(If the UFC really wanted to save TUF: Brazil, perhaps they could start by firing the 8 year-old responsible for photoshopping their promo posters.)
Although the seventeenth season of the original The Ultimate Fighter marked a much-needed improvement in the reality show over that of previous seasons (and saw a substantial climb in ratings as a result), apparently the same cannot be said about its international counterpart, TUF: Brazil. Apparently.
Yes, despite pulling in nearly 8 million viewers during its first season, TUF: Brazil 2 — which features Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabricio Werdum as opposing coaches – is crashing and burning. According to a report by Brazilian outlet Ataque Total, the reality show has not been renewed for a third season as a result of continually waning fan interest:
With near 1-million viewers per episode, the season two of TUF Brazil don’t had the success of the first and is airing on 23h50 of Sundays. The second season has 16 welterweights in only one weight class and Minotauro Nogueira divides the coaching with Fabricio Werdum.
A huge team rivalry, lots of injuries and some boring fights is almost a trademark in the season. It’s a huge news for the brazilian MMA, with the sport losing its only weekly program in the biggest TV channels of Brazil. Alongside TUF Brazil, Rede Globo also shows 3 UFCs per year (usually Anderson Silva and Jose Aldo ones) and other channels like Bandeirantes, Record and RedeTV aren’t into the MMA world yet.
As one would expect, the UFC has already taken to the interwebs to dispute these reports, telling MMAJunkie the following:
The information is inaccurate. The Ultimate Fighting Championship and Globo are happy with this successful partnership, which includes broadcasts of a few of the UFC’s main events and exclusivity for the reality show in Brazil.
We hope for the UFC’s sake that they aren’t feeding us pork pies here, because if you can’t get Brazilians interested in your product, Lord knows what it says about the other, other incarnation of TUF, which will look to exploit the storied rivalry between….Australia and Canada next season. Good luck with that.
But what say you, Potato Nation? Has the fact that TUF: Brazil is only made available online deterred you from watching the show, or have you just had it with TUF in general?