Issue 089

June 2012

OK, I’ll finally admit it: The Ultimate Fighter had been getting a little stale – well, maybe a lot stale. As much as I tried in my head to combat the idea the series was dying a slow, painful death, I now realize it was probably my way of dealing with the fact my job requires me to watch and report on each and every episode of the series. 

The formula was well-documented: recap previous week, show a little training, feature some hi-jinx at the house, create a little tension between the fighters, weigh in, fight – then rinse and repeat. And, of course, the fights were months old. In attempt to keep the series interesting, I actually had to go out of my way to not hear spoilers. But that’s all changed now.

Making the decision to air each week’s elimination fight live has been just the sort of shot in the arm the series needed to become relevant again. It feels completely fresh and new, and I can actually say I’m anticipating episodes each week rather than just adding them to my calendar as work-required viewing.

“It’s awesome,” UFC president Dana White told Fighters Only. “I think that going into the first episode, meaning the fights to get into the house, we had never done it before, so we kind of went on the fly. There were some things I didn’t like and some mistakes I thought we made. We worked that [expletive] out quick. We got into it in the second episode, and this thing I think is perfect now. It’s perfect. It couldn’t be any better. There isn’t a thing that I would change. I love it all.”

I must admit, I completely agree. Some MMA pundits contend that The Ultimate Fighter no longer serves any relevant purpose on TV. After all, as a show designed as the UFC’s Trojan-horse attack on the airwaves, the real point was to make the world aware of MMA. Now that the company has a network television contract in place in the US, and is considered among the fastest-growing sports in the world, awareness is hardly an issue.

But I contend The Ultimate Fighter was still relevant, even in its previous format. Sure, the show has given the UFC champions like Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin and (technically, at least) Matt Serra, but the real value of the show in my eyes has always been in the Chris Copes, Matt Riddles and Kyle Watsons of the world. Fighters who you’ve become familiar with during their time on the show, and who fill preliminary card slots with a little more flair than some unknown new signing. Learning what makes a fighter tick after a few months of reality-show competition allows you to develop a connection with the athlete, and that always makes watching someone fight vastly more interesting.

But now, with the addition of live fights to the taped drama, The Ultimate Fighter has gone beyond simple roster-filling duty. It’s providing good TV. Storylines flow from week to week as producers scramble to recap the action leading into each live fight.

Ratings for the show haven’t been stellar in the early going, though White refuses to admit any concern at the numbers. After all, the series opened against stiff sporting competition in the US with the NCAA’s annual ‘March Madness’ basketball tournament, and switching to a new network (not to mention a new night of the week) is never easy for any type of programming. But the numbers are not a reflection of the show’s refreshed quality and relevance.

As a bonus, English-speaking fans of the reality competition series can now watch a subtitled version of the first-ever international edition of the series with The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil. Unfortunately, it’s the pre-taped format, but it’s a nice teaser of what’s to come as TUF spreads around the globe.

Maybe it’s the sense of nostalgia I’ve received watching this new season thus far, being immediately whisked back to 2006 when The Ultimate Fighter really was brand new. Or perhaps it’s an odd effect from the rare six-week stretch without a live UFC event that ran from March to April. Whatever it is, I’m enjoying TUF: Live and think the UFC really does have another hit on its hands.

White, who admits that filming the show can often be a grind, said with the new format in place, his passion for the show is also as fresh as ever. “It’s fun,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier with this format. I love this format. You go from the last five days of reality to a live fight. It’s awesome. It’s perfect.

“Spirits are high around here. Everything is good. Everything is going the way we expected it to go. There’s a lot of work to do, but we’ll do it and get it done.”

By John Morgan, former Fighters Only World MMA Awards ‘Journalist of the Year’.