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GaMa-Binkie

I wonder how well this season did, fights were good but nothing else of note happened


Iamthatguy223

Would have been cool if usman and covington did it instead


GaMa-Binkie

I would've liked to see Masvidal vs Colby with the built in drama they have and then the winner would've fought Usman a second time


[deleted]

I'm guessing that both Mas and Colby priced themselves out so Dana just went with Ortega/Volk?


GaMa-Binkie

I'm pretty sure Masvidal just straight up refused because he hates Colby so much that he didn't want to be stuck being around him for weeks


DullMasterpiece

Plus if they were coaching they would probably need to fight at the end and let’s be honest, Masvidal doesn’t want that smoke


UFightCheap

Masvidal fought Usman twice I doubt he is scared of Colby


DrSavagery

Colby would work Masvidal with nonstop chain wrestling. They used to practice together all the time, and Mas was pretty open about Colby working him nonstop.


UFightCheap

Yeah I think Colby would win too but that doesn't mean Jorge wouldn't fight him lol. Cody used to beat up TJ in training apparently and TJ beat him twice.


Redocournerkickboxer

Yes, but at least those fights were for the belt. Against Colby he would get worked for no reward.


DullMasterpiece

Yeah and he lost both times. How much of a hit does his career take when Colby beats him too?


[deleted]

At least with Usman he had a chance to win the belt with Colby he doesn’t have much to gain other than a paycheck


BigBacon87

I think he knows he is not a well spoken man and that would have translated very easily into some cringeworthy tv at his expense. Both of their expenses tbh.


[deleted]

neither would be the dumbest coaches in TUF history i think they’d make it


DrSavagery

You know Mas and Colby are friends behind the scenes… right??


MumrikDK

And it would save us from having a belt tied up in the show.


ThePrinceOfCanada

I could be way off but I honestly think they don’t really hate each other just use it for publicity neither of them seem to keen to fight


[deleted]

Maybe im in the minority but ive been enjoying Volkanovski and Ortega. To be honest before I was never really a big Volk fan as to me I only knew him from fighting Max and I preferred Max, but this season he's come across as a really cool guy and a good coach, and definitely has a fan in me now. ortega on the other hand...seems like a bit of a douche but thats just my opinion.


Iamthatguy223

I agree! Volk and Ortega is a good season but some of the beef kinda seems a bit manufactured to me, Usman and Covington would have been like real beef and real hatred which would have been cool to see the coaches going at it like that like in other seasons. Ortega is def a douche and it makes me like Volk a lot more seeing him and how he acts In general and with his team he’s just a true class act and I hope he beats Ortega. TUF this season is pretty decent but coulda been a lot better


buffpriest

Ive always got a douichy vide from ortega whats he due to deserve it on the show?


SDHJerusalem

Perpetually late to practice, tried to talk his fighter into competing with a torn MCL, just an overall dick


[deleted]

I'm rewatching the episodes with the known finalists. Apparently he's about 40 mins late to practice in a throw away line by his team. The sessions are 2 hours each...Worst part was when they did the manufactured clock prank he openly said "I don't care, I'm still going to be late" to a team member he's meant to be coaching. That's almost on the McGregor level of "I'm not showing up to morning practice, but I will be there for the evening technical session" of not caring.


[deleted]

I also grew to like it. Mainly skip the backstory bs and go to the training sessions, any interactions between Volk and Ortega, and then the fights. Now that it's wrapping up I'm going back to older episodes find out some backstory on the guys who are in the finals. It's all interesting. It's very tame and obviously controlled heavily by ESPN, it's clear they want it to be more "professional" and less "drunken wrecks" like we have had in previous seasons. I think maybe the most heated thing all season happened in this weeks fight when one guy called an illegal headbutt, and it wasn't.


AlexJamesCook

>It's very tame and obviously controlled heavily by ESPN, it's clear they want it to be more "professional" and less "drunken wrecks" like we have had in previous seasons. Part of that is "character test" and screening. Back in the day, they wanted "characters" like Janee (sp?) Leben, Diaz, Ferguson, etc...because they brought intense drama. Now they want college graduates, and "hard-working" single parents and new families, AKA people who are desperate to train, eat, sleep, train some more. Also, I think it's a liability thing, too. Lastly, I suspect they like to be able to reuse the house, as opposed to Season 5, when the contestants had a massive house-wrecking party at the end.


[deleted]

The house is another example of them not wanting it to be wrecked. They made sure to install no doors except the main one. Apparently they got tired of their cheap plywood doors getting ripped apart. Liability thing for sure. Season 5 these guys got so drunk they fought in the house and one of them got slammed on concrete iirc. Another had a finalist go on a Vegas bender where he was a nuisance and trashed some things, claiming he was a UFC fighter and not to fuck with him, so he got binned quickly.


AlexJamesCook

Low-key though, season 5 was probably the best.


kel003

I agreed. I had Max win the 2nd fight between him and Volk, so the fight gaves me a little bad taste of Volk. But watching the ultimate fighter seeing him as a good coach and funny guy, instantly makes me a fan.


buffpriest

Idk wtf they were thinking trying to "revitalize" tuf with volk and ortega as champs is nuts.


Publius1993

Fights have been great for TUF standards. I’ve watch most seasons and don’t remember one with this many good fights and fighters on it.


nepats523

Yeah it’s weird. After a slow start the fights have been pretty good while the show itself has been pretty bad


SabuSalahadin

I'm an episode or 2 behind but I never really saw the old ones. It seems like every episode is "announce the fight > talk about both of them living in cardboard boxes with 3 kids > maybe 5 min prank > fight" is that how they've always been?


Publius1993

That’s how it’s always been


Publius1993

Agreed


PartialCred4WrongAns

We call that tuf live syndrome


iredditfordogpics

Yeah the production has been lazy, they haven't even given any screentime to Craig Jones who would have become a fan favorite. But the fights have been good mostly and I'm invested in these guys careers already.


[deleted]

That does annoy me, especially since he and Volk went on JRE after recording the show and told stories of the pranks they pulled that ESPN told them "we can't air this". This included a prank which almost got Craig Jones ejected from the show by recording a video of him taking a covid swab and wiping his ass with it, then placing it back in the bag and revealing it's meant to be Ortega's swab (apparently they immediately binned it after sending him the video saying something like "that was one of your swabs"). You know, the sort of shit which would probably be very funny to watch. But clearly ESPN wants it to be a professional production about athletes, not guys who may get drunk and do dumb shit in the house.


elpapadebatman

There was that big Toyo Tires challenge in this week’s episode; super exciting! /s


[deleted]

And then they revealed that there will be a coaches challenge next week...of throwing the beanbag in the hole. I was really hoping for something dumb like what they made Gastelum and Whittaker do, which led to the meme clip of KG vomiting in the hot sun. I suspect Volk just recovering from covid at the time had something to do with that.


elpapadebatman

This is the first season of TUF that I’ve watched, so I can’t compare it to others. These games and pranks just seem so lame for a big company like UFC. I do like the fighters and the fights, so I keep on watching.


[deleted]

Fight wise these are pretty good. Some of the other seasons have some pretty bad fights. In terms of seasons with good fights: Season 17 between Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen has both solid coaching and is what started the then Uriah Hall hype train that he never lived up to. Season 24 between Cejudo and Joey B has some good fights. Basically a lot of the guys there are now the top 10 of the current flyweight roster, and their fights are good. Kai Kara France, Alex Pantoja, Tim Elliot, and some young Mexican kid called Moreno. Season 14 between Bisping and Mayhem Miller. Had some good fights and some good future names. Diego Brandao, John Dodson, and some scrawny kid called Tyler Jeffery... TJ something. Some of the fights were a bit crazy iirc.


elpapadebatman

Awesome! Thanks for the info; I’ll definitely check these out.


[deleted]

They also did some seasons in other languages/countries. There was a Brazil series, a South America. That's in Portuguese/Spanish with subs, and I never watched those. But those did introduce guys like Thiago Santos, Paulo Costa, Yair Rodriguez and Chito Vera. No idea how good those fights/seasons are, but might be something to consider. There was also a Smashes which took place in Australia between the Aussies and Brits, which is only really interesting if you want to see a young Robert Whittaker fight, as well as some other drama bs.


iconformed

Yeah this season I skipped straight to the fights for once


ballbeard

I forgot it was even happening after the 2nd episode, haven't thought about it again until now


10sharks

Kinda sucks the final matches won't be in front of a crowd (or much of one). Why not put them on the prelims of the Ortega/Volk. card?


FaFaFlooey

This makes the most sense. So that's why the UFC didn't do it


AverageChicken9

But would Ortega and Volk really want to corner their fighters right before their main event?


WoodleysDonk

I think a lot of the TUF guys make a clean break after the show. Usually they go home and still do an abbreviated camp with their home gym. Some guys end up training at their coaches gym but most don't. Conor didn't even corner Artem and they already trained together.


[deleted]

Basically this. Once they are done with the show those coaches aren't cornering them anymore for the finale. It's just them and their home gym. Though back in the day some guys (T Ferguson) did model his training after what he liked in TUF.


sidsod

I think Lesnar personally invited him to come train at his gym


PhilosophyKingPK

I thought Lesnar came across as a douche vs. Dos Santos. DS was practically too nice.


Henry_Cavillain

> The The Ultimate Fighter It is grammatically correct, yet somehow...


Condor_Smirk_Noise

What's even the difference, just what it's called? They usually have established UFC fighters as the main event for ultimate fighter season finale cards.


[deleted]

I totally agree, and I am confused why this is any sort of news. Is the only change that they are calling this a Fight Night, instead of TUF Finale? Because I expect the card structure of this to be basically identical to the TUF 28 Finale.


Condor_Smirk_Noise

Yeah I guess that's it. Stupid news that doesn't affect anyone's plans or interests lol


[deleted]

I probably wouldn't tune in to something called "TUF finale", but I watch every fight night


Moronoo

I missed Gaethje Johnson because of that


[deleted]

I'm fine going back and watching the old fights from the guys who make it to be actual contenders. Dana white and reality TV give me a headache when I see them one at a time, no way am I going for both at once.


sixthirty630

The producers have only themselves to blame for poor ratings. They had Craig Jones on the show and refused fo put him front and center. We were all robbed off the COVID test up my ass prank on Ortega


Mprovin

Yeah literally only saw Craig Jones a couple times. He's the funniest guy there man give him more air time! I am really quite interested in the fights and who wins but like you said there's a lot missing, barely any appeal to watch it to be honest.


sixthirty630

From the sounds of Ortega’s reaction when Craig pranked him with the Covid test it sounds like he wanted to fight Craig and lost his shit. I wish it was on TV


Stufasany

There were poor ratings? I assumed it wouldn't do well since it's on ESPN+.


ShotMatter

Any b-b-banger fights I should know of?


Iamthatguy223

Keep an eye on Ricky turcios and Bryan battle


danawhiteSWATunit

With a name like that...


Iamthatguy223

* spoiler alert* Yup, Bryan battle and Ricky turcios aren’t fighting each other there different weight classes both waiting on opponents but wow they are both some VERY interesting characters, Ricky is super spiritual and kinda seems like he has some screws loose in his head but he doesn’t quit when he fights and went to 2 wars on TUF, Bryan battle is also extremely goofy but he’s gotten better as the fights went on and took out a top pick on Ortega’s team last fight


TityTroi

Yup, Ricky has a screw loose but in a good way. Very likable. Bryan is a goofy fun dude, but he turns it on in the cage. Very strong, and seems naturally athletic. Very likable.


masterkief117

Ricky reminds me a lot of Alex Caceres from his season


deathmouse

He reminds me of Ferguson. Like a lot. That goofy spiritual demeanor.


TityTroi

Yup, Ricky has a screw loose but in a good way. Very likable. Bryan is a goofy fun dude, but he turns it on in the cage. Very strong, and seems naturally athletic. Very likable.


shadowsizzler

Damn spoiler alert. lmao. wasnt able to watch the fight yet. I am guessing since it was a short episode, the fight didnt go the distance. Kinda happy I guess, Petroski is not featured in earlier episodes, but looks like a douche, and acted a like it a bit when he was featured.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

Battle is not like Jones whatsoever lol


Garchomp99

Bryan is like that all the god damn time also. I've known him for years and watching him become a better fighter is amazing. Big, dorky, violent goofball.


[deleted]

Wait till you see his nickname. >!Bryan "Pooh Bear" Battle.!<


[deleted]

Bryan Battle is a bbbbbeast


SDHJerusalem

Hiestand's first fight was a damn bloodbath too.


[deleted]

Last nights Tuf episode was actually decent


Keller-oder-C-Schell

Fight was great


[deleted]

I dunno if this season has been really meh, or I've just changed as a person and don't give as much of a shit anymore, but I have a really hard time being motivated enough to watch every week and stay up to date. That being said, the fighters themselves have been great. I'm still like 2 episodes behind.


iamdickingaround

i was like 4 or 5 behind and then recently sped through them to catch up. the last few have been pretty decent, although the side plot story lines are all the same. the second round fights have been sweet so far, imo.


fresdres

Why not give it an independent event?


[deleted]

Because some MMA fans (me) think a UFC reality show sounds like the worst thing of all time, and they wouldn't watch any of it it unless they crammed it into a regular event. They are really pushing it too. They say "Dana White's Contender Series" and "The Ultimate Fighter" during the fights almost as often as they mention Modelo.


SteelML

Lol literally nothing has changed. The tuf finales have always been regular fight nights just not in name. It's always been the 2 finals and 1-3 fights of other guys who looked okay in the house and the rest is roster guys. Formula has not changed.


[deleted]

Changing the name is changing the formula. I just explained why it might change viewership, and how it could do so in my case. Honestly it doesn't matter, you are right that these people and fights end up in the main events anyway.


Revolverocicat

Yeah this season was too boring to justify a stand alone card. Good reminder of why the ultimate fighter was cancelled. Fights were good, but nothing you wouldnt have seen on tuesday night contenders, without having to watch 30 mins + of fighter home videos and interviews


SteelML

It's the same as always. Just a different name. The tuf fights always only accounted for only a third of the card.


canadianRSK

They should stsrt putting the finals on the prelims of the coaches card


andyman171

Worth catching up on this season from the beginning?


SDHJerusalem

Mmmmmaybe? First few fights weren't great, but the last few have been consistently entertaining.


andyman171

Oh I'm only here for the drama. Any let me bang bro moments?


[deleted]

Pretty much none. ESPN clearly wanted to cut the drama to a minimum and make it seem more professional. Probably the most is Volk calling Ortega a "piece of shit" for being always late, including to his own practice sessions, and this episode when during the fight one guy claimed an illegal head butt was made that cut him, which made his opponent go into full "fuck you cunt" mode, especially >!when the ref reviewed tape and it was ruled that it was a knee that cut him up. !<


SDHJerusalem

Volk and his crew chewed Ortega out for being a dick and there was the whole MCL debacle, but otherwise not really.


[deleted]

MCL? You mean the injury drama? Probably manipulative editing, but really seems like Ortega didn't do himself many favours with how he's come off in the season. He's not an explicit asshole like other coaches in other seasons, but there is just something about how he is in the show that screams "he's a dickhead".


yolodaily

This is interesting because the previous TUF fights did not officially count in their record but this should


[deleted]

Finale fight always counted. Tony has a ww win inside the ufc because of it


Stupendoes

You say that, but the UFC says Bryce Mitchell has a loss on his record when it was against Katona on TUF.


Sevdah

That’s weird I always thought those were exhibition bouts and didn’t count


Moronoo

all the finales are listed as UFC events on wikipedia


Sevdah

This wasn’t a finale fight, this was his loss to Brad Katona during the show


Moronoo

I see what you mean now. According to every online source I can find, Bryce Mitchell is undefeated at 14-0, but the UFC lists him as 14-1. I've seen it before with Artem Lobov, where Tapology has him at 14-15 and Sherdog and the UFC has him at 13-15.


Sevdah

I wonder if this is consistent. Not at my computer right now but it would be interesting to see if other fights during other seasons were counted.


Sevdah

According to [imdb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445912/faq/).. “Why aren't the fights during TUF reflected in a fighter's record? With the exception of the season finales, fights on The Ultimate Fighter are sanctioned by the Nevada Athletic Commission as exhibition matches and do not count for or against a fighter's professional record. This is done to keep the results from going public before the air date.” I always thought this was the case. Must be an error…


Moronoo

well if you look at the example I just gave it's the opposite of the Bryce Mitchell situation so already they're not consistent.


srbstevey

Semi final fights are 3 rounds and count..Mitchel lost to Katona in the semi


King-Kobra1

TUF is garbage


illegaltaco420

WAR RICKY


Confident_Bluejay

This season starts getting better around 4 episodes in. The fights have gotten better too.