Tag: The Ultimate Fighter

Anthony Pettis vs. Gilbert Melendez Perfect Choice for ‘TUF’ 20 Fighters, Fans

There have been a lot of seasons of The Ultimate Fighter. Eighteen regular seasons, two in Brazil, one in China and one between England and Australia. There is one currently airing between Canada and Australia, another one that will air soon in Brazil,…

There have been a lot of seasons of The Ultimate Fighter. Eighteen regular seasons, two in Brazil, one in China and one between England and Australia. There is one currently airing between Canada and Australia, another one that will air soon in Brazil, starting in March, and a 19th regular season that will start airing in April…just a lot of The Ultimate Fighter.

The Ultimate Fighter season 20, though? That one is different.

While essentially every season of The Ultimate Fighter since season six has been content in generating an anonymous middle-tier fighter or two for either the middleweight, welterweight or lightweight division, TUF 20 sets a lofty goal. It plans to end with the crowning of a new champion. Not just any new champion, but the first women’s strawweight champion.

It will be the first time The Ultimate Fighter features an all-female cast. It will be the first time TUF will crown a champion.

The idea itself is a rare stroke of genius for the long-running show. The Ultimate Fighter, in theory, has always been about grooming somewhat-established talent in a live-and-breathe training environment to the point where they become legitimate forces in their division. In reality, though, The Ultimate Fighter became complacent in generating mediocre ratings with stupid, testosterone-fueled shenanigans.

The results speak for themselves.

There has been precisely one title contender produced by The Ultimate Fighter since season five (season 13’s John Dodson). There are no champions that have come from The Ultimate Fighter at this point. There are only nine top-10 ranked fighters at this time that have entered the UFC through The Ultimate Fighter.

Fans have picked up on that, and the ratings have accordingly fluctuated between mediocre and bad. You know…just like any other tired reality show. 

The Ultimate Fighter season 20, though? That one is different. 

For the first time in about seven years, there is a clear importance to what is happening. There are no vague promises of future success. The women who will fight are not “future contenders.”

These are the best in their weight class, each one entering “The House” with an established highlight reel. Each one of them is a contender right now.

Thankfully, the UFC and Fox Sports actually realize that The Ultimate Fighter season 20 is different. They know that they can’t just plug anybody into the fabled coaching spot. This is a different season, and it’s one that requires top-flight, legitimately-relevant fighters. Fighters who can actually teach something to those who are only a few fights away from becoming champions.

And they have them. 

The UFC announced that the coaches are two champions, Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis. Neither fighter needs an introduction. All that needs to be said is that their years sitting near or at the top of the lightweight division makes them two of the handful of fighters that could be tasked with producing a champion.

So now, for the first time in years, there is reason to get excited for a season of The Ultimate Fighter well in advance. It might not be the biggest, but it will definitely be one of the best.

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UFC 170 Results: 10 Burning Questions Heading into ‘TUF: China Finale’

UFC 170 is in the books. The results are as follows:
UFC 170 Main Card

Ronda Rousey def. Sara McMann, TKO (Round 1, 1:06)
Daniel Cormier def. Patrick Cummins, TKO (Round 1, 1:19)
Rory MacDonald def. Demian Maia, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28…

UFC 170 is in the books. The results are as follows:

UFC 170 Main Card

  • Ronda Rousey def. Sara McMann, TKO (Round 1, 1:06)
  • Daniel Cormier def. Patrick Cummins, TKO (Round 1, 1:19)
  • Rory MacDonald def. Demian Maia, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Mike Pyle def. TJ Waldburger, TKO (Round 3, 4:03)
  • Stephen Thompson def. Robert Whittaker, TKO (Round 1, 3:43)

Fox Sports 1 Prelims

  • Alexis Davis def. Jessica Eye, split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Raphael Assuncao def. Pedro Munhoz, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Aljamain Sterling def. Cody Gibson, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Zach Makovsky def. Josh Sampo, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

UFC Fight Pass Prelims

  • Erik Koch def. Rafaello Oliveira, TKO (Round 1, 1:24)
  • Ernest Chavez def. Yosdenis Cedeno, split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)

Next up? The Ultimate Fighter: China Finale. While you might be expecting a boatload of new Chinese talent from the latest international edition of the long-running reality TV series, think again. Only two fights involving cast members appear on the card, while the rest of the card is largely full of debuting fighters and middling veterans.

Still, there is a lot to talk about, so what should you talk about on your message boards and around your water coolers? Find out right here!

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10 TUF Veterans Who Never Lived Up to Their Potential

The Ultimate Fighter has given the UFC many fighters who have done great things for the company. It also has operated as a developmental program, providing many mainstays who grace the Octagon on a night-to-night basis.
However, with every great underd…

The Ultimate Fighter has given the UFC many fighters who have done great things for the company. It also has operated as a developmental program, providing many mainstays who grace the Octagon on a night-to-night basis.

However, with every great underdog story that has brought us a guy out of nowhere, there have been disappointments as well. For every champion we’ve had like Rashad Evans, someone else has not lived up to his potential.

Here are 10 TUF veterans who should have been so much more but never met expectations.

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UFC Announces Plans for The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America

The Ultimate Fighter will finally be available for Latin American audiences as the UFC announced The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America on Thursday afternoon.
The show will shoot in Las Vegas during the spring of 2014, and it will air on the UFC’s Fight P…

The Ultimate Fighter will finally be available for Latin American audiences as the UFC announced The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America on Thursday afternoon.

The show will shoot in Las Vegas during the spring of 2014, and it will air on the UFC’s Fight Pass streaming network in the United States.

TUF: Latin America will feature the standard 16-fighter cast. The UFC is currently accepting applications at www.ufcnetwork.com for the upcoming season with a narrow focus on who they want cast:

Eligible candidates must be between 21 and 34 years old, speak Spanish, have a minimum of three professional MMA fights, and hold a verifiable winning record. They must also be citizens of one of the following countries: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Interestingly, there is no set weight class for this upcoming season as of yet. The UFC is accepting applications for every weight class.

The UFC has continually toyed with the idea of running a show in Mexico, but to date it has not come to fruition. The Latin American base continues to grow as a hotbed for combat sports. The Ultimate Fighter is a prime chance for the UFC to continue to grow MMA in that area of the world.

Per the press release:

“Latin America has become a huge market for the UFC and we’re excited to take it to the next level with The Ultimate Fighter,” said UFC Senior Vice President of International Development and General Manager of Latin America Jaime Pollack.

The show has produced a number of winners of Latin American descent. Diego Sanchez, a Mexican-American, won the middleweight tournament on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. Other Mexican-American winners are Tony Ferguson (season 13) and Kelvin Gastelum (season 17). Efrain Escudero, born in Mexico, won the eighth season of the show.

The global expansion of the sport and the UFC brand continues. The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America is just another step in the right direction.

Coaches for the seventh international season are to be announced at a later date.

All quotes were obtained via the official UFC press release.

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TUF Nations: Luke Harris Fighter Blog, Episode 5

Note: All quotes and material were obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report through a one-on-one between Luke Harris and Bleacher Report’s Riley Kontek.
Our team was surprised after Nordine Taleb’s loss but, really, that’s the fight game. Someo…

Note: All quotes and material were obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report through a one-on-one between Luke Harris and Bleacher Report’s Riley Kontek.

Our team was surprised after Nordine Taleb’s loss but, really, that’s the fight game. Someone will always win and the other will lose. Both guys put on a great fight, which I believe so far is the fight of the season. They left everything in the cage and should be proud of themselves. The fight was a razor-close decision that, in my opinion, could have gone either way. Both guys are true warriors.

It was pretty funny watching Nordine and Tyler Manawaroa do shots after the fight. Nordine definitely won that contest. The mood around the house was somewhat different now. There seemed to be a lot less tension. We got to see Nordine step into another role and help out the team.

At practice, Patrick Cote spoke to the team and gave us some good insight about training our weaknesses. He said it could have made a difference in our last fight.

I completely agree that you have to keep your main skill sets strong, but always work elements of your game that are weaker. Being predominantly a grappler, I really focus on my striking every training session, as you never know when you’re going to find a situation where you can’t take your opponent down or you meet someone more skilled in that realm.

This week’s fight is Matt Desroches vs. Richard Walsh.

Matt is a great guy, but he’s very new to the sport, having only fought professionally for two years. He’s 21 years old and his record is 4-0, and this kid has a ton of potential. Matt has good footwork, heavy hands, great grip strength and an incredibly long reach (77”). He’s also a corporal in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Richard, on the other hand, is Australia’s biggest welterweight. To me, Richard seems like a very cognitive guy. He’s always analyzing situations and I’m sure he does the same when training and fighting. I was pretty sure his plan was to put Matt on the cage. My hope was that Matt could use his tools and KO him in the process.

Richard is one of my favorite Aussies, but I’ve got to go with Matt in this one.

It was really interesting hearing their coaches talk about keeping the fight standing. I thought for sure Richard would want to take it to the ground. Richard talks a lot about the sacrifices he’s made to be a fighter. It’s definitely something that only fighters understand and a bond that we all share. Richard is very motivated. He talks about TUF being a proving ground, and it really is.

Looking into the fight picks for next week, I was very excited that with Matt getting a victory, it would be my turn to fight.

Our coaches wanted me to fight Dan Kelly, a matchup that I welcomed. I was willing to fight any of the Australians, but my game plan was preparing for this fight. I have a lot of respect for Dan and what he’s done in the sport of judo (four-time Olympian). It would have been an honor to fight him and I knew we had a mutual respect for one another. I knew in the back of my head that if Richard won, the Australian coaches would most likely pick either Dan or Vic Grujic to fight Sheldon [Westcott].

I really enjoyed watching Dan shake his head as Brendan O’Reilly made the fog horn. Dan is so funny and I can see why some of the young Aussies call him a grumpy old man. Too funny.

Cutting weight was interesting for this one. I’m pretty sure Matt cut water out way too early before cutting in the bath. It wasn’t much weight, but Matt had a very difficult weight cut. I’m glad Kajan [Johnson] and I were there to help him out. Fortunately, he bounced back very well and made weight like a champ. Richard also made weight.

The fight commenced, and Matt led with a front kick, then tied up against the cage. Both guys reversed positions several times and had some brief exchanges. It was a very close round and I narrowly scored it for Matt, although I admit that I may be a bit biased for my teammate.

Second round, Richard shoots and ties up Matt against the cage. Matt is winning some of the exchanges but Richard closes the distance well and gets the better of Matt in the clinch. Richard drops Matt with a stiff jab and gets a takedown. The ref breaks the action against the cage and Matt turns up the pressure, but it’s too late in this round. The second round goes to Richard.

I thought for sure there would be a third round, but there wasn’t. Richard won via unanimous decision.

I knew immediately that there was a very good chance that I wasn’t fighting next. It was pretty frustrating, as I had already cut most of the weight and was water-loading, but that’s the nature of this competition. It makes it very difficult to peak at a certain time like I have always done for my previous fights.

I loved hearing Richard saying, “Man, he was tougher than we thought.” Damn right! He’s from Tignish!

I know this is somewhat of a cliche, but I truly believe that Matt will really benefit from this experience. He’s 21 years old and has so much potential. I really believe in him.

Before walking out to fight picks, I confronted both Dan and Vic and asked who I got to fight. I just wanted to see their reaction. Pretty sure it was going to be Dan, but vs. who?

Fight picks were next and sure enough, Dan vs. Sheldon Westcott. You can probably read my lips during the picks. Damn, I wanted to fight!

 

**Tune in next week to hear Luke’s thoughts on the continued tension between teams, more in-depth stories from the house, and his thoughts on the fight between Dan Kelly and Sheldon Westcott. Follow Luke on Twitter@HayabusaHarris and follow his gym @Hayabusa_TC.

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Jessica Penne, Former Invicta FC Champion, to Try out for TUF 20

Jessica Penne, former Invicta FC atomweight champion, will try her luck with The Ultimate Fighter tryouts later this year instead of returning to Invicta and attempting to recapture her title.
She first made her intentions known on Twitter in January:
…

Jessica Penne, former Invicta FC atomweight champion, will try her luck with The Ultimate Fighter tryouts later this year instead of returning to Invicta and attempting to recapture her title.

She first made her intentions known on Twitter in January:

She posts a record of 11-2, with her only two losses coming to Zoila Frausto Gurgel and Michelle Waterson. The bout against Gurgel was at 115 pounds, which is the class that she will be moving back to for her TUF Season 20 bid.

The Californian dropped her title in a Fight of the Year candidate against Waterson. The match concluded when Waterson secured an armbar in the fourth round.

Penne’s final Invicta FC fight was a dominant victory over Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc. She finished the bout via a rear-naked choke in the first round. She laid claim to being the top contender to Waterson’s strap, but with this news, the rematch is off the table.

Currently, the cast of the upcoming season features 11 of the top strawweights from Invicta FC:

The remaining five spots in the house will be determined via tryouts to be held later this year. A strong performance at the tryouts does not, however, guarantee a spot on the show. There will also be interviews with producers as well.

Per her appearance on MMAjunkie Radio, Penne does not think that will be an issue: “I think that I’m comfortable enough with myself and my personality to where I can show who I really am. It’ll appeal to them.”

She has a fantastic ground game and has continued to develop her stand-up. More importantly for her move back to 115 pounds, she has the physical attributes that could make her a dark-horse contender.

She stands at 5’5”. That was tall for the atomweight division, and she will still hold height and reach advantages over most of the strawweights as well. Given the amount of time before the tryouts and the filming of the show if she is selected, she can add muscle and strength to accentuate her physical gifts.

If she performs well at the tryouts, the UFC would be foolish not to add her to the cast of The Ultimate Fighter. She brings in all of the physical tools to compete, and she has name value in the women’s MMA community.

The addition of Penne to the cast would cement the season as one of the best ever in terms of quality of competition. The season already boasts six of the top 10-ranked women in the world, and Penne is ranked No. 2 at atomweight.

The Ultimate Fighter Season 20 is shaping up to be one of the most compelling installments to date, and it will all be capped off by the final two survivors battling for the inaugural UFC Strawweight Championship on the show’s finale.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com