The Ultimate Fighter is a show that has become pretty boring and stale the last couple of seasons. Since The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights, the show has become almost unwatchable because nobody knows the fighters on the show and there are no good stor…
The Ultimate Fighter is a show that has become pretty boring and stale the last couple of seasons. Since The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights, the show has become almost unwatchable because nobody knows the fighters on the show and there are no good storylines.
The early days of The Ultimate Fighter launched careers and many have become world champions in their respected weight classes. Now, the winner is usually someone who no one has ever heard of and honestly no one cares who wins the show.
The rumors are out that Dominick Cruz will go up against Urijah Faber on the next installment of TUF. The two men actually do not like each other so that may create a watchable show. But I do believe that there are better options out there.
In 2005, the UFC took its first real shot at getting on television and earning some mainstream exposure since ZUFFA had purchased the company. The organization came to SPIKE TV with an offer to add a new reality show, The Ultimate Fighter, to their win…
In 2005, the UFC took its first real shot at getting on television and earning some mainstream exposure since ZUFFA had purchased the company.
The organization came to SPIKE TV with an offer to add a new reality show, The Ultimate Fighter, to their winter lineup.
SPIKE accepted on the condition that the UFC handle all production costs and suddenly there was MMA on television.
While the show itself was a hit, it wasn’t until the show’s finale that it became clear that SPIKE had struck gold with the UFC.
In what was actually the co-main event of the night (Ken Shamrock fought Rich Franklin in the main event), Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar put on an incredibly exciting fight that drew in viewers by the second.
In the end the judges gave Griffin the close decision win, and Forrest was instantly one of the most popular and well-liked fighters in MMA.
After the fight Forrest was highlighted as a future champion and one of the future legends of the sport, while Bonnar was left to fend for himself, having to fight much tougher competition in his initial bouts.
Since then, Bonnar has been regarded as little more than a gatekeeper in the light heavyweight division, while Griffin has gone on to win the 205-lb title and is consistently ranked in the Top 10 in the division.
But what if Bonnar had won?
Odds are they would have built him up a little more cautiously and given him a few fights that they thought he could win.
Could Bonnar have defeated Tito Ortiz whereas Griffin failed on his first attempt? It’s definitely possible.
Forrest is undeniably the superior fighter, but if Bonnar had even half of the patience that the UFC showed with Griffin, we could be looking at a former title contender instead of the gatekeeper we’ve grown accustomed to.
Sure, it’s unlikely that Bonnar would have ever beaten Shogun Rua and Rampage Jackson in consecutive fights, but he may have gotten a shot to coach The Ultimate Fighter, and may be considered the fan favorite that Forrest is now.
Meanwhile, Griffin would have had a much tougher road to the top, fighting guys like Rashad Evans much sooner than he did. He may even be nearing the end of his career at the moment.
It’s purely speculation, but if just two of the judges had sided with Bonnar on that fateful night in 2005, the entire landscape of the UFC might be dramatically different from the way it is now.
Parents (probably just moms) are pissed because Sasha Grey read to Elementary School kids. I don’t see why… She looks perfectly innocent in the pic [above]. Hmmm… Maybe parents thought she was reading like this:.
Parents (probably just moms) are pissed because Sasha Grey read to Elementary School kids. I don’t see why… She looks perfectly innocent in the pic [above]. Hmmm… Maybe parents thought she was reading like this:
or maybe this:
Sasha Grey is a legitimate actress these days and parents shouldn’t be quick to judge who they let near their kids. Up until last week, we bet most parents wouldn’t have had any trouble with Jerry Sandusky reading to a classroom. Just sayin’… Don’t judge a book by its cover…unless it’s the Jerry Sandusky biography, which [for realz] is titled, “Touched”.
Forrest Griffin apologizes for “rape” tweet and donates to a Rape Crisis Center: here.
Ariel Helwani talks UFC going mainstream to celebrities like the Cookie Monster, Michael Jackson (who clearly does not sound like MJ), a giggling dude called “Mr. Muscles”, and Jack in the Box…(WTF! LA is so strange!) on the streets of Hollywood: here.
Bringing out the biggest stars in UFC, Dana White announces Brock Lesnar will be a commentator for UFC on Fox 1: here.
Watch Gina Carano‘s “Haywire” movie trailer: here.
Watch UFC on Fox 1 weigh-ins today at 7pm ET (4pm PT): here.
Place your bets for UFC on Fox 1 by clicking the icons to the online sports books in the Odds Side Bar to the right of our page!
Happy Early Birthday to Arianny Celeste who turns twenty—something on Saturday!
Filed under: UFC, NewsFormer UFC light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin has apologized for a tweet in which he wrote “Rape is the new missionary,” explaining that he meant to shed a light on the prevalence of sexual assault as “commonplace.”
Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin has apologized for a tweet in which he wrote “Rape is the new missionary,” explaining that he meant to shed a light on the prevalence of sexual assault as “commonplace.”
On Thursday, Griffin visited the Las Vegas Rape Crisis Center, meeting with its executive director, touring its facilities and making a donation to the non-profit group.
“I feel bad,” he told KTNV News. “I want to apologize. I feel like a should be punished a little bit.”
Griffin said his initial tweet was a reaction to the many high-profile rape cases that have been highlighted on the news recently, including the ongoing scandal surrounding Penn State University and its football program, which has so far led to the arrests of three, including a longtime assistant coach.
Not surprisingly though, Griffin’s intended meaning did not come across in his tweet, which had no context and came off as an insensitive non sequitur. Griffin later took down the offending tweet and said he would put himself on “Twitter restriction” until next week.
“Maybe other professional athletes or just guys in locker rooms can kind of be more sensitive towards the topic of rape.” he said. “Once you take the comments in the light of day, you feel disgusted by it. At the time, you don’t think.”
Though Griffin is known for a biting, sarcastic sense of humor, he has often been considered among the UFC’s top ambassadors, and in 2010, donated the entire proceeds from his New York Times bestselling book “Be Ready When the S— Goes Down: A Survival Guide to the Apocalypse” to various charitable causes.
Filed under: UFC, NewsFormer UFC light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin has apologized for a tweet in which he wrote “Rape is the new missionary,” explaining that he meant to shed a light on the prevalence of sexual assault as “commonplace.”
Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin has apologized for a tweet in which he wrote “Rape is the new missionary,” explaining that he meant to shed a light on the prevalence of sexual assault as “commonplace.”
On Thursday, Griffin visited the Las Vegas Rape Crisis Center, meeting with its executive director, touring its facilities and making a donation to the non-profit group.
“I feel bad,” he told KTNV News. “I want to apologize. I feel like I should be punished a little bit.”
Griffin said his initial tweet was a reaction to the many high-profile rape cases that have been highlighted on the news recently, including the ongoing scandal surrounding Penn State University and its football program, which has so far led to the arrests of three, including a longtime assistant coach.
Not surprisingly though, Griffin’s intended meaning did not come across in his tweet, which had no context and came off as an insensitive non sequitur. Griffin later took down the offending tweet and said he would put himself on “Twitter restriction” until next week.
“Maybe other professional athletes or just guys in locker rooms can kind of be more sensitive towards the topic of rape.” he said. “Once you take the comments in the light of day, you feel disgusted by it. At the time, you don’t think.”
Though Griffin is known for a biting, sarcastic sense of humor, he has often been considered among the UFC’s top ambassadors, and in 2010, donated the entire proceeds from his New York Times bestselling book “Be Ready When the S— Goes Down: A Survival Guide to the Apocalypse” to various charitable causes.
Forrest Griffin recently won an award for being the most creative UFC fighter on Twitter. Unfortunately, Griffin took his creativity to a new low today.
Griffin tweeted: “Rape is the new missionary.”
As expected, his Twitter followers quickly responded…
Forrest Griffin recently won an award for being the most creative UFC fighter on Twitter. Unfortunately, Griffin took his creativity to a new low today.
As expected, his Twitter followers quickly responded with negative retorts and some even unfollowed Griffin as a result.
Instead of admitting his fault, Griffin defended himself by calling people obscenities. One lady even tweeted to him that she had been raped herself.
Griffin responded to her by saying sorry and hopes she didn’t take anything he said to heart. I’m sure that was very comforting for her.
Does Griffin not watch the news at all?
Besides the UFC opening its doors to a wide audience on Saturday with the UFC on Fox special, the country has become embroiled in the Penn State scandal. Forrest couldn’t have picked a worse time to make a rape joke.
The UFC and Dana White will probably respond with their usual “how can we control what fighters say” line. The fact is the UFC needs to step up their policy on fighters and twitter.
The company made a lot of headlines by embracing the social media and has been at the forefront of how to properly use Twitter and Facebook for beneficial use. If the UFC is going to reward its’ fighters for tweeting back to fans, they need to punish their fighters as well.
I’m all for a dirty or racy joke at times but rape is never a category I would consider “comedy gold.” White says he wants to be the biggest sport eventually; if he wants to do that he needs to “play the game” as he infamously said.
All the major sports leagues have fines in place for their athletes using twitter in the wrong way. The UFC needs to start implementing policies like that if they want to truly be mainstream.
In 2005, the UFC took its first real shot at getting on television and earning some mainstream exposure since ZUFFA had purchased the company.
Former