seasons further apart, they might be able to draw on more mature and developed talent. But they're running this machine into the ground and I don't think they've been able to cull the kind of talent they need consistently to make the show interesting.

In fact, the coaches' celebrity status used to be an ancillary benefit. TUF was originally and almost exclusively about the developing fighters. And when the show first started, there were a lot of up-and-comers to choose from. But between the pacing of the seasons and the growth of MMA leading to other organizations snatching up talent, there just isn't that much left to go around. Mir and Nogueira, despite being two of my favorite fighters, aren't going to change that dynamic.

Tweet Comment 2 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Re: How Bad Is "The Ultimate Fighter 8"

I think the answer is (and always has been) live fights. I think the best way to do TUF is simple.

7 live fight cards per "season" on SPIKE. 8 fighters are picked to be a part of the competition and on each live card there is a single "ultimate fighter" fight.

So you let the established UFC fighters carry the card and bring in the crowd. Then open the fight card with a brief segment on the two contestants fighting on that show, show them training, tell their story...let them fight...and then move on to the regular fights.

It allows you to get people to care about the new fighters, you have live shows to build up your next PPV, and you're going to get much better ratings out of a "fight night" type show than a failing reality show.

by Brent Brookhouse on May 13, 2008 12:38 PM EDT reply actions

The Ultimate Fighter 8

I thought TUF was pretty damn good up until I heard the coaches for next season. I'm not sure how good Big Nog's english is, but if it ain't good, caption will get old quick. They need exciting fighters to promote the show, keep the series worth watching, and I just don't see that with these two.

by JPonton on May 13, 2008 9:45 PM EDT reply actions