Men and women share many sports but are generally kept separated at all times. In retrospect, that made season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF18) something special, looking back on it.
While it was initially panned by fans for being either a ratings ploy for Fox Sports 1 or a complete departure from the show’s initial concept of highlighting fighters’ development rather than being “just another reality show,” it exceeded the expectations of many by avoiding the hypersexuality or melodrama one can expect from having a bunch of 20-something-year-olds locked in a house together.
That isn’t what made it special, though. What made it special was how it gave us a true sample of eight men and eight women in similar stages of their athletic careers (for the most part) that we can compare and contrast for years to come.
The early analysis, though, is not pretty.
In general, The Ultimate Fighter features high-upside prospects who potentially have the skills to survive in the UFC. For the most part, that was the case with TUF18 (long-time MMA veterans Shayna Baszler and Roxanne Modafferi fought as well), but one huge difference has surfaced.
The men have progressed much, much faster than the women.
That difference surfaced at UFC 172, which featured two cast members from TUF18: Jessamyn Duke and Chris Beal.
Both of them lost in their second fight of the season (to gain admission to “The House,” fighters had to win a bout against another potential contestant). Duke, despite losing to Raquel Pennington, was signed to the roster to compete at the season’s finale opposite fellow former contestant Peggy Morgan (who she beat via unanimous decision). Beal was cut by the UFC but was brought back following an impressive knockout win at BAMMA USA 12.
The difference in terms of where they stand, both relative to their respective champions and in general as mixed martial artists, was profound.
Duke enters the cage with a rare set of physical skills for a female fighter. With a long 5’11” frame and a 73″ reach, she can theoretically stifle fighters with rangy jabs when standing, land devastating knees and uppercuts in the clinch and lock up serpent-like submissions on the ground. The sky is the limit for her, right?
In the cage last night, against a substantially smaller, thoroughly untested Bethe Correia, Duke was lit up standing and made some serious mistakes on the ground. She demonstrated some improvements in the clinch, as she debuted some nice Judo-style throws and trips—courtesy of the months she has spent with Ronda Rousey, of course—but in no way did she look the part of a honed, dangerous fighter.
On the opposite side was Beal. He fought a lightning-quick Patrick Williams. Williams demonstrated absurd speed and dazzling takedowns.
While Duke struggled in all areas of the cage, Beal identified a small mistake Williams was making and turned that into a brutal flying knee knockout. The win earned him a sizable “Performance of the Night” check and landed him on Sportscenter‘s Top 10 the following morning (in the No. 2 spot, no less).
It was a stark contrast and doesn’t end there. Cody Bollinger, who was ejected from the show several weeks into taping due to a failed weight cut, has beaten a well-regarded Tyson Nam and could end up vaulting into the division’s top 10 with a win over Marlon Moraes in an upcoming World Series of Fighting bout. Fellow male TUF contender Anthony Gutierrez has also posted a win with Titan Fighting Championships.
The only other female member of the TUF18 cast to return to the cage was Pennington. Like Duke, Pennington has the physical tools to succeed but simply doesn’t seem to know how to use them. She, too, lost to a less-than-fearsome opponent in Jessica Andrade, who won in convincing fashion with skills that were certainly not becoming of a professional combat athlete.
Of course, it isn’t fair to completely dismiss the female competitors from The Ultimate Fighter season 18 quite yet. As we’ve seen with other budding fighters, both male and female, massive improvements can be made seemingly overnight.
At this point, though, it seems like the males are growing at a much greater rate than the females. How the different contestants progress over time is definitely worth keeping an eye on.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com