Sherdog.com’s Guide to the “Ultimate Fighter”
9:54 p.m. Central Standard Time. I call my Dad to tell him that the
new season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is coming on in 10
minutes.
You see, Dad has been a MMA fan from the jump when he hooked me and my friends up with a UFC 3 pay-per-view during my first “Scott goes away to fail at college party.”
That night, in 1994, Dad and I watched Royce roll up some boys and Dad, ever the Iowa wrester, would say: “Wait until a real wrestler gets in there!”
Sure enough, some guy named Mark Coleman (Pictures) showed up a few years later and proved Dad right … for a while at least.
Fast-forward 10 years and even a wrestling junkie like Dad now knows that it takes all skills to be at the top. I mean all skills, to become today’s Ultimate Fighter.
By all skills I don’t just mean stand-up, ground skills, kickboxing or whatever — I mean being mentally tough. I feel that probably the most important skill in professional fighting today is the will to win.
The pro fighters that I know sorta personally aren’t necessarily the best athletes I know. They are however, the toughest athletes mentally.
They just won’t give up.
This would be quite a theme in the first episode of the new season of The Ultimate Fighter 2. Last year was a grand experiment (that worked) and now it’s time for a show that hopefully has just a bit more polish.
The inaugural season of TUF showcased unforgettable personalities like Diego Sanchez (Pictures), Forrest Griffin (Pictures) and, of course, Chris Leben (Pictures). This year the crop of good fighters is so full that we’re sure to have some major fight drama no matter the personality.
We first meet the new 18 contenders as they check out the UFC fight center for the first time. Of course everyone is wowed by the contemporary UFC training facility.
Soon everyone finds out the cutthroat side of the biz as UFC president Dana White explains to the guys that they will be given a workout that will separate the men from the boys. Two days of grueling hardcore physical testing and after that the coaches will cut loose the weakest heavyweight and welterweight.
We aren’t treated to any puking just yet but these guys are dying out there as the workout closes and a few out-of-top-shape guys are put to the test.
After the grueling workout, the guys head back to the new or at least new and improved UFC house. Here, welterweight Luke Cummo shows his eccentric side by adjusting his bedding in order to have his head face to the North. Apparently sleeping to the North will clear your “chi.”
Will Luke be the next UFC show oddball? I’m not sure. I don’t find sleeping with your head to the North all that screwed up — whipping a dead cat in the nuts with a car antenna, now that’s weird! I’ll start a UFC psycho blog once that happens, until then let’s just agree that we have a “unique” contestant in Luke so far and we’ll let it all shake out later.
Speaking of Luke, Matt Hughes (Pictures) and Rich Franklin (Pictures) are the coaches on TUF 2 who put these guys through the physical ringer in the first 48 hours. In addition to all the running, weights and circuit training, the guys are put through a wall-sit challenge and new-age Luke is able to outlast his compadres on the wall and garner some respect.
After these two days of workouts we have some real problems.
Kerry “Meat Truck” Shall has hurt his knee and has to go get the Nathan Quarry (Pictures) treatment. After some ex-rays it’s revealed that he has a torn meniscus and has to leave the show. This sucks, seriously. Anyone who has been paying attention for the last few years has heard his name. In fact, for once I feel rare human emotion and I care for the guy and wish he could stay.
On an opposite note, two guys just flat out quit the show. Heavyweight Eli Joslin (Pictures) spent half of the show deciding that he was too anxious while in front of the cameras. He pulls the coaches and Dana White aside to explain that he can’t handle being in front of the camera. Matt and Rich try to talk him out of it but it’s no use, he’s decided to go.
Oddly enough Eli seems to be the most comfortable on camera during all the “solo” interviews. Curious, eh?
This is unfortunate since all top fighters spend lots of time in front of camera. I’d complain but what can you do, the guy doesn’t want to fight. Bye Eli, I’m sure the guys from TUF will come up with a plan.
Since two heavyweights have left the show, Hughes and Franklin now have to pick one welterweight to leave the show. Kenny Stevens (Pictures) from Louisiana is chosen as the weakest member, but in a perfect twist, he isn’t just kicked off the show. He gets a chance to stay on by picking someone to fight to prove his worth.
Right off the bat my buddy and I look to each to acknowledge that this is already a marked improvement since the first season. I like the idea that every contestant gets a fighting chance to stay on the show.
Kenny picks Sammy Morgan, the one guy who wouldn’t look him in the eye when he made his choice. One problem though, Sammy is only nine pounds over the welterweight limit of 170 while Kenny has 20 pounds to cut.
The majority of the rest of the first episode focuses on Kenny going through the torment of weight cutting. The only problem is that when he gets within five pounds he quits.
Coach Franklin isn’t too happy with this and we basically end the first episode with two guys quitting and one guy getting released due to injury.
While most guys who saw this episode will look at the two quitters as weak, I see it as a great example for what this sport really is: true commitment, dedication and love for fighting. If you aren’t up for that then you should get out and come write columns about fighting like I do. It’s much safer.
Now that the chafe is separated from the wheat, hopefully next week we can start to see which one of the remaining 15 contestants has what it takes to become the “Ultimate Fighter!”
(I hope you read that in Mike Goldberg’s voice.)
You see, Dad has been a MMA fan from the jump when he hooked me and my friends up with a UFC 3 pay-per-view during my first “Scott goes away to fail at college party.”
That night, in 1994, Dad and I watched Royce roll up some boys and Dad, ever the Iowa wrester, would say: “Wait until a real wrestler gets in there!”
Sure enough, some guy named Mark Coleman (Pictures) showed up a few years later and proved Dad right … for a while at least.
Fast-forward 10 years and even a wrestling junkie like Dad now knows that it takes all skills to be at the top. I mean all skills, to become today’s Ultimate Fighter.
By all skills I don’t just mean stand-up, ground skills, kickboxing or whatever — I mean being mentally tough. I feel that probably the most important skill in professional fighting today is the will to win.
The pro fighters that I know sorta personally aren’t necessarily the best athletes I know. They are however, the toughest athletes mentally.
They just won’t give up.
This would be quite a theme in the first episode of the new season of The Ultimate Fighter 2. Last year was a grand experiment (that worked) and now it’s time for a show that hopefully has just a bit more polish.
The inaugural season of TUF showcased unforgettable personalities like Diego Sanchez (Pictures), Forrest Griffin (Pictures) and, of course, Chris Leben (Pictures). This year the crop of good fighters is so full that we’re sure to have some major fight drama no matter the personality.
We first meet the new 18 contenders as they check out the UFC fight center for the first time. Of course everyone is wowed by the contemporary UFC training facility.
Soon everyone finds out the cutthroat side of the biz as UFC president Dana White explains to the guys that they will be given a workout that will separate the men from the boys. Two days of grueling hardcore physical testing and after that the coaches will cut loose the weakest heavyweight and welterweight.
We aren’t treated to any puking just yet but these guys are dying out there as the workout closes and a few out-of-top-shape guys are put to the test.
After the grueling workout, the guys head back to the new or at least new and improved UFC house. Here, welterweight Luke Cummo shows his eccentric side by adjusting his bedding in order to have his head face to the North. Apparently sleeping to the North will clear your “chi.”
Will Luke be the next UFC show oddball? I’m not sure. I don’t find sleeping with your head to the North all that screwed up — whipping a dead cat in the nuts with a car antenna, now that’s weird! I’ll start a UFC psycho blog once that happens, until then let’s just agree that we have a “unique” contestant in Luke so far and we’ll let it all shake out later.
Speaking of Luke, Matt Hughes (Pictures) and Rich Franklin (Pictures) are the coaches on TUF 2 who put these guys through the physical ringer in the first 48 hours. In addition to all the running, weights and circuit training, the guys are put through a wall-sit challenge and new-age Luke is able to outlast his compadres on the wall and garner some respect.
After these two days of workouts we have some real problems.
Kerry “Meat Truck” Shall has hurt his knee and has to go get the Nathan Quarry (Pictures) treatment. After some ex-rays it’s revealed that he has a torn meniscus and has to leave the show. This sucks, seriously. Anyone who has been paying attention for the last few years has heard his name. In fact, for once I feel rare human emotion and I care for the guy and wish he could stay.
On an opposite note, two guys just flat out quit the show. Heavyweight Eli Joslin (Pictures) spent half of the show deciding that he was too anxious while in front of the cameras. He pulls the coaches and Dana White aside to explain that he can’t handle being in front of the camera. Matt and Rich try to talk him out of it but it’s no use, he’s decided to go.
Oddly enough Eli seems to be the most comfortable on camera during all the “solo” interviews. Curious, eh?
This is unfortunate since all top fighters spend lots of time in front of camera. I’d complain but what can you do, the guy doesn’t want to fight. Bye Eli, I’m sure the guys from TUF will come up with a plan.
Since two heavyweights have left the show, Hughes and Franklin now have to pick one welterweight to leave the show. Kenny Stevens (Pictures) from Louisiana is chosen as the weakest member, but in a perfect twist, he isn’t just kicked off the show. He gets a chance to stay on by picking someone to fight to prove his worth.
Right off the bat my buddy and I look to each to acknowledge that this is already a marked improvement since the first season. I like the idea that every contestant gets a fighting chance to stay on the show.
Kenny picks Sammy Morgan, the one guy who wouldn’t look him in the eye when he made his choice. One problem though, Sammy is only nine pounds over the welterweight limit of 170 while Kenny has 20 pounds to cut.
The majority of the rest of the first episode focuses on Kenny going through the torment of weight cutting. The only problem is that when he gets within five pounds he quits.
Coach Franklin isn’t too happy with this and we basically end the first episode with two guys quitting and one guy getting released due to injury.
While most guys who saw this episode will look at the two quitters as weak, I see it as a great example for what this sport really is: true commitment, dedication and love for fighting. If you aren’t up for that then you should get out and come write columns about fighting like I do. It’s much safer.
Now that the chafe is separated from the wheat, hopefully next week we can start to see which one of the remaining 15 contestants has what it takes to become the “Ultimate Fighter!”
(I hope you read that in Mike Goldberg’s voice.)
