If the purpose of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is to groom up-and-coming talent for a specific weight class then what's the point to bring in fighters who aren't even going to compete in that weight class once the show wraps?
Here's a snip from TUF 6 welterweight finalist Mac Danzig:
"I decided that before I even went on the show. I really have no business fighting the top five guys at 170, or even the top ten when it comes down to it. It's not that I can't beat them, but if you put me in with Matt Hughes or Georges St-Pierre ten times, I'm gonna win a number of those times, but realistically, with all skills being the same, those guys are extremely skilled and much bigger than me. I walk around at 170, those guys walk around at 190, so it's not a good idea for me. I really want to make a run for a title, and 155 is my weight class. I feel that within a couple of years I can be a world champion at 155. [It's] the toughest weight class there is by far, and that's where I've got to be. I'm looking forward to jumping in the mix with those guys and I think that's where the exciting fights are."
It was no secret even before the first show aired that Danzig was not a 170-pound fighter. He joins Joe Stevenson, Rashad Evans, Diego Sanchez, Josh Koscheck, Kenny Florian, Din Thomas, Melvin Guillard and a host of other talented fighters who competed on the show at certain weights only to drop down afterwards.
More than likely there's more going on behind the scenes. Furthermore, fighters such as Mike Swick often make the decision several fights into their official UFC careers.
Whatever.
It should be fun to watch Danzig scrap with the other lightweights competing under the UFC banner. There is certainly no shortage of talented fighters in the division.
Note: Danzig will take on Tommy Speer during the TUF 6 Finale this Saturday, December 8 for the six-figure UFC contract and bragging rights as the welterweight winner of the 16-man tournament-style competition.
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