Ultimate Fighter 15: New Live Format Delivers Much-Needed Excitement

With television ratings spiking for the show, UFC headman Dana White promised that Ultimate Fighter 15 would be a fresh, new take. 

With two episodes in the books, the show has made a drastic improvement with their new format. The fights are now shown live, which adds flair and excitement to the bouts. 

Instead of the episode dragging on as it would in past seasons, the viewer was left with anticipation toward the fight that would come up at the end of the episode. In episode two, that fight featured James Vick with an incredible knockout on Daron Cruickshank. 

As always, you don't have to look far to find critics of the show. But they did a great job of adding excitement when it desperately needed a restructuring.

I was left on pins and needles during the show, anticipating the upcoming fight between Vick and Cruickshank. The producers were able to build the storyline for the fight as well as focus on other emotionally appealing occurrences.

Instead of multiple rounds in years past, they've switched to one five-minute round. This adds explosiveness to the fights, as fighters who generally come out slow cannot do so.  

White admitted the show wasn't worry-free, however, in an interview with MMAJunkie.

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"Going into this thing … you’re always nervous when you do something new and do something different," White said. "We worked long and hard on this show to make sure this came off with no hitches."

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All the worrying paid off, White said later. 

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"It was perfect. Everything went according to plan. There were literally no hiccups whatsoever." 

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For instance, Michael Chiesa was causing us tough guys watching the show to tear up a bit when he found out that his father had passed away. His dad was able to watch son Mike face off on live television in the prior episode.

White promised the show to be more emotional, and he delivered.

Now with a revamped show and increased excitement, the fighters must continue to deliver gut-wrenching bouts to keep the viewers interested. This show will live and die with the watch-ability of these fights.