Reality Is Not a Good Look For The Ultimate Fighter

Has anyone else noticed that the Ultimate Fighter has lost some serious giddyup as far as legitimate mixed martial artists are concerned?

When TUF first broke on the scene, it seemed to be considered a joke by those inside the fight game. MMA veterans on both sides of the ropes/cage appeared to appreciate it as a gimmick to create a wider audience for the sport. Since it was successful as such a vehicle, its alumni weren't mocked openly as they served a very important purpose, but they didn't seem to have a full helping of respect.

The dynamic seems to have changed in recent years, which is ironic.

As the show has matured, the marketing package has improved and that has left a shine on its reputation. It's no longer a Wild West sort of gamble for ratings because that gamble paid off. TUF has become a centerpiece of the organization.

Furthermore, with so many graduates in the UFC ranks, the internal voice proclaiming legitimacy is much louder these days.

Yet other MMA devotees must be struggling against the same yawning ambivalence as the caliber of antagonists continues to mellow.

After the last vapors from Wednesday night's much-anticipated rumble between Roy Nelson and Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson drifted away, I felt the "why bothers" creeping up on me. I wasn't expecting Kimbo to be a world-beater, but I did expect some sort of spirited effort. Instead, there were a couple good exchanges and then the big fella appeared to gas.

Meanwhile, Big Country proved more cerebral than he looked at first blush. He used his noggin and his substantial girth, took Slice down with ease, and proceeded to flash his well-reputed ground game. Still, if Nelson is the favorite to take the big contract and guaranteed spot in the UFC, do the rest of the episodes really matter?

No doubt—they'll be entertaining from a reality-television-worst-of-humanity perspective. But that's no great accomplishment—it's almost impossible to throw grown men (most of whom are total strangers) into a confined space for an extended period of time and not have things boil over once or twice.

Who needs more of that garbage? Can the public really have an unsatiated appetite for boorish behavior that used to merit a ferocious ass-beating, but now gets a 16-episode contract?

Honestly, if we haven't hit our tipping point for heels and curs, I'm not sure one exists and that would be bad news.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but—from what I've gathered via magazine covers at the grocery store check-out—there is someone named Jon who is famous for having a bunch of kids, taking them on television, and then cheating on his wife.

Now, as miserable a character as this Jon appears to be, I think the more disturbing gem is that there are wide swaths of people across the globe who care enough about his dastardly deeds to make the story a seller. Every time I see another tidbit (God save us, I've even seen it on CNN), I feel the need to shower and I'm not sure it's directly connected to what a piece of excrement the dude is.

That's not to dismiss anyone who follows such tripe—everyone has his or her guilty pleasures. However, I do mean to dismiss the direction of outrage and scandal as one Dana White and the UFC suits should pursue for the Ultimate Fighter.

Its first seasons saw their shares of the circus, but what made TUF unique was its primary focus on performance inside the cage. The Chris Lebens and Shone Carters were trivial respites between some serious banging and ground wars.

Say what you want about the early days, I'll take those casts over the newest ones in any battle royal.

You won't find a ton of sincere championship material in a group that includes Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Mike Swick, Diego Sanchez, Josh Koscheck, Kenny Florian, Joe Stevenson, Keith Jardine, Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping, Travis Lutter, Patrick Cote, and Matt Serra. Of course, you won't find a lot of easy outs, either.

Not a name on there will roll over a play dead after a couple good fists to the face. They've stepped into the Octagon with some of the baddest names in the arena with little or no hesitation. A few have even enjoyed the momentary ecstasy of a championship belt.

All that ever needs to be said about Griffin versus Bonnar has been said and written.

But there's far more depth in the set than the headliners—Swick is a stud, Sanchez is every bit the Nightmare he proclaims himself to be, we've all seen Stevenson bleed like a stuck pig and battle right through the blood, Jardine replaces the finer points of artistry with sheer toughness, and the Lutter-Cote combo has arguably given the inhuman Anderson Silva his two stiffest tests since the Spider put his foot on the Middleweight Division's collective throat.

On the other hand, the newest runs of the show have produced...Nate Diaz? George Sotiropoulos? Efrain Escudero?

To be completely fair, the freshest batches of TUF alumni haven't had as much time to prove themselves genuine threats. Nor have they had as much time to improve on the unique foundation started by the rigorous training camp and stay in the house. Finally, they're entering a different and more dangerous UFC than their boob tube ancestors.

Nevertheless, the fact remains that recent seasons have been more memorable for the colorful antics of cast members outside the ring than they have for actual cage combat.

There seems to be a high premium placed on the reality-television quotient—heavily leveraging the coaching hostilities, favoring the Junie Browning Element, including ex-National Football League hulks who make for great hype and no harm, etc.

Regardless of whether a couple cast members persevere to greater glory in the UFC, the dearth of viable candidates for bright futures is becoming a glaring problem.

A couple more mediocre seasons and we'll be left with nothing more than Survivor in six-ounce gloves. Fear Factor in a cage.

I doubt even Joe Rogan wants to see that.

**www.pva.org**