Lets face it, this past season of The Ultimate Fighter (T.U.F.) wasn’t one of the better seasons in the shows history. OK, I’ll say it…it was the worst, ever. And I’m not alone in thinking that as this show pulled the worst numbers in its long and well-respected history.
To be fair Friday night isn’t the best slot in the world for ANY show, let alone an MMA show that is has a hybrid edited/live format.
UFC President Dana White was quoted in a Yahoo Sports Article.
“FX wants to try it again on Friday nights, but if it’s not up to the standards I’m expecting, I’m pretty sure they’ll give me what I want. But this season was a smash hit home run for them.”
The article also stated:
“The show will remain on Friday at 10 p.m. ET on FX, though White said if “this next season isn’t up to the standards I expect, they promised me we can move it to Tuesday or Wednesday.” He said casting for Season 16 would begin in three weeks and will debut in September. Season 2 on FX will feature welterweight fighters.”
Bye Bye Live
Fear not T.U.F. heads, for the UFC has a plan.
Back in late April/early May White, recognizing that the show was having it’s problems, told the media that he was going to “fix it”; it now looks like we may have some idea about how White plans to do just that.
After assessing season 15, and what I can only guess is having a frank discussion with Fox/FX about what made this season perform so poorly, the UFC announced that it would move away from the live format and back to pre-edited episodes next season.
According to the same Yahoo Sports article mentioned earlier,
“White said that although he prefers the live format, he was unable to delve into the fighters’ lives as much as in seasons past.”
Another Comeback Season?
Along with going back to the old format, White also said that he would be open to having another “comeback season” on The Ultimate Fighter. The last time that was done was season 4.
According to an article on MMA Junkie:
That season took place in 2006 on Spike TV and featured 16 fighters with previous UFC experience. While the decision to give the middleweight and welterweight “TUF” winners immediate title shots initially was met with criticism, it resulted in one of MMA’s biggest upsets. After winning “TUF 4″ with a narrow win over Chris Lytle, Matt Serra earned a title shot and then upset welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 69.
So would White consider a second comeback season?
“Of course,” White said. “I think enough time has gone by where there’s enough guys out there where you could do that type of show again.”
“TUF: Live 2,” which will be the 16th season of the seven-year-old series, is expected to kick off this fall. White, though, isn’t sure if it’ll be a comeback season or a traditional one that features largely undiscovered talent.
However, he admits an affinity for “TUF 4.”
“You know what I loved most about that season?” White asked. “The winner actually became the champion. He won the title against Georges St-Pierre.”
My Thoughts
They need to do something, that much we know and can agree on.
I do agree that a big reason this season seemed like it wasn’t up to par with the others was the Friday time slot, but that’s not the only reason.
The talent was OK at best. Heck I don’t think the winner will be in the UFC for more than maybe 3-4 years. So with that said, maybe another comeback season is just what they need?
The truth of the matter is, all good things come to an end. At some point, EVERY show on T.V. ends; I don’t see why T.U.F. will be any different. I think they will give it another 3-4 years but then it will go away.
That does NOT mean the sport will suffer.
The Ultimate Fighter saved the UFC and MMA, and because of its success the sport can now stand on its own with out the need for a reality feeder show.
In time there will be something new and creative to replace it, until then it could be a TOUGH (pun intended) 3 or 4 years for fight fans.