Champion's clause: What happened to the 'TUF' title contenders?
by Adrian Neely on Nov 11, 2010 9:17 AM EST
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Prior to the availability of live mixed martial arts action on free television, fans had no other choice but to capture the fights on pay-per-view.
However, on April 9, 2005, the sport of mixed martial arts, in a sense, was reborn.
Not only was the creation of the UFC's "The Ultimate Fighter" (TUF) reality series momentous for the careers of elite fighters such as Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, and Gray Maynard, it's also been crucial for the careers of youthful prospects like Jon Jones and Cain Velasquez.
The existence of "The Ultimate Fighter" has also provided the sport with a tremendous amount of worldwide exposure. Just take a look at how many more mixed martial arts gyms that are currently being operated compared to 2004. MMA is labeled as "the fastest growing sport in the U.S." Additionally, with bigger media outlets now covering the sport, many more hopefuls are trying their luck to one day make it in the UFC.
And with the surging influx on talent coming in, the likelihood of becoming a world champion becomes that much more difficult.
Not convinced?
In seasons 1-5 of "The Ultimate Fighter" (excluding "The Comeback" season), a total of nine fighters have, or will compete for a world title in either the UFC or WEC. In seasons 6-12, zero have vied for a championship.
So what's to make of this? Do the recent winners of "TUF" need more experience before they can contend? Or is the talent pool in mixed martial arts increasing that much, that fast?
Nothing is certain.
However, it is important to know that the most successful ‘TUF' competitors have come from the first two seasons (both in 2005). Which means that the season's four winners have had a considerable amount of time to train with the best in the world.
Diego Sanchez (22-4) has spent the majority of his training inside of the world-renowned Jackson's Submission gym in New Mexico. Forrest Griffin (17-6) sharpens his tools at UFC legend Randy Couture's gym in Las Vegas, NV. And former UFC light heavyweight titlist Rashad Evans (15-1-1) also trains alongside Greg Jackson in Albuquerque, NM.
While other notable winners from the more recent seasons haven't had the opportunity to train exclusively at an elite training gym.
Or, may it be that season 1-5 fighters are simply better than those of recent seasons?
But the fact that many of today's young stars (Velasquez, Jones, dos Santos, Aldo, Melendez, Askren, Phil Davis, etc.) have managed to succeed outside of the reality show's spotlight furthermore cements the fact that the sport has evolved and the fighters of today are better than those of a few years ago. The sport will continue to grow and the fighters will continue to get better and more competitive.
Will we see another ‘TUF' winner get a crack at a title? It's certainly a possibility.
Perhaps we will all be one step closer to knowing the answer when "The Ultimate Fighter" season eight light heavyweight winner, Ryan Bader battles the ultra-talented Jon Jones (rumored to take place at UFC 127 on Feb. 5, 2011).
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Interesting post
To be honest, all the TUF`s after TUF 1 sucked for me. Actually, the Ken-Tito one was pretty good. Also, I know people (especially Dana White`s fan club) will try to flame away on this, but MMA is not actually the fastest growing sport in the world. Not even in America. Tennis and Nascar are actually the fastest growing.
The reason why the best talent doesn`t come from TUF anymore is because they often prefer characters over fighters. IE: Junie Browning, Bruce Leroy, Kimbo Slice and others.
The better fighters are training and working for it the old fashioned way.
Tennis and Nascar? Really? I didn't know that.
Nam Pham is one nerdy guy. He made it in because of his skills and athleticism and because of that only. They need to recruit credible talents as much as they need to throw in a few loose canons for drama. It usually doesn’t take too long before we figure out which are which.
The only real possession you'll ever have is your character. — Tom Wolfe
Actually...
Pham is there because he is trying to break back into the top orgs. He has been fighting fir nearly 10 years and has fought for just about all the shows including strikeforce, kotc, sengoku, k1, Tachi palace.
As far as rashad goes, he actually fight primarily out of trevor whittman’s gym Grudge up in Colorado. It’s an affiliate of Jackson / winkeljohns. That’s also where carwin and Nate train.
’’They've done studies you know... 60% of the Time, it works every Time...’’ – Brian Fantana
Sorry for the spelling. Damn iPhone.
’’They've done studies you know... 60% of the Time, it works every Time...’’ – Brian Fantana
he recently made that switch
I AM SOMETIMES BIASED - Get over it!!!!!!!
by ViolentMike on Nov 11, 2010 11:13 AM EST up reply actions
Plus with the Asian movement
having an Asian-American in the household doesn’t hurt. I don’t know, I MAY be all alone in this but his striking last night didn’t impress me one bit. He paw’d w/ his left, and wildly flung his right for a KO constantly. His leg kicks only came from his right leg and were totally telegraphed.
I also think they’re more interested in bringing in characters for ratings over technically sound fighters. Contestants that’ve been on the show have said it. Nothing tagged as “reality tv”, as this is, is reality. Producers are known to interfere a lot. And if I’m not wrong, i believe Dana has also said that Spike actually does the choosing of who even makes it to the “fight to get into the house” part.
* "Standing in the ring in whatever condition I'm in is my way of life."
* "I don't think the injury was the cause for my defeat, I lost being in 100% condition at fight day. It's possible that Santiago might have been injured as well, I lost because my best was insufficient, only mortifying thoughts remain now. I think I would've entered the ring even if I lost one of my legs, I'm a fighter who fights, not with technique, but with heart."
--Kazuo Misaki
Nascar? I doubt it. Maybe in America, but not the world. Okay, so I’m surprised to hear Nascar is even in contention as one of the fastest growing sports, but I’ll wager it’s not on top of the list, least of all higher than MMA.
I was referring to the US.
I was surprised to see Nascar as well. But I never bought Dana`s hype about it being the fastest growing sport in the world. I never trust anything out of that fella`s mouth. Mr White likes throwing out a lot of nonsense that he tends to go back on. Of course, MMA is quickly growing, but i`m comfortable in saying it will never be the biggest sport in the world.
So, did some research, and tennis and Nascar are tops in the US, and MMA is 3rd. Rest of the world is….. you ready for it….. Cricket. Crazy stuff huh.
Cool, that makes more sense. Watching cars drive in circles just doesn’t excite me. Maybe I never gave it a chance.
Yeah, cricket has a big following. I mean, over a billion Indians can’t be wrong, can they? Not to forget all the Pakistanis and Englishmen and Australians and South Africans and New Zealanders and umm . . . whoever else.
Crickets on the rise because of 20/20
They’ve done a good job rebranding the sport with the shorter game and with the IPL and recent World Cup it’s quickly becoming the most popular form of the game. Cricket’s no longer the gentlemans game that takes place over 4 (club) or 5 (international) days, 20/20 has brought it a younger audience and freshened it up and the Indians have invested a lot of money in the IPL franchises buying the top players so it’s no surprise to me that it’s the fastest rising sport in the world.
"Stay classy San Diego"
Jon "Bones" Jones, MMAs best young fighter and the next LHW champion
I'll bet any money snooker is a faster growing sport worldwide than MMA
1.3 billion chinese are becoming crazy for that sport.
Never believed Dana’s BS either about MMA being the fastest growing sport in the world.
What's 20/20? I thought you were talking about that Dateline style show
I AM SOMETIMES BIASED - Get over it!!!!!!!
by ViolentMike on Nov 11, 2010 11:15 AM EST up reply actions
20/20 cricket, aka 20 overs for each team, not the TV show
It’s a shorter form of the game (test matches are unlimited overs, with 90 played on each day until there is a winner or 5 days have passed while one day games are 50 overs each) which is much easier to brand and to get in a casual audience as the games are played at a much quicker pace and don’t last as long.
And good point K-Dog, crazy to think that a pub game like snooker is getting so popular. It shows what a difference popularity in a big country like China can make. I’ll never understand the fun of watching it though, like golf and pool it’s something that I enjoy playing but can’t stand to watch.
"Stay classy San Diego"
Jon "Bones" Jones, MMAs best young fighter and the next LHW champion
Same to me!
I fn hate Nascar, but maybe I’m just not trashy enough. It’s the weirdest sport (if you can call it that) in the world. I lived in the south for 3 years and was surrounded by this nonsense. I didn’t live in a trailer and wasn’t a beer drinking tobacco chewing redneck, so I guess I just couldn’t relate. A driver (who calls himself an athlete, LOL) drives in circles all day around and around and around. WOOOOHOOOOO exciting! To each their own definitely applies here.
Anderson Silva is by far the number one P4P king!!! Even when he is losing a fight he still comes back and finishes for the win! GSP dominates the whole fight and still can't finish! LOL
The only thing I think about when i here Nascar is...
Jeff Dunham and Bubba J
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iMd8Pm-2EE
“Its a sport thats easy to follow when your hammered” :p
by Zlatan, My Hero on Nov 11, 2010 4:29 PM EST up reply actions
OMG So fn funny!!!!!! Thanks for that!
Anderson Silva is by far the number one P4P king!!! Even when he is losing a fight he still comes back and finishes for the win! GSP dominates the whole fight and still can't finish! LOL
Nascar.
It didn’t excite me either until I saw it live with my dad as he is a huge fan of the sport.
Watching it on tv is not something I’ll ever do still, but yeah I’ll take him up on a invite again anytime. Something about being at a live Nascar event does that as I’ve heard a few other people say the exact same thing. Maybe it’s the roar of the engines and the constant possiblity of seeing a insane pileup, but it’s there live for sure.
by Empty Thoughts on Nov 11, 2010 12:38 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, I agree. I live in Florida so I have been to Daytona a few times.
It is completely different when you are there. 43 cars that can reach speeds of over 200 miles an hour just a few inches from eachother is pretty crazy when you think about it.
For some reason it got a lot bigger after Dale Earnhardt died. I guess the threat of someone possibly dieing during a race, no matter how good they are, made people realize that it is a dangerous sport.
by naturalshadow on Nov 11, 2010 3:37 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, that’s probably the same as horse racing. That’s gotta be just as boring or even worse than Nascar, but I once went to a popular “race day” and it wasn’t that bad, although I still wasn’t really interested in the horses and hardly watched them at all even when I won some cash. But naturally, seeing the jockeys in their bright colors bouncing up and down on the horses’ backs, vying for position, and hearing the thunderous clamor as they pass, the crowd roaring with excitement, your senses are activated and the experience is better. But that really goes without saying for any sport. The best thing about that sport is examining the crowd and gazing at all the lovely ladies dressed in all their finery and elegance. But I still think horse racing is really fucking boring.
I think classifying either Nascar or horse racing as "sports" is really stretching the definition.
I don’t consider either of them to be sports or find them remotely entertaining to watch. Also, since the horse (and not the jockey) gets the credit and recognition in horse racing, why doesn’t the car (and not the driver) get the credit in Nascar? Doesn’t make any sense to me.
"Before I do anything I ask myself, "Would an idiot do that?" And if the answer is yes, I do not do that thing." - Dwight Schrute
There is a lot more that goes into both HorseRacing and Racing that you give them credit for. Try fighting a race car at 200mph for 3+ hours and then tell them they do nothing.
Try fighting a race car at 200mph
I think the car would win. Fighting a car at those speeds is like fighting the lion in the lion’s den. It’s suicide, man! SUICIDE!
Sports are human athletes who use/train their bodies in competition. Horse racing and NASCAR are just skills that make you money. Big difference.
"Friends and lovers lie endlessly, caught in the web of duty. Only enemies speak the truth.
-Stephen King
I think that's a great delineation OJR.
In sports the focal point should be the athlete in my opinion. In these two examples, the car and horse are much more integral than the driver or jockey.
"Before I do anything I ask myself, "Would an idiot do that?" And if the answer is yes, I do not do that thing." - Dwight Schrute
Try fighting a race car at 200mph for 3+ hours and then tell them they do nothing.
I never said that to begin with. I merely stated that I don’t consider them to be sports or find them remotely entertaining. The fact that they may be difficult changes absolutely nothing.
"Before I do anything I ask myself, "Would an idiot do that?" And if the answer is yes, I do not do that thing." - Dwight Schrute
beer pong, a real mans sport
my sig might be gay but you're the dumbass that read it
by randy murders on Nov 11, 2010 11:35 AM EST up reply actions
you ust be kidding about nascar? nascar was beaten in the tv ratings by a horse named zenyatta.
Why do canadians stick together? The same reason why Chris Horodecki turned his body and face around in his first WEC fight.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Nov 11, 2010 3:32 AM EST up reply actions
you must be kidding about nascar?
Why do canadians stick together? The same reason why Chris Horodecki turned his body and face around in his first WEC fight.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Nov 11, 2010 3:32 AM EST up reply actions
actually, nascar IS already the biggest sport in america
by Body Triangle on Nov 11, 2010 10:44 AM EST up reply actions
as silly as that sounds, sheer numbers, they're number 2 to only football
let me qualify that first post, apparently it is not, but second biggest.
disclaimer: Wikipedia link coming
by Body Triangle on Nov 11, 2010 10:46 AM EST up reply actions
I read this elsewhere I think.
I liked it there and I like it here. Interesting analysis Mr Neely. Rec’d.
The only real possession you'll ever have is your character. — Tom Wolfe
could "MMA Frenzy" be the culprit?
I just googled “fastes growing sport in the world”
most of the articles had it as MMA.
the Brockness monster tried to stand on the tracks when the Cain train came through. Choo Choo! Lokie is an MMA genius
by *Californication* on Nov 10, 2010 7:43 PM EST up reply actions
but until someone searches and finds cold hard numbers and percentages
its all gibber-talk
the Brockness monster tried to stand on the tracks when the Cain train came through. Choo Choo! Lokie is an MMA genius
by *Californication* on Nov 10, 2010 7:44 PM EST up reply actions
Mma is still very young and has an international market up for grabs in the male 15-68 demographic.
The only real possession you'll ever have is your character. — Tom Wolfe
Judomania hit the nail on the head with his first post — characters over fighters.
Our lives change like the weather, but a legend never dies.
Simpler than that PW
The first two-seasons had mostly guys that we never heard of but probably should have been in the UFC and would have been anyway. All of them had more than a few fights and were locally known in their MMA scene and came from larger existing gyms. Now the guys are actual prospects because the talent pool at the highest level is not as deep. UFC has Bellator and SF Challenger series taking away from the actual talent, so DW adds more “personalities” into the house to complement the Michaels Johnson’s of the world.
Now there are roughly 2-3 guys per season that should already be in the UFC, but they are saved for TUF. I mean really…Big Country had to go through TUF? I can understand Schaub and Mitrione, but BC? I am actually kind of suprised DW did not rig this seasons TUF with a guy like Antonio McKee to win it to promote his marketing. Although having a 35 year-old veteran of 30 fights in the house would have been funny. I guess we get Phan instead as the experienced “plant”.
"Democracy... while it lasts is more bloody than either aristocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide." - John Adams
i say..
that big country had to go through tuf because he is an infamous self promoter and does not play well with other children..i think dana thought he would not be able to handle the training or ways of getting into the ufc..and even the coaches were complaining that he was not coachable or into being “in shape” and despite all that..he rose to the top which picked dana’s ass..i think he has little love of the big guy.
I agree about the no love for BC by Dana, but Dana had to think that BC would win that season or at least be the favorite.
Roy is the same fighter at the beginning of the show as he is now. The talent was always there. IMO will never be Champ, but I still think he is top 6 or 7 in the UFC. Maybe even 5. Hard hitting, great ground game with an iron chin.
Anderson Silva is by far the number one P4P king!!! Even when he is losing a fight he still comes back and finishes for the win! GSP dominates the whole fight and still can't finish! LOL
this season's TUF
is brimming with talent though, that Brookins kid is real
that Brookins kid is real
only seen in context of the show. He is still very raw and just looks good in comparison to the guys he fought so far. he needs many years in my opinion to be able to hang with the top pros. but he does have upside, i agree.
Fedor.
well lets see
season 6 has G-Sop. season 7 has amir, cb, gerald harris, matt brown.. none of which will fight for a title. season 8 had bader, right? the rest of the seasons blur together. Nelson is in there as a future title challenger, but i dont consider Nelson a “TUF” fighter at ALL.
hadn’t thought about this. interesting. i think the sports developed a bit since the first season. they’ve also taken in some guys with virtually no pro experience on the show which is part of it. look at Amir, did he have ANY pro fights on his record before the show? what about the gangly guy that broke his leg? he lied about his fight experience to get on the show, Corey Hill, right?
Gatti. Dekkers. Pele. Aoki. Kang. Vanderlei. Basillio. Harry Greb.
by theworldsoldestsport on Nov 11, 2010 11:42 AM EST reply actions
yea and notice what happened when you put a guy with no amateur experience in with an experienced fighter
he suffered one of the most brutal injuries ever in the octagon
when was the last time fedor beat someone that cain wouldnt absolutely destroy? i cant think of a single person...
by HellaHectic on Nov 11, 2010 12:56 PM EST up reply actions
To be fair that was a freak accident
Personally I think that Corey’s lanky frame was more to blame for the injury than his inexperience. Just because you haven’t had many fights doesn’t mean that your leg will snap as soon as you check a leg kick.
"Stay classy San Diego"
Jon "Bones" Jones, MMAs best young fighter and the next LHW champion
he threw the kick, he didnt check it
The Red Wings will come back stronger
RESTORE THE ROAR 2010 Detroit Lions
He was like 6'4" and fighting at 155.
That is ridiculously scrawny. Just because you can make a weight, doesn’t mean you should.
by naturalshadow on Nov 11, 2010 3:43 PM EST up reply actions
..
there is something to be said about guys that don’t have alot of experience but the gumption to be a great fighter..got to give the green guys a chance to develope into the future stars..
Funny thing is the inexperienced guys usually do better than the veterans
I’m still amazed that a lanky LW with no pro experience made the weight whilst a UFC veteran failed to do so because he was too busy eating cake and getting colonoscopies to cut. Even worse the UFC actually brought fat Gabe back so that Lauzon would have another easy win.
"Stay classy San Diego"
Jon "Bones" Jones, MMAs best young fighter and the next LHW champion
For the record, Gabe got a colonic not a colonoscopy
Colonoscopies are used for checking for potentially cancerous polyps and tumors.
"Before I do anything I ask myself, "Would an idiot do that?" And if the answer is yes, I do not do that thing." - Dwight Schrute
That is correct.
"Friends and lovers lie endlessly, caught in the web of duty. Only enemies speak the truth.
-Stephen King
Spoken like a true ass-man ;-)
"Before I do anything I ask myself, "Would an idiot do that?" And if the answer is yes, I do not do that thing." - Dwight Schrute
Two obvious reasons
Obviously at the start they have a bigger pool to dip from, but as the show goes on there’s less obvious talent to go for and more orgs looking to snatch hopefuls up, if Koscheck came around in 2009 likely he’d be on Bellator with Askren instead of TUF.
Also, more obviously, the more time that goes by the more likely it is that someone from that show is likely to fight for the title, it takes time to develop and earn a title shot. So it’s obvious there will be more success amongst the earlier seasons.
For instance, the oldest season without a championship fight is season 6, and George Sotiropoulos, after winning every fight since that Tough, is just now getting close to a potential title fight, and he still probably 2 fights out.
Jon Jones LHW Champion 2011
Gray and Pray LW Champion 2011
Fastest Growing Sports????
What is everyone talking about, shouldn’t it be from inception to how fast a sport takes to become recognised worldwide? We’re not talking about the biggest and most supported sport we’re talking about fastest growing sport.
Nascar was founded in 1947–48
Cricket started in the 16th century
Tennis started in the 19th century
MMA was started around 1990 something.
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