Mixed Martial B0nes

We are at the end of another chapter of UFC‘s The Ultimate Fighter(TUF).  What a show it’s been!  From the drama of Roman not being able to fight, to Dorian flipping out and wanting a piece of the crew, to Paul experiencing the heartbreak of losing a close family member.  These lows have been compelling but the highs have obviously been the MMA action.  We’ve seen some awesome fights, especially from Tommy who doesn’t seem to understand that fighters actually lose sometimes.  Ben revels in combat and has a smile whether he’s pounding on someone or being pounded by someone.

Tonight we find out who will compete in the finals. After tonight, we will have to face another period of time without TUF to keep us company.  It’s clear that in it’s 6th incarnation, TUF shows no signs of fading away but nothing is perfect.  There are still some annoyances that plague this series and what better time to address these issues than before the start of The Ultimate Fighter 7?  Maybe Dana White and crew will take heart so that the next TUF show will be it’s best ever.

1)  Move the show to different venues around the country.  Vegas isn’t the only place with an octagon.  We’d be able to see more fighters and coaches in the UFC/MMA community.  Maybe the fighters would get into less trouble with the locals as well.  The finale should still be fought in Vegas to make the prize that much sweeter.

2)  Give the fighters something to do!  We’ve seen enough pranks and the recent “upper-decker” incident  has really taken us to a new low.  This is a popular show and Dana always stresses that this is an incredible opportunity for anyone lucky enough to make it on the program.  Make them go out into the community and help out someone.  If they based the show in New Orleans or Florida, they could build houses.  The UFC could and should represent itself in a better light.

3)  No more crying!  The sight of a grown man crying is a sad one indeed.  We don’t need Barbara Walter’s moments on a show about fighters.  It’s unfortunate that this makes for great TV but if we have to sit through another tearful rant (see Andy Wang TUF5), we might as well watch some Oprah.  Who knows?  We may get a new car!

4)  On somewhat the same note, no more losers talking about leaving the house.  Everyone knows the deal by now.  The opportunities in the UFC come to everyone in the house, not just the overall winner.  Maybe they need to do some psychiatric evaluations on everyone before they enter the house so they know who will make it the whole way without wimping out (see Joe Scarola) or worse, flipping (see Dorian) out!

5)  This one may be a tough one:  Reduce the chance of injury during training.  I don’t know how you could do this without compromising the quality of instruction.  Still, nicks, bruises, and black eyes are one thing.  Broken bones and herniated disks are an entirely different matter altogether.  The first show denied us the chance to see what Roman may or may not have been able to do.  We’ve also been denied the chance to see the fight that we’ve been sold on this whole season: Serra Vs. Hughes because of injury.  There’s another post devoted to this so we’ll leave it at that.

There you have it.  Five things that could push TUF to the next level.  Will they do any of this?  Probably not.  Oh well, I suppose there are worse things to see on television than a bunch of drunken idiots bashing their heads into walls and throwing foosball tables into pools!