That trot through history is an important one, mostly because of the separation anxiety that will be caused by what I'm about to write.
For many, TUF was the indoctrination to the sport, and we all remember our firsts (mine, I'm embarrassed to admit, was Chuck vs Rampage One on Fox Sports Net, a re-air).
However, the necessity of the show has long since passed. Its charms have faded into cliche, and, most importantly, the fighters are not of the quality to be paid more than all but the elite of the UFC any longer.
ZUFFA has now taken steps to put a true pipeline in place. On Dec. 11, 2006 ZUFFA Enterprises was born. They made two purchases: the first was a buy to finally get Quentin "Rampage" Jackson (they did this by purchasing the World Fighting Alliance and quickly liquidating it).
Next was an under-the-radar signing, a small time West Coast promotion called World Extreme Cagefighting, which would be run as a separate entity from the UFC.
Lately, the organization, bolstered by an impressive roster of featherweight and bantamweight fighters, has risen to the level necessary to support a full UFC feeder organization.
With the TUF finale mere hours away, and a new season already being shot, now is the best time to announce the series finale of The Ultimate Fighter.
That shouldn't mean the end of the UFC on cable though; actually, it would make more sense to scrap TUF and begin a monthly UFN card to showcase second-tier talent.
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