Tag: The Ultimate Fighter

[VIDEO] The Footage of Uriah Hall Getting his Ass Kicked by Ronda Rousey on the Ultimate Fighter Set


That’s not an exercise ball, it’s a grappling dummy that used to have arms.

When Uriah Hall humbly admitted that Ronda Rousey “totally kicked his ass” on the Ultimate Fighter set, we initially assumed that footage of the two fighters rolling wouldn’t surface. Sure, “shocking videos NO ONE WANTS YOU TO SEE!” are as common on the Internet as cat memes, but the UFC can be pretty good about keeping secrets. Oh well, chalk it up as an interesting story and move on with our days, right?

Not quite. The training session between Uriah Hall and Ronda Rousey is now readily available on YouTube, and only four days after Hall’s interview with The New York Post was published. That video, courtesy of The Ultimate Fighter’s YouTube channel, is available after the jump.


That’s not an exercise ball, it’s a grappling dummy that used to have arms.

When Uriah Hall humbly admitted that Ronda Rousey “totally kicked his ass” on the Ultimate Fighter set, we initially assumed that footage of the two fighters rolling wouldn’t surface. Sure, “shocking videos NO ONE WANTS YOU TO SEE!” are as common on the Internet as cat memes, but the UFC can be pretty good about keeping secrets. Oh well, chalk it up as an interesting story and move on with our days, right?

Not quite. The training session between Uriah Hall and Ronda Rousey is now readily available on YouTube, and only four days after Hall’s interview with The New York Post was published. That video, courtesy of The Ultimate Fighter’s YouTube channel, is available after the jump.

Despite being little more than a slightly-resistant grappling dummy for Ronda Rousey, Uriah Hall doesn’t become frustrated and keeps his composure throughout the training session (or in Rousey’s words, doesn’t have “testosterone poisoning”). Hall repeatedly jokes about his performance, claiming at the end of the video that his session was a set-up.

Of course, Uriah Hall more than redeemed himself on last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter by publicly executing Bubba McDaniel.

Video: Uriah Hall Knocks Out Bubba McDaniel in Nine Seconds on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’

(Hall vs. McDaniel. Props: TheAMC338)

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for — the public execution of our least favorite TUF 17 castmember. In case you missed last night’s episode of the show, Bubba McDaniel did everything he could to get out of the match. It had already been apparent that Bubba wasn’t mentally prepared to face Uriah Hall, and he also began complaining of exhaustion and pain in his back. Sadly, the doctor cleared Bubba to compete, and he became a quick meal for the show’s front-runner.

The nine-second knockout had onlookers speaking of Hall in lofty terms. “This guy is the nastiest guy in Ultimate Fighter history,” said UFC president Dana White. Chael Sonnen even called him a contender for the middleweight title. Hmm. That might be the case, but when Hall officially makes it to the UFC, he’ll eventually have to face guys who aren’t terrified of being in the cage with him.

Uriah will compete again in next week’s semifinals episode, where he’ll face Dylan Andrews, who TKO’d Luke Barnatt last week. On the other side of the bracket, 21-year-old prodigy Kelvin Gastelum will go heads-up against Josh Samman, who finished Jimmy Quinlan in last night’s episode. You can check out highlights from that scrap after the jump.


(Hall vs. McDaniel. Props: TheAMC338)

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for — the public execution of our least favorite TUF 17 castmember. In case you missed last night’s episode of the show, Bubba McDaniel did everything he could to get out of the match. It had already been apparent that Bubba wasn’t mentally prepared to face Uriah Hall, and he also began complaining of exhaustion and pain in his back. Sadly, the doctor cleared Bubba to compete, and he became a quick meal for the show’s front-runner.

The nine-second knockout had onlookers speaking of Hall in lofty terms. “This guy is the nastiest guy in Ultimate Fighter history,” said UFC president Dana White. Chael Sonnen even called him a contender for the middleweight title. Hmm. That might be the case, but when Hall officially makes it to the UFC, he’ll eventually have to face guys who aren’t terrified of being in the cage with him.

Uriah will compete again in next week’s semifinals episode, where he’ll face Dylan Andrews, who TKO’d Luke Barnatt last week. On the other side of the bracket, 21-year-old prodigy Kelvin Gastelum will go heads-up against Josh Samman, who finished Jimmy Quinlan in last night’s episode. You can check out highlights from that scrap after the jump.

As we enter the Final Four, Team Jones and Team Sonnen both have their #2 and #7 picks remaining…

Team Sonnen
Luke Barnatt
Uriah Hall – semifinalist, defeated Adam Cella and Robert “Bubba” McDaniel
Zak Cummings
Tor Troeng
Jimmy Quinlan
Kevin Casey
Kelvin Gastelum – semifinalist, defeated Robert “Bubba” McDaniel and Collin Hart

Team Jones
Clint Hester
Josh Samman — semifinalist, defeated Tor Troeng and Jimmy Quinlan
Robert “Bubba” McDaniel
Gilbert Smith
Collin Hart
Adam Cella
Dylan Andrews — semifinalist, defeated Zak Cummings and Luke Barnatt


(Samman vs. Quinlan. Props: TheAMC338)

Uriah Hall Glad That ‘TUF’ Didn’t Show Footage of Him Getting Ass Kicked by Ronda Rousey


(Why would she be afraid of a snake? I mean, it’s basically just a really long arm. / Photo via @RondaRousey)

Uriah Hall‘s ferocity on TUF 17 has already resulted in a legendary head-kick knockout and an upcoming nervous breakdown for Bubba McDaniel. And yet in a straight grappling match, the 185-pounder was still out-gunned by UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey. Hall put his ego aside in an interview with the New York Post, and discussed what really happened the day Rousey visited the Ultimate Fighter set:

Hall, who fights at 185 pounds – 50 more than Rousey, underestimated the former judo Olympic medalist intitially. He found that to be a terrible mistake.

“I said to myself, ‘I can get out of this,’” Hall told The Post. “Then she caught me and I was like, ‘Oh my God, this [expletive] is real.’”

Hall, a Queens resident, said Rousey got him in two armbars while grappling – and he couldn’t get out. He compared it to rolling with an anaconda or a cat…”You can’t grab her and if you do grab her, you’re [expletive],” Hall said with a laugh…


(Why would she be afraid of a snake? I mean, it’s basically just a really long arm. / Photo via @RondaRousey)

Uriah Hall‘s ferocity on TUF 17 has already resulted in a legendary head-kick knockout and an upcoming nervous breakdown for Bubba McDaniel. And yet in a straight grappling match, the 185-pounder was still out-gunned by UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey. Hall put his ego aside in an interview with the New York Post, and discussed what really happened the day Rousey visited the Ultimate Fighter set:

Hall, who fights at 185 pounds – 50 more than Rousey, underestimated the former judo Olympic medalist intitially. He found that to be a terrible mistake.

“I said to myself, ‘I can get out of this,’” Hall told The Post. “Then she caught me and I was like, ‘Oh my God, this [expletive] is real.’”

Hall, a Queens resident, said Rousey got him in two armbars while grappling – and he couldn’t get out. He compared it to rolling with an anaconda or a cat…”You can’t grab her and if you do grab her, you’re [expletive],” Hall said with a laugh…

That humbling experience on the show has led to a friendship with the women’s champion. Hall still doesn’t want that grappling footage getting out there, though. “Thank God they didn’t show that, because she totally kicked my ass,” Hall said, laughing.

Oh, I wouldn’t worry about it, Uriah — the UFC is pretty good about burying footage. Still, it shouldn’t surprise anybody that Ronda Rousey can dominate dudes on the mat, considering she’s been doing it her whole life. Hall’s quarterfinal matchup against Bubba is slated for tomorrow night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, and oh man, is it going to be sweet.

‘The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen’ Episode 10 — Complete Video & Recap

(Props: The Ultimate Fighter on Hulu)

Last night’s installment of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen featured the season’s first two quarterfinal matchups along with some celebrity guest-appearances. Check out the complete video above, or read our recap below if you don’t have the patience for that sort of thing…

– After making into the quarterfinals with his wild card win over Kevin Casey, Bubba McDaniel admits that he doesn’t want to face Uriah Hall because he’s still haunted by Hall’s incredible knockout of Adam Cella. He’ll have to get comfortable with the matchup real quick, since they’re facing each other in the next episode. Coach Jones does his best to build up McDaniel’s confidence, but Bubba looks like a man facing the firing squad. I’ll go out on a limb and say that this little storyline ends with a nervous breakdown and a trip to the hospital.

– The first quarterfinal match will be Kelvin Gastelum (Team Sonnen) vs. Collin Hart (Team Jones). Jones thinks Hart’s jiu-jitsu is “extraordinary,” which will be their key to victory. Though Gastelum has a reputation as a wrestler, Sonnen sees him more as a brawler. But in a good way.

– Coach Sonnen makes good on his promise to give Kelvin seven minutes alone in a closet with Ronda Rousey. Nah. Actually, the UFC women’s bantamweight champ drops by to shake Kelvin’s hand and teach the boys some judo. “It was pretty awesome, you know, getting handled by her [nervous laughter],” Kelvin says. Ronda also drops some nuggets from her own fighting philosophy: “Fighting is about respect, and having respect for your opponent, but at the same time you have to have no respect for your opponent, ’cause you’re the one that’s supposed to walk out of there. They don’t have the right to beat you.”


(Props: The Ultimate Fighter on Hulu)

Last night’s installment of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen featured the season’s first two quarterfinal matchups along with some celebrity guest-appearances. Check out the complete video above, or read our recap below if you don’t have the patience for that sort of thing…

– After making into the quarterfinals with his wild card win over Kevin Casey, Bubba McDaniel admits that he doesn’t want to face Uriah Hall because he’s still haunted by Hall’s incredible knockout of Adam Cella. He’ll have to get comfortable with the matchup real quick, since they’re facing each other in the next episode. Coach Jones does his best to build up McDaniel’s confidence, but Bubba looks like a man facing the firing squad. I’ll go out on a limb and say that this little storyline ends with a nervous breakdown and a trip to the hospital.

– The first quarterfinal match will be Kelvin Gastelum (Team Sonnen) vs. Collin Hart (Team Jones). Jones thinks Hart’s jiu-jitsu is “extraordinary,” which will be their key to victory. Though Gastelum has a reputation as a wrestler, Sonnen sees him more as a brawler. But in a good way.

– Coach Sonnen makes good on his promise to give Kelvin seven minutes alone in a closet with Ronda Rousey. Nah. Actually, the UFC women’s bantamweight champ drops by to shake Kelvin’s hand and teach the boys some judo. “It was pretty awesome, you know, getting handled by her [nervous laughter],” Kelvin says. Ronda also drops some nuggets from her own fighting philosophy: “Fighting is about respect, and having respect for your opponent, but at the same time you have to have no respect for your opponent, ’cause you’re the one that’s supposed to walk out of there. They don’t have the right to beat you.”

Quarterfinal #1: Gastelum vs. Hart
Hart is four inches taller and has a six-inch reach advantage. Hart is the aggressor early, pushing forward and throwing punches continuously, but Gastelum manages to land some clean counters. One of those counters — a left hook — flashes Hart and send him to the canvas. A couple heavy punches from above turn Hart’s lights out, and Steve Mazzagatti jumps in to stop the fight. Kelvin Gastelum wins by TKO, 0:32 of round 1, and punches his ticket to the semifinals.

– Which brings us to the next quarterfinal, between Luke Barnatt (Team Sonnen) and Dylan Andrews (Team Jones), a Smashes-esque battle between a lanky Brit and a lanky Aussie. [Correction: Though Andrews currently lives in Australia, he’s originally from New Zealand.] Andrews was this season’s last pick overall; Sonnen says he misjudged him, but that Dylan will still have a problem with Barnatt’s height.

– We meet Stonehorse, Jon Jones’s original Muay Thai coach from Buffalo. ‘Horse and Andrews are on the same spiritual wavelength, and build a strong bond. Andrews sees him as a father figure, and appreciates the positive reinforcement that he gets from their relationship.

– Coach Jones makes good on his promise to give Dylan seven minutes alone in a closet with Mike Tyson. Nah. Iron Mike walks in to shake some hands and watch the next fight, and the fighters are appropriately star-struck.

– Dylan with a prediction for the fight: “It’s gonna end when he makes a mistake. It’s just a matter of time before that happens.”

Quarterfinal #2: Barnatt vs. Andrews
Barnatt is five inches taller, but only has a 2.5-inch reach advantage. Andrews is far more experienced, with 21 professional fights compared to just five for Barnatt. Round 1 opens up with Andrews getting inside Barnatt’s range, landing some good uppercuts and hooks, and putting the taller man on his back. Barnatt stays busy, throwing strikes from the bottom and working his way to his feet. Andrews drags Barnatt back down, and Barnatt tries to tie Andrews up with his jiu-jitsu. He pushes Andrews off of him, but the Aussie dives back on. Barnatt escapes to his feet and Andrews grabs a guillotine choke and rolls Barnatt to the mat once again. Andrews loses the hold and transitions to Barnatt’s back. Barnatt escapes to his feet, lands a knee to the body, and then another knee and kick when they separate. Andrews grabs a hold of Barnatt and spins him to the mat. Andrews with a punch from the top. Stonehorse looks on, stoically. Andrews on top, but not doing a whole lot. Barnatt with an elbow from the bottom. And that’s the round. Kind of a hard one to score…Andrews certainly had “control” for the majority of the round, but many times it seemed like Barnatt was doing more. Between rounds, Jones reminds Andrews that he needs to actually score some points after he gets those takedowns.

Round 2: Barnatt lands first with some straight punches; Andrews wakes up and returns fire even harder, landing a pair of sharp body shots and an overhand right. Andrews clinches. Barnatt shakes him off and starts throwing again. Andrews gets the clinch again. Barnatt turns him against the cage, sticks a knee to the body, and takes Andrews to the mat. Barnatt throws down shots from the top. Andrews reverses brilliantly, and puts Barnatt down on his back. Barnatt tries to kick Andrews off, but Andrews literally jumps back on top. Now we return to the steady top-control of Andrews for a moment before Barnatt escapes. Andrews clinches, Barnatt looks for a kimura, Andrews takes Barnatt down once again. Jon Jones accidentally tells Luke to keep scoring, then corrects himself.  Barnatt kicks Andrews off and rolls but Andrews is on his back before he can escape. Andrews looks for a choke but the round ends before he can secure it. The judges call it a draw after two rounds, and we’re going to Sudden Victory. “Great judging,” Dana White says, genuinely surprised that the judges were paying attention to Luke’s action from the bottom. Between rounds, Andrews’s corner shows him a picture of his family for some added motivation.

Round 3: Andrews ducks an elbow and grabs Barnatt, pushing him against the cage. Barnatt spins him around and throws some knees from the clinch. They separate and Andrews marches forward throwing punches. Barnatt looks like he’s fading, and Andrews is taking advantage. A knee from Barnatt is met with a looping punch from Andrews. They tie up, briefly. Barnatt throws a hopping knee. Andrews continues to operate in zombie-mode, relentlessly walking forward and attacking. He scores big on a flurry of punches that rock Barnatt against the fence. Smelling blood, Andrews fires another hard right, right, left, and Andrews is falling like the big-ass tree he is. And just like in the previous quarterfinal match, a few follow-up punches from the top seal the deal. Dylan Andrews wins in a major upset, defeating Luke Barnatt by third-round TKO.

After the fight, Barnatt says that his plan was to take Andrews down, and Andrews beat him to it. Barnatt is disappointed with taking the first loss of his fight career, and Mike Tyson tells him that it’ll be a learning experience. Dylan and Stonehorse share a triumphant embrace. Next week, it’ll be the aforementioned Hall vs. McDaniel massacre, as well as Jimmy Quinlan vs. Josh Samman.

Fun fact: Both Kelvin Gastelum and Dylan Andrews were picked last for their respective teams, but managed to battle their way into the semis. Andrews even managed to bump off Team Sonnen’s #1 pick in Luke Barnatt, making him the closest thing MMA has to Florida Gulf Coast University right now. The current list of remaining fighters is as follows…

Team Sonnen
Luke Barnatt
Uriah Hall – quarterfinalist, defeated Adam Cella
Zak Cummings
Tor Troeng
Jimmy Quinlan – quarterfinalist, defeated Clint Hester
Kevin Casey
Kelvin Gastelum – semifinalist, defeated Robert “Bubba” McDaniel and Collin Hart

Team Jones
Clint Hester
Josh Samman — quarterfinalist, defeated Tor Troeng
Robert “Bubba” McDaniel — quarterfinalist, defeated Kevin Casey in wild card match
Gilbert Smith
Collin Hart
Adam Cella
Dylan Andrews — semifinalist, defeated Zak Cummings and Luke Barnatt

‘The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen’ Episode 9 — Complete Video & Recap

(Video courtesy of Hulu.) 

Apologies in advance for dropping the ball on last week’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter: Jones vs. Sonnen, which we completely forgot to recap for reasons that are not immediately obvious (if only we could get Danga to set down the bong for like thirty seconds…). Long story short: Chael Sonnen emerged victorious from a Coaches Challenge that involved stacking tires with excavators (?) and Team Jones’ Dylan Andrews secured a spot in the quarterfinals with a majority decision victory over Zak Cummings. For this week’s “Wild Card” matchup, Team Jones’ Bubba McDaniel and Team Sonnen’s Kevin Casey were selected.

To find out which fighter secured the final spot in the TUF 17 bracket, as well as the rest of last night’s highlights, join us after the jump.

– In a final effort to make us sympathize with noted codpiece Bubba McDaniel, last night’s episode began with McDaniel telling us his “I’m a poor little sad sack” story about how he can’t see his daughter because he is too far in debt.

I don’t know why I just downplayed a story as sad as that for laughs, and I apologize. God I’m dead inside…


(Video courtesy of Hulu.) 

Apologies in advance for dropping the ball on last week’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter: Jones vs. Sonnen, which we completely forgot to recap for reasons that are not immediately obvious (if only we could get Danga to set down the bong for like thirty seconds…). Long story short: Chael Sonnen emerged victorious from a Coaches Challenge that involved stacking tires with excavators (?) and Team Jones’ Dylan Andrews secured a spot in the quarterfinals with a majority decision victory over Zak Cummings. For this week’s “Wild Card” matchup, Team Jones’ Bubba McDaniel and Team Sonnen’s Kevin Casey were selected.

To find out which fighter secured the final spot in the TUF 17 bracket, as well as the rest of last night’s highlights, join us after the jump.

– In a final effort to make us sympathize with noted codpiece Bubba McDaniel, last night’s episode began with McDaniel telling us his “I’m a poor little sad sack” story about how he can’t see his daughter because he is too far in debt.

I don’t know why I just downplayed a story as sad as that for laughs, and I apologize. God I’m dead inside…

– Back at the house, Josh Samman is inspired by McDaniel’s failed call out of Casey earlier in the season and proceeds to call out Jimmy Quinlan, who responds with a terrible fisherman pun that I probably would have made at some point in this recap had he not done it for me. Although Quinlan expresses a desire for the matchup, Uriah Hall throws his name into the proverbial hat and Quinlan eventually agrees that he’d rather see Hall “beat the piss out of” Samman than do it himself.

– The massive cut on Casey’s head is still tender, so he uses some kind of Kendo mask to make sure it doesn’t reopen in training. Coach Sonnen states that he doesn’t just want to see Casey win but live up to the potential he failed to reach in his preliminary fight against Collin Hart.

– It’s Thanksgiving time at the TUF household, y’all, and Sonnen and Jones are in the building. During a heartfelt toast, Sonnen is forced to admit that “It’s a severe disappointment to find out what a good guy” Jones is, and jokes about animosity not being his style. You guys, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. After Jones beats Sonnen in the worst way possible as he promises to do, of course.

Meanwhile, Bubba is pissed off that he can’t partake in the festivities and lashes out at his housemates gluttony in the confessional. Because he should be given the second chance that none of his other eliminated teammates received and some of their mashed potatoes. I recant my previous apology.

– Fight time! Round 1: After a brief opening exchange, Casey pulls guard and works for a guillotine before the two pop back up to their feet. Casey secures a trip takedown and easily passes Bubba’s guard, but is unable to do much other than control McDaniel’s posture (or as GSP fans call it, “complete and utter domination” TROLOLOLOL). Bubba throws up a couple unsuccessful triangle attempts and gets to his feet, but gets taken down again with less than 30 seconds left in the round. 10-9 Casey

Round 2: Jones urges Bubba to stay out of the clinch in the second, and is obliged for three whole seconds before Bubba does just that. This does not make assistant coach Mir very happy. Bubba continues to do some body work from the clinch until Casey drops into a completely telegraphed guillotine attempt, showing obvious signs of tiring as he does. McDaniel goes to work from on top for the rest of the round, landing body shots and elbows on a helpless Casey. 10-9 McDaniel and we are going to a third round.

Round 3: Well, the UFC promised a “shocking” ending to this fight and that’s what we’re given. Not in the Uriah Hall “Did he died?” kind of way, but more in the Nick “Wouldn’t Get Up From Butt Scoot” Serra kind of way, as Casey gives up on the stool in between rounds. During the freaking wild card fight. Redemption: Failed.

– Anyways, McDaniel starts celebrating like he owns the place and asks Dana if he gets one of those tasty $5000 finish bonuses. Dude, just be happy your back in the tournament. Dana ends up giving him one anyway.

Sonnen is shocked that a cardio machine like Casey gassed out, but once they get back to the locker room, it appears that something out of the ordinary is wrong with him. Turns out, Casey once suffered a kidney failure during a fight back in 2010 and thought it was happening to him again. Casey leaves in an ambulance to undergo some preliminary tests.

Now, onto the quarterfinal matchups, which are as follows:

– Collin Hart vs. Kelvin Gastelum
– Luke Barnatt vs. Dylan Andrews
– Josh Samman vs. Jimmy Quinlan
– Uriah Hall vs. Bubba McDaniel

Next week, we will be treated to a pair of fights: Hart vs. Gastelum and Barnatt vs. Andrews. Tune in to find out who will punch their ticket to the semis.

Team Sonnen
Luke Barnatt – quarterfinalist, defeated Gilbert Smith
Uriah Hall – quarterfinalist, defeated Adam Cella
Zak Cummings
Tor Troeng
Jimmy Quinlan – quarterfinalist, defeated Clint Hester
Kevin Casey
Kelvin Gastelum – quarterfinalist, defeated Robert “Bubba” McDaniel

Team Jones
Clint Hester
Josh Samman — quarterfinalist, defeated Tor Troeng
Robert “Bubba” McDaniel — quarterfinalist, defeated Kevin Casey
Gilbert Smith
Collin Hart – quarterfinalist, defeated Kevin Casey
Adam Cella
Dylan Andrews — quarterfinalist, defeated Zak Cummings 

–J. Jones

Yes, Ronda Rousey Will Be Coaching the Next (Co-Ed!) Season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’


(According to the press release, the season will feature 15 talented female MMA prospects, and “one drunken asshole who’s basically like a chick-version of Junie Browning.” / Ronda photo via Getty Images)

By Oliver Chan

When Dana White tweeted that a big announcement will be made at the end of the UFC 158 FX prelims, fans started buzzing with theories ranging from New York MMA legalization to Nick Diaz no-showing the event (although based on his performance, he might as well have). Instead, looking to continue riding the Ronda Rousey Women’s MMA Train, White announced that the two head coaches for the 18th season of The Ultimate Fighter will be Ronda Rousey and the winner of the Meisha Tate/Cat Zingano fight on April 13. TUF 18 will debut sometime this fall, and to add to the intrigue, the season will feature both male and female fighters in the 135 weight class competing for contracts in their respective divisions.

While ratings for this season have seen a slight uptick on FX, the series has failed to match the previous numbers it once enjoyed while on Spike. Now with the rival network preparing to launch two new reality shows featuring a now ousted UFC Hall-of-Famer, the UFC has the added pressure to step up their game in order to keep their MMA/Reality TV market share in point. While to some die-hard MMA fans, this may not seem like a big deal, for the UFC and Bellator, the ratings for their reality TV programs do have a significant impact on how the networks will present their brands to potential television partners in the future.

This current season of TUF has seen a change of direction in terms of how the competition has been portrayed. There is significantly less drunken buffonary, bodily fluid pranks, and even a limited instances of a-holes being a-holes (*Cough*Bubba*Cough*). Hell, even Chael Sonnen has been on his best behavior! (Which I’m kind of disappointed with, but you can’t win them all.) Instead, as Joe Rogan pointed out during last night’s Mike Ricci/Colin Fletcher fight, TUF 17 highlights the challenges faced by contestants being a struggling MMA fighter as well as the added pressure of being on a reality show. Throw in some exciting finishes and we have MMA at its purest with no gimmicks needed. But a fundamental problem remains: Do we really feel that any contestant on this show could have a significant career in the UFC?


(According to the press release, the season will feature 15 talented female MMA prospects, and “one drunken asshole who’s basically like a chick-version of Junie Browning.” / Ronda photo via Getty Images)

By Oliver Chan

When Dana White tweeted that a big announcement will be made at the end of the UFC 158 FX prelims, fans started buzzing with theories ranging from New York MMA legalization to Nick Diaz no-showing the event (although based on his performance, he might as well have). Instead, looking to continue riding the Ronda Rousey Women’s MMA Train, White announced that the two head coaches for the 18th season of The Ultimate Fighter will be Ronda Rousey and the winner of the Meisha Tate/Cat Zingano fight on April 13. TUF 18 will debut sometime this fall, and to add to the intrigue, the season will feature both male and female fighters in the 135 weight class competing for contracts in their respective divisions.

While ratings for this season have seen a slight uptick on FX, the series has failed to match the previous numbers it once enjoyed while on Spike. Now with the rival network preparing to launch two new reality shows featuring a now ousted UFC Hall-of-Famer, the UFC has the added pressure to step up their game in order to keep their MMA/Reality TV market share in point. While to some die-hard MMA fans, this may not seem like a big deal, for the UFC and Bellator, the ratings for their reality TV programs do have a significant impact on how the networks will present their brands to potential television partners in the future.

This current season of TUF has seen a change of direction in terms of how the competition has been portrayed. There is significantly less drunken buffonary, bodily fluid pranks, and even a limited instances of a-holes being a-holes (*Cough*Bubba*Cough*). Hell, even Chael Sonnen has been on his best behavior! (Which I’m kind of disappointed with, but you can’t win them all.) Instead, as Joe Rogan pointed out during last night’s Mike Ricci/Colin Fletcher fight, TUF 17 highlights the challenges faced by contestants being a struggling MMA fighter as well as the added pressure of being on a reality show. Throw in some exciting finishes and we have MMA at its purest with no gimmicks needed. But a fundamental problem remains: Do we really feel that any contestant on this show could have a significant career in the UFC?

The only UFC title holders to come out of the TUF franchise have been Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans (and no disrespect to Matt Serra, but his season featured current UFC talent). Since then, the majority of TUF alumni have failed to make an impact on the organization. Think about this: Rory MacDonald didn’t go through the TUF ranks.  Gunnar Nelson didn’t go through the TUF ranks. Jon Jones didn’t go through the TUF ranks; as he recently claimed, he wanted to be on the show but was too young to apply. Hell, Benson Henderson had his audition tape rejected for TUF. Most of the TUF success stories came from season 1, and those fighters are currently either retired or in gatekeeper hell.

This new season will potentially have a larger impact on the UFC for one reason: It will feature fighters in two divisions that are still (relatively) new to the UFC, both of which are desperate for new talent. What made the first season great was that not only was MMA relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but the fighters themselves were unknown as well. Season one produced one title holder and a slew of other fighters who at one point fought for the belt during their UFC career. Especially in the case of the women’s bantamweight division, we could see some serious contenders coming out of this season regardless of who wins in the finale.

You can’t ignore the possibility of TUF going back to its old ways. With guys and gals hanging out in the same house with no TV, no internet, but plenty of booze, I’m sure we will see some shall we say, “naughty” shenanigans? Will there be issues with the plumbing? Will the cast be attacked by bears?

Some MMA fans might roll their eyes and wonder if this is the direction they want their beloved sport to be heading towards. However, this season will do to the female bantamweight division what the first season of TUF did for the sport in general — introduce it to a brand new audience.

So for those of you reading this who actually have a girlfriend and fear having to endure another season of The Bachelor, take solace in the opportunity that you could find common ground with that special someone and watch a bunch of crazy broads live in a house and beat each other up. Or if you’re like this guy, watch for other reasons that are, uh…awkward.