The Ultimate Fighter 16 and the Australian version of “Smashes” both came to an end last weekend. The finale is the only thing to look forward to when watching TUF. I’m so tired of the format that I’d rather watch Downton Abbey with my wife than sit through an hour of played out and washed up “reality” TV.
The Ultimate Fighter no longer relevant
Last Saturday night during the TUF 16 finale Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier submitted TUF 12 winner Jonathon Brookins via D’Arce Choke. After the fight Poirier said something very revealing, “It’s redemption, but something even cooler than that is I tried out for ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ the season that Jonathan Brookins won. So this was my Ultimate Fighter Finale.” How the UFC missed out on “The Diamond” is beyond me, but it’s not about talent, it’s about how you look and act on television.
Somewhere down the line the UFC has put aside finding the best fighters in order to showcase a bunch of dudes in a house, getting drunk, getting rowdy, and arguing about who stole who’s chicken. If I wanted that kind of juvenile television I’d watch “Real House Wives of Vancouver.”
Fortunately for this season of TUF the two best guys in the house were in the finale. I hate to say it, but that is how the UFC wanted it. Canadian Mike Ricci and US Army Ranger Colton Smith battled it out for the six-figure UFC contract. Unfortunately for Ricci he was dominated from the opening bell by Smith’s takedowns and relentless pressure.
The UFC saw Ricci’s talent mixed with a marketable if not odd character. What they truly saw were potential Canadian ratings for FX Canada. Add an American Hero, who actually came off as more of a jerk, but was a walking advertisement for the US Military on a FOX Network, surround both men with guys who they should beat, add a couple “clowns”…er “entertainment value,” and you have yourself a show. It all played out perfectly.
A Canadian version is in the works and could happen in 2013. There is a ton of talent in Canada that actually have tried out for previous shows and got turned down because they either didn’t have the look, weren’t entertaining enough, or were not from a gym that had enough clout to back them. For TUF to be relevant again, they need to start taking the best guys, because trust me when I say, there is another “Diamond” in the TUF.
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