(Celebrating 12 seasons of two faceless dudes fighting in a warehouse. PicProps: MMAOutsider.com)
Of all the things that consistently suck about “The Ultimate Fighter” – the repetitive plotlines, relentless douchebaggery of much of the cast and what feels at times like a conscious desire on the part of the editors to make everybody involved look as bad as possible, just to name a few — by far the most frustrating remains the show’s continuing unwillingness to reinvent itself. Aside from a couple of minor tweaks over its 12 seasons – one of which was, uh, this guy – fans have consistently been watching the same shit over and over again for the past five years. To say that the format has grown stale would be an understatement of Jake Shields-ian proportions.
That the show’s average viewership hasn’t dropped any lower than the approximate 1.5 million who currently tune in each week is certainly more of a testament to the loyalty of MMA fans than a reflection of quality programming. Even most of the people who (like me) still watch religiously admit that a lot of it is pretty god-awful. But to understand exactly why “TUF” insists on plodding forward from season to season with the mindless tenacity of a reanimated corpse, look no further than SpikeTV senior vice president Brian Diamond’s recent interview with MMA Junkie.
According to Diamond, “TUF” ain’t broken and he responds to the suggestion that maybe the show needs a facelift (actually, a complete body tuck would be better) by making some comparisons that are … well … totally fucking insane.