Tag: The Ultimate Fighter

Spike Exec Insists ‘TUF’ is Still Awesome, Makes Crazy Comparisons to Super Bowl, World Series

(Celebrating 12 seasons of two faceless dudes fighting in a warehouse. PicProps: MMAOutsider.com)
Of all the things that consistently suck about “The Ultimate Fighter” – the repetitive plotlines, relentless douchebaggery of much of th…


(Celebrating 12 seasons of two faceless dudes fighting in a warehouse. PicProps: MMAOutsider.com)

Of all the things that consistently suck about “The Ultimate Fighter” – the repetitive plotlines, relentless douchebaggery of much of the cast and what feels at times like a conscious desire on the part of the editors to make everybody involved look as bad as possible, just to name a few — by far the most frustrating remains the show’s continuing unwillingness to reinvent itself. Aside from a couple of minor tweaks over its 12 seasons – one of which was, uh, this guy – fans have consistently been watching the same shit over and over again for the past five years. To say that the format has grown stale would be an understatement of Jake Shields-ian proportions.

That the show’s average viewership hasn’t dropped any lower than the approximate 1.5 million who currently tune in each week is certainly more of a testament to the loyalty of MMA fans than a reflection of quality programming. Even most of the people who (like me) still watch religiously admit that a lot of it is pretty god-awful. But to understand exactly why “TUF” insists on plodding forward from season to season with the mindless tenacity of a reanimated corpse, look no further than SpikeTV senior vice president Brian Diamond’s recent interview with MMA Junkie.

According to Diamond, “TUF” ain’t broken and he responds to the suggestion that maybe the show needs a facelift (actually, a complete body tuck would be better) by making some comparisons that are … well … totally fucking insane.

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The Josh Koscheck Apology You Didn’t Get to See on ‘TUF 12’…

Compared to TUF 12 good-guy Georges St. Pierre, Josh Koscheck certainly comes off as an asshole bully with the maturity of a fourth-grader. But as with all reality shows, there’s some creative editing involved to make the villain look even worse than he (or she) really is. What we saw on Wednesday night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter was Koscheck physically assaulting Brad Tate, then making snarky comments instead of actually apologizing. It turns out that a lot of important footage landed on the cutting room floor.

In the video above, we see that Brad Tate wasn’t just taunting Kos — he was also mocking the accents of the yellow-team Armenians. The fact that Tate was attacking his guys was what really set Josh off. Koscheck actually does make a heartfelt one-on-one apology to Brad, which ends with their beef getting thoroughly squashed. Before that even happens, Kos advises his team not to start any more trouble with Tate: "When you see him tomorrow, don’t say one word. Kill ’em with kindness. Let me stand up for you guys. Let me look like the bad guy." It’s a moment that would have swayed sympathy toward Koscheck if it were included in the episode — unfortunately, it wouldn’t have fit into the show’s perfect Kos-as-heel narrative.

See More: TUF 12 • exclusives • Team GSP • Josh Koscheck

Compared to TUF 12 good-guy Georges St. Pierre, Josh Koscheck certainly comes off as an asshole bully with the maturity of a fourth-grader. But as with all reality shows, there’s some creative editing involved to make the villain look even worse than he (or she) really is. What we saw on Wednesday night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter was Koscheck physically assaulting Brad Tate, then making snarky comments instead of actually apologizing. It turns out that a lot of important footage landed on the cutting room floor.

In the video above, we see that Brad Tate wasn’t just taunting Kos — he was also mocking the accents of the yellow-team Armenians. The fact that Tate was attacking his guys was what really set Josh off. Koscheck actually does make a heartfelt one-on-one apology to Brad, which ends with their beef getting thoroughly squashed. Before that even happens, Kos advises his team not to start any more trouble with Tate: "When you see him tomorrow, don’t say one word. Kill ’em with kindness. Let me stand up for you guys. Let me look like the bad guy." It’s a moment that would have swayed sympathy toward Koscheck if it were included in the episode — unfortunately, it wouldn’t have fit into the show’s perfect Kos-as-heel narrative.

‘The Ultimate Fighter’ 12.8 Recap: The Cucumber and the Pickle

(Josh Koscheck and Marc Stevens run down last night’s episode with host Stephan Bonnar in the latest installment of "The Aftermath." Warning: The editor forgot to bleep out Koscheck’s numerous F-bombs. Props: UltimateFighter.com)

The official title of this episode is "KOS in a Commotion." There’s nothing funny about rape-choking a male nurse, but we’ve always appreciated a good pun.

Dane Sayers is bummed that he was robbed of a wild card spot. After all, he lasted two rounds against Sako Chivitchian, and Marc Stevens didn’t even last 20 seconds against Cody McKenzie. As Jonathan Brookins explains, "It’s supposed to be reserved for the guy that put on the best performance…some people like the cucumber better then the pickle, I don’t know." But Stevens is the "obvious pick" according to Dana, I guess because he knocked some dude out in the elimination round. We’ll see how far that gets him. Coach Koscheck thinks Marc has a lot of "po-tential" that he didn’t get to show, because he got submitted "kind of early." Kind of!

Alex Caceres tweaked his back during his round-of-14 fight against Jeff Lentz, and is unable to train as hard as the other guys. Michael Johnson just thinks he’s lazy. They argue about it at the house, and Caceres explains that he needs to save his body for his next fights, and promises that when it’s time for him to fight MJ, he’ll be training, believe that. The gauntlet has been dropped, son.

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(Josh Koscheck and Marc Stevens run down last night’s episode with host Stephan Bonnar in the latest installment of "The Aftermath." Warning: The editor forgot to bleep out Koscheck’s numerous F-bombs. Props: UltimateFighter.com)

The official title of this episode is "KOS in a Commotion." There’s nothing funny about rape-choking a male nurse, but we’ve always appreciated a good pun.

Dane Sayers is bummed that he was robbed of a wild card spot. After all, he lasted two rounds against Sako Chivitchian, and Marc Stevens didn’t even last 20 seconds against Cody McKenzie. As Jonathan Brookins explains, "It’s supposed to be reserved for the guy that put on the best performance…some people like the cucumber better then the pickle, I don’t know." But Stevens is the "obvious pick" according to Dana, I guess because he knocked some dude out in the elimination round. We’ll see how far that gets him. Coach Koscheck thinks Marc has a lot of "po-tential" that he didn’t get to show, because he got submitted "kind of early." Kind of!

Alex Caceres tweaked his back during his round-of-14 fight against Jeff Lentz, and is unable to train as hard as the other guys. Michael Johnson just thinks he’s lazy. They argue about it at the house, and Caceres explains that he needs to save his body for his next fights, and promises that when it’s time for him to fight MJ, he’ll be training, believe that. The gauntlet has been dropped, son.

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Tonight’s the Night Kos’s Fight With Cee Lo Finally Happens on TUF

OK, maybe it isn’t the singer from Gnarls Barkley, but it looks just like him.

In any case, Spike TV teased this clip a few weeks ago and tonight the altercation between Kos and the male nurse, who is presumably the cageside medic will finally be aired.

Josh seemed kind of pissed off and, for once, was at a loss for words when the dude started on him about being a stinking injury faker.

Fess up, which one of you guys is a murse from Las Vegas?

OK, maybe it isn’t the singer from Gnarls Barkley, but it looks just like him.

In any case, Spike TV teased this clip a few weeks ago and tonight the altercation between Kos and the male nurse, who is presumably the cageside medic will finally be aired.

Josh seemed kind of pissed off and, for once, was at a loss for words when the dude started on him about being a stinking injury faker.

Fess up, which one of you guys is a murse from Las Vegas?

TUF 12.7 Recap: Swing and a Miss

(If you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t trying…)
The problem with GSP picking favorable matchups all season is that he’s eventually going to be stuck with one that isn’t so favorable. For the last match in the round-of-14, his #7 draft Dane Sayers will a…

Sako Chivitchian Dane Sayers fence grabbing
(If you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t trying…)

The problem with GSP picking favorable matchups all season is that he’s eventually going to be stuck with one that isn’t so favorable. For the last match in the round-of-14, his #7 draft Dane Sayers will automatically be fed to Sako "Psycho" Chivitchian, a crazy Armenian with world-class judo skills. St. Pierre says he wanted Dane to fight last so they’d have more time to work with him. A few weeks might not be enough; Sayers snuck through the elimination round thanks to his heart, but didn’t show a whole lot of skills.

Two lucky losers will soon be getting picked for the wild card fight, and everybody’s jockeying for it, except for Spencer Paige, who’s out of action for three months with a broken hand. Bummer, brah. Aaron Wilkinson is all banged up from his war with Michael Johnson, but he still wants it, and he’s clearly the most deserving. Wilkinson doesn’t think Jeff "Waster" Lentz should get a second chance, since he’s just been sitting around drinking and chewing tobacco. Jeff vows to piss on Aaron’s bed.

Our hero J.C. Skarbowsky returns to advise Dane, "Good is not enough, you have to be perfect." Everybody is calling Dane "Red Horse" this episode. Red Horse is his Indian name; he’s part Blackfoot and Chippewa. (On his mother’s side, we would assume.) Says Skarbowsky: "Koscheck’s not from the States, [Dane’s] from the States. Koscheck needs your permission to come here."

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Now That the UFC Has Their Mexican Heavyweight Champ, What Else Do They Need?

(You like it? I’m having this airbrushed onto the hood of my Impala.)
As you’re all aware by now, Cain Velasquez became The First Mexican Heavyweight Champion in Fighting History™ on Saturday when he destroyed Brock Lesnar at UFC 121. The …

Cain Velasquez Mexico Mexican flag UFC
(You like it? I’m having this airbrushed onto the hood of my Impala.)

As you’re all aware by now, Cain Velasquez became The First Mexican Heavyweight Champion in Fighting History™ on Saturday when he destroyed Brock Lesnar at UFC 121. The crowning of Velasquez should hopefully usher in a new wave of interest in the UFC from the Latino community — but the promotion still has a long way to go until it appeals to all demographics. If the UFC wants to achieve true mass appeal, they should work as hard as possible to check these categories off their list as well…

An African-American Lightweight Champion
Over the years, the UFC has awarded title belts to Maurice Smith and Kevin Randleman in the heavyweight division, and Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans at 205. And even though former welterweight champ Carlos Newton and middleweight king Anderson Silva aren’t American, they would certainly be described by my mother as "people of soul." But the history of the UFC’s lightweight division has been that of white dudes (see: Pulver, Sherk, Edgar) and a fiery Hawaiian warrior (come on, son.) What the division needs is an athletic and explosive champion at 155, who can serve as a role model for kids who are too short to make the basketball team. Do I have to spell it out for you? Okay, fine: A-N-T-O-N-I-O M-c-K-E-E, P-L-A-Y-E-R.

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