[Tapout 07]

Biggest problem with TUF I see is that the Champ going into the reality show having a huge lay off time. Usually the opponent just fought and has less ring rust. Noguiera has fought in ages. Mir just fought 3 months ago. Rampage had to wait to fight Griffin for a title defense. Stop putting the champions on TUF show. You are hurting the best fighters. Put guys like Kenny flo or Huerta on the show. Put Henderson or Franklin as coaches. Let the champs just worry about defending the belts.

[ORUKU SAKI]

the ultimate fighter is a problem. having one season was fine to get it out there again but not 2 a year. also the gap the champs fight is ridiculous. doesnt matter who wins cause everyone ends up fighting anyway.

[machine29]

When they put the guys who are fighters in the UFC:
Forrest,Stephan,Rashaad,Diego,Joe Stevenson,Melvin,Kenflo,Swick,Bisping,Le benHammill,Kendall,Ed Herman,Kos etc etc in fights, it helps

when they put reality TV stars in the UFC, thats when it sucks. JT,WM etc etc

[Jayemdubbya]

in a recent interview on MMA Junkie, one fighter stated that he had gone through the entire process only to be rejected because he didn't fit the mold for the show.

Put the 16 BEST amatuer/unsigned fighters you can find in the house. Then it will be a success. See Season 1

[Sprawl&Brawl84]

It's awfully hard to believe that tuf has been on so long. The show has produced quality fighters, but save current UFC lightweight champ forrest griffin, there are no real hammers. As a young fighter myself, the hardest part is properly training. There are numerous "mom and pop" schools that have no accredidation or affiliation that are hindering more than helping young fighters. The ability to focus and recieve top notch instruction is invaluable.

The marketing aspect is also important. Think about pro baseball, football and basketball stars. We get a chance to watch athletes develop as rookies on a regular basis due to the frequency that they perform in thier respective sports. MMA has not such luxury, we are not aware of a fighter until he has established himself. Through the ultimate fighter reality show, we as consumers and fight fans get a chance to watch young fighters develop in a behind the scenes fashion that would not accesible any other way. I know the dramatic soap opera bullshit can get tedious, but in actuality TUF is neccesary for introducing young and new fans of the sport to future fighters.

[chorus85]

I think TUF is a help AND a hinderance. No one can deny the exposure the UFC (and MMA) has gotten through the reality show. It attracts new young fans and us hardcore fans get to watch free MMA on TV.

I was about 10 years old when I first saw a UFC event in 1995. My older brother rented a video and we watched it. Being a fan of boxing and practicing Tae Kwon Do, I understood nothing of the ground game and I only saw it as a "bloodsport". But I did remember Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock.

10 years go by and I see Ken Shamrock, who I rememberd from the WWF when I used to watch it back in 1998-2000, on TUF with Tito. I was blown away by how much the fight game had changed, and I immediately became a fan.

So, from a marketing perspective, I think TUF has been essential for bringing in new fans to MMA.

HOWEVER, I think using world champions as coaches is a major mistake. It hinders the divisions. In 12 months Matt Serra defended his title ONCE. We had to wait 10 months just to see Rampage fight.

The show format has grown stale. I think they really need to do something different with it. Maybe do something similiar to season 4.

[lightzout]

TUF never caught my interest until last season. I tried to watch Serra/Hughes but it was such a generic "real world" drama show it turned me off. Griffith/Jackson was only better because of the opening preliminary fights but I fast forwarded through everything but the fights. If they hired a better producer/director team to do this show it could really help the sport by showing the nitty gritty work of training. I thought Forrest's team was really sharp and would have loved to see more of the real work and less grabassing filler. Like most reality shows they seem to find a few people who are only there to stir shit up or have glaring personality disorders. What if they just treated them like Olympic athletes and focused on how the good ones rise up over the rest. Did anyone think Amir would win before it started last season? I still don't understand how he almost casually walked right into the winner's circle.

[KCMA2012]

IMO TUF is great because it is top notch MMA free plus it helped open the door for Ultimate Fight Nights being shown on Spike. I don't like the fact that the Champs have long layoffs but I find it hard to complain about free MMA.