“The Ultimate Fighter is the toughest tournament in sports, this is the toughest tournament this sport has ever seen.”
The above quote is from one side of the TUF 17 coaching staff, Chael Sonnen and it is what starts the show off. Sonnen, Jon Jones, UFC President Dana White and some of the shows fighters spend the first couple of minutes talking about the show and the impact it has on the fighters that are on the show.
Already with under two minutes gone by into the first episode of the show, you can see the production value over at FX has upped its anti.
The Palace Station Casino in Las Vegas is where all of the action takes place for the first 28 fighters who will compete for a spot inside The Ultimate Fighter House.
This season the cameras go behind the scenes to see how fighters deal with stuff prior to the fight, also to give a little background on them. Another change this season is that the UFC has allowed the fighters to bring in their friends and family to watch them in the elimination fights to get into the house.
Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen make their way into the TUF Gym where the fights take place and Sonnen starts off his antics by saying, “Right when my day was going so well.” to Jones. The two then shook hands, pat each other on the back and got ready to chat with Dana White. But, prior to that the two checked out the Harley Davidson’s that the winning fighter and coach would take home after the Finale.
The headliners back-and-forth banter was a focal point of this episode too as they playfully threw digs at each other to begin and played mind games with each other over their picks.
The 28 fighters line up on the mats and White introduces the guys to the coaches and tells them to “give it everything you have.”
FIGHT DAY
Adam Cella def. Jake Heun by Submission (Armbar)
Zak Cummings def. Nik Fekete by TKO (Punches)
Kevin Casey def. Eldon Sproat by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
Tor Troeng def. Scott Rosa by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
Clint Hester def. Fraser Opie by Decision
Bubba McDaniel def. Ryan Bigler by TKO (Punches)
Josh Samman def. Leo Bercier by TKO (Punches)
Kelvin Gastelum def. Kito Andrews by Decision
Jimmy Quinlan def. Mike Persons by TKO (Punches)
Uriah Hall def. Andy Enz by Decision
Gilbert Smith def. Eric Wahlin by Submission (Arm Triangle)
Luke Barnatt def. Nicholas Kohring by Decision
Dylan Andrews def. Tim Williams by Decision
Collin Hart def. Mike Jasper by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
COACH PICKS
Sonnen and Jones went to their respective locker rooms to choose their teams.
Dana White announced that they will be bringing back the wild card this year. So if a fighter loses the coaches will choose two fighters to come back. The point of it is to have good fights. Also announced was that finishes get the fighters $5,000. $25,000 will be given to the best submission, knockout and fight of the season. Sonnen won the coin toss and chose to pick the first fighter, which means Jones gets to choose the first fight.
| TEAM SONNENLuke Barnatt (5-0), 24, Cambridge, EnglandUriah Hall (7-2), 28, New York City, N.Y.Zak Cummings (15-3), 28, Kansas City, Mo.
Tor Troeng (15-4-1), 29, Umea, Sweden Jimmy Quinlan (3-0), 26, Metheun, Mass. Kevin Casey (5-2), 31, Hawthorne, Calif. Kelvin Gastelum (5-0), 20, Yuma, Ariz.
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TEAM JONESClint Hester (7-3), 24, Atlanta, Ga.Josh Samman (9-2), 24, Tallahassee, Fla.Bubba McDaniel (20-6), 29, Albuquerque, N.M.
Gilbert Smith (5-1), 30, Colorado Springs, Colo. Collin Hart (4-1-1), 23, Santa Rosa, Calif. Adam Cella (4-0), 27, Fenton, Mo. Dylan Andrews (16-4-1), 32, Gold Coast, Australia
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FIGHT PICK
With the teams picked, Jones picks the first fight of the season.
Gilbert Smith vs. Luke Barnatt
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