Does winning The Ultimate Fighter even matter anymore?

[Kickass32]

Does winning The Ultimate Fighter even matter anymore?

by Sergio Hernandez on Jun 2, 2012 6:00 PM EDT






A little over seven years ago, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) beamed into millions of homes and completely changed the mixed martial arts (MMA) landscape forever.
Since then, the sport -- and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in particular -- has grown leaps and bounds in ways once thought unimaginable.
There are live fights almost every single week, the sport has been on broadcast television and the biggest events get all-star treatment with giant banners hanging in the heart of New York City.
And most of this success is thanks to TUF.
The reality show opened doors for the UFC which were once bolted shut. And its winners went on to be some of the company's biggest stars.
Guys like Forrest Griffin and Diego Sanchez -- TUF 1 winners -- have won or contended for titles and are mainstays in the main event crowd. Other guys like Rashad Evans and Michael Bisping -- TUF 2 and 3 winners, respectively -- have built careers out of being reviled by fans.
But with each successive season, TUF winners are becoming less and less recognizable and more and more dispensable.
So does winning the reality show tournament even matter anymore?

Last night, Michael Chiesa became the 22nd man to be crown The Ultimate Fighter. He made his professional MMA debut almost four years ago with just about every single one of his fights being held in his native Washington.
If not for his mountain man hairstyle and beard, one would be hard pressed to pick him out of a lineup.
In fact, the same can be said for the last four or five winners.
When the show started, it culled the best regional talent from around the country. King of the Cage champions, International Fighting Champion and World Extreme Cagefighting veterans were the norm.
Nowadays, it's not rare to see someone land in the TUF house with only two or three -- or possibly even zero -- pro fights on their resume.
Amir Sadollah won the seven season of TUF without having fought once before and since then has achieved mixed success inside the Octagon.
The talent level outside the UFC is simply too shallow and it's been this way for a while. The show's early seasons produced a pair of world champions and a slew of title contenders. The last season to produce a genuine challenger was the lightweight-focused fifth season with Nate Diaz.
Since then, the TUF winners have struggled inside the Octagon with none managing to break through the proverbial glass ceiling. It's not that they are untalented fighters, it's simply the case of them not being ready for the competition the upper echelon the UFC provides.
The UFC doesn't only house the best of the best, that much is true. But the best are most definitely in the UFC, this can't be denied.
TUF was created to find the next UFC champion, hidden in the regional MMA scene. A diamond in the rough, the Octagon would polish this fighter and make him one of the elite.
The show did its job admirably early on but one by one, the winners became less and less successful. Joe Stevenson and Kendall Grove have been cut. Efrain Escudero finds himself fighting for the UFC again after being handed his walking papers in 2010. He's lost his two fights since his return.
The fighters TUF produces now aren't champions in the making.
They are FX and Fuel TV event filler.

http://www.mmamania.com/2012/6/2/305...mate#storyjump

[Kickass32]

This is precisely why we need Strikeforce to stick around.

[BluenoseGreig]

I don't see it as looking for the next champion any more, but just a platform to promote the UFC in general. Also a way to finding fighters to fill the roster, as the UFC continues to grow they need more and more fighters and by having guys on a TV show it gives the audience a chance to get to know them early in their UFC careers. So, does winning TUF matter any more, no!

[Kickass32]

But I think it could. If they put the winners...and losers for that matter into SF, and allow them to build up alot slower than throwing them to the wolves in the UFC, eventually these winners of TUF, could comeback into the UFC and contend.

[BluenoseGreig]

Yeah I see what you are saying, I really don't see SF sticking around though. I think you are right though, a breeding ground for raw and new talent using SF would be a good idea but if it is a money losing show then it's game over. Lesser pay I suppose would balance the books so there is a possibility there.

[Rich Davie]

I think the article is a bit harsh in it's premise and the way it's trying to lead it's readers into agreement with what the author deems is the only purpose of the show.

Does winning TUF really matter any longer... of course it does, just ask any fighter who has taken part and has won.

Maybe not in the scheme of becoming an Ultimate Fighter Champion... but the exposure fighters garner from the show, and the instant recognition by millions of international MMA fans who now know who you are as a fighter means a helluva lot to those fighters who are afforded the opportunity to participate on TUF.

Unfortunately for some of the TUF winners, MMA continually progresses talent-wise and the talent pool in the UFC is hands-down the best in the world... it's up to the winners to progress skill-wise and maintain pace with the level of talent they'll be fighting currently and in the future.

I like that TUF winner Brookins, but he's currently employing the strategy that Matt Hamill used in the octagon which forced Hamill to retire much earlier than he might have had to if only he would have fought smarter... wear-out your opponent by utilizing your face as a target to absorb his punches.

I see Brookins' UFC career taking a similar path as Matt Hamill's... only much shorter, because he's not as tough as Hamill and he can't take those shots to the face and head as well as Hamill.

This is why Zuffa needs to keep SF around, otherwise the TUF castaway fighters now have name recognition that affords them the opportunity to go to another MMA promotion and use that experience & exposure as leverage... and we've seen this historically with the TUF castaway fighters, the WEC fighters & even many of the ex-UFC fighters who were cut by the infamous and sometimes unfair 2 to 3 strike rule.

It's not that winning TUF is no longer relevant... it just might seem that way to some, because the level of talent in the UFC keeps growing in leaps and bounds and some TUF winners aren't up to the task of keeping pace with that rapid level of growth IMO.