TUF Ten, Tough to Watch

This season of The Ultimate Fighter is winding down as the first quarter final took place Wednesday. I, for one, can’t wait until it’s done.

I sat down, excited as usual for the first episode when The Heavyweights began. Then after hearing the usual hype of “this is going to be the best season yet,” I was fairly disappointed about three shows deep.

Usually I can get into one or two characters or at the very least think, “what’s Junie Browning going to get himself into this week?”

Not this season.

The most interesting aspect of the house this season has been Matt Mitrione playing pool basketball and tossing a football while nursing a sore shoulder.

That was exciting.

Let’s not forget the spider that Big Baby (he’s my favourite) encountered that vicious and the drawing claiming that he sucks to the extent of comparing his suck to a nether region of the male body.

Big Baby is one guy I’ve taken a liking to, still not to the extent of past shows. Luckily, for him, Rashad Evans matched him up late in the show. I don’t think he was ready for a quick fight and I think he benefited from the extra training time. A natural athlete of his ilk can learn pretty much anything when it comes to physical exertion. His ground game is up to par so striking and cardio can take precedence while teaching him wrestling principles as well.

Imagine if Marcus Jones started his MMA career at 25 rather than 36? That would be close to the heavyweight version of the steadily improving Josh Koscheck, scary.

Another sore spot I have with the show is Mike Row’s constant “next time on The Ultimate Fighterrrr” teasers of the possibility of participants not being able to continue and the planting of the seed as to whether Kimbo Slice will be subbed in to fight.

Sure I’d like to see him fight again, more than I’d like to see Wes Shivers back in the cage, but I don’t need to be let down every week after hearing, “could this be the chance Kimbo has been waiting for?” seven days earlier. Besides, at this point in the competition I doubt anyone would risk standing with him.

Slice or not, I could care less who fights, I just want to see something that resembles a UFC calibre fight. I can’t see any of these fighters – maybe Roy Nelson, maybe – making any sort of impact in the heavyweight division in any higher level organization.

This season’s cast seem to lose gas by the mid-second round point of the fight. Brock Lesnar and his fellow big men in the show can definitely push past 7:30 minutes without their mouths open and hands on their knees.

To their defence, I think some training at a major camp can fix the cardio issue, but first impressions are everything, right?

The one major storyline I was looking forward to was, of course, Quinton Jackson and Evans and their dislike of each other. They get at it every week, and I enjoyed it because it would always seem like friendly ribbing and then one word would push the other over the edge, I loved it.

Then Jackson retired and even his feud with Evans became stale at this point as it would never come to a climax. I think Rampage will be back though, eventually.

However, I wouldn’t put it past him to keep his word and stay away from the sport for good. Time will tell.

Which brings me to the point, not every season can be a winner; I know this, so this season’s show will continue to be on my Wednesday night viewing schedule.

I’ve been disappointed so far, but the winners are matching up now and we could see the tide of the fights change.

I’ve been made a believer before and there’s still enough show for me to hang in there and not give up on The Heavyweights just yet.