The Ultimate Fighter

It was bound to happen: A show about UFC hopefuls training, living, and eventually competing with each other to see who would win a contract in North America's biggest mixed martial arts event. With the glut of reality television shows about anything from weight loss to word puzzles where contestants win by chicanery, politics, and backstabbing, it's refreshing to see a show where the outcome is determined by actual skill, not elections, not BS.

TUF beats the Contender by about 8 weeks... and its contestants possesses more mettle than the Contender has marketing, nothing against what boxers do. Don't believe it? An MMA fighter has to know how to fight on the ground and on his feet: Anything that works, is used. Anything that doesn't, is not even given a second thought. Mixed martial arts has done more to bring what's real to the table and kick all the BS to the curb than anything or anyone else in the broad subject matter of the "fighting arts". Like Joe Rogan said: We now know exactly what happens between two guys in an (approximately) no holds barred fight.

All I can say is FINALLY! For someone who's a big UFC and Pride fan, this is a godsend.

Few flaws and kinks, such as the changing of the rules midway through the competition, first two episodes eliminated two contestants through physical challenges and not through fights (Another way of saying, BORING), the strange way that the good fighters of Team Liddell like to fight the bad fighters, the very 'coincidental' twists of fate (that allowed for an eliminated rabble-rouser to re-enter the competition). However, since all the fighters were selected as the best MMA unsigned fighters in the country, then it stands to reason that they should all be good, and that no fight among them should be "unfair".

Sometimes I see an invisible hand moving the pieces of this "reality show" and am hard-pressed to ignore such improbable coincidences.

EG, the Leben-Koscheck rivalry, between one who's a good striker/frat boy loudmouth and an excellent wrestler, was obviously good for ratings but ended in a judges' decision that eliminated Leben from the competition in Episode 6. In Episode 9, Leben comes back, due to the prerogative granted an injured Nathan Quarry to choose one member to take his place as a competitor. Not surprisingly, he picks Leben, who he has counseled through the tiff that arises between Leben and Koscheck/Southworth.

And the decision between Stephan Bonnar (Team Couture) and Bobby Southworth (Team Liddell) that sends Southworth packing. Granted, judges' decisions usually tick people off regardless of sport, but this one strangely ends at Round 2 when it easily could have gone to Round 3, due to the inconclusiveness of the 2nd Round. But Team Liddell has had straight fight victories.. Team Couture has had nothing. It can be a drag... especially considering that only one person from each weight class is going to get a contract, and all this team rivalry is for naught.

If you're not interested in the team politics or the characters of the show, there's a fight each episode... watching Diego Sanchez dish it out is truly a joy. That in itself, it worth watching TUF for.

TUF shows promise. Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, arguably the two best heavyweights in the UFC, coach and comment on their teams... the members of the teams form rivalries and friendships, and Dana White throws in a little bit of caustic pep talks mixed with rational advice here and there... If TUF works out its details, I don't think I will miss even one second of Season 2.

I've watched many seasons of this show, and it was great. Good action, up and coming fighters were fun to watch. They're not always that polished as fighters, nor as good as the veteran pros on the UFC PPVs, but entertaining none the less.

Sadly, the horrible camera work on the current season has made the show unwatchable. Constant zoom in, zoom out, pan around, wobbly hand-held cam makes this worse than watching an badly shot home video. Such a shame, I won't be watching it anymore.

Shaky cam is so 10 years ago, get a cameraman who can hold the camera steady at a constant zoom. Not someone's relative who just got a camcorder for their birthday or something.

I'm no big fan of the UFC(Ultimate fighting championship), and I only heard about the UFC when it became Spike TV's only truly original money train. I gotta admit, I only started watching TUF on season 7 when they started having their contestants actually fight for a place on the show, and I saw an add for a local gym using one of the contestants(who actually made it to the final bout). I did get hooked, because this reality show didn't have the audience choose a weekly loser or have the other contestant vote him off, they had to duke it out to prove they still belonged in the house. Some who did lose on the show still impressed someone because I see them in opening bouts for other UFC events, so I guess some prove their mettle in somewhat less publicized ways than the big names and over all winner(s) of the show. Of course I watch the show of the fights outside the octagon and inside the house. Do you really think these fighters can leave their competitiveness in the gym? Some guys have to stay macho 24/7, and those that try the hardest usually lose the worst in the octagon, and those that just think of it as a sport and respect it as such, get a whole lot farther. As with any sport(and reality show that feeds on it) you get the guys who are always out to prove something and the guys that need help more than to prove themselves. But hey, it still makes for good TV, right? I still root for the fighters from my home town, the scapegoats, the losing team, or the guy who gets on to the show by default. They all have a chance, but as stated in comments before: the committed, trainable, and trained always win.

It's hard to believe that the first season of the ultimate fighter came out in 2005, and here I am in 2010 looking back on it. And when considering that it has only been five years, it is amazing to think about how much the UFC and the sport of MMA has grown.

The history of this show is well documented by now. The UFC was losing money, there was no mma on cable television, and the UFC was worried about being pulled from PPV (again). It's also been said that the UFC funded the show with their own money and sold it to Spike TV. Considering the show's backstory, few would have thought that it would have caught on with the public, and helped make the UFC what it is today.

When reviewing the first season, the first thing that comes to mind is all the great fighters on Team Couture and Team Liddell. The season included UFC stars: Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Mike Swick, Josh Koscheck, Diego Sanchez, Kenny Florian, and Chris Leben. The season also included many classic battles, including the fight that was voted as the best UFC fight of all time in a UFC poll.

If you are a fan of the UFC, or MMA in general, be sure to check out the Ultimate Fighter, where you will see future stars of the game compete for a contract into the UFC.

And that most DEFINITELY includes myself! Now I do not have to wait 2 months to pay $30 to see a cool ufc fight because at 10:00 PM every Monday night now,I can see one at the end of this very interesting documentary.Plus,we now have a close-up look at the training that these MMA guys go through.We see the certain work out methods of how one individual loses at least 20 pounds in less than 24 hours (very grueling indeed); I mean...WOW,and I thought my old school tae kwon do training was difficult.Also,the tension between the different trainees can be sometimes just freakin hilarious (like watching the WWF you know).

But like I said,it's a very interesting show and I will never miss one episode if I can help it.I just hope the show lasts a long time.