This past weekend we saw the finale to The Ultimate Fighter season 30. Juliana Miller and Mohammed Usman became the season winners after securing knockout victories, but I think the general consensus surrounding those two fights was that neither was really all that impressive. If you're a returning reader, you know that I try my best to keep it as respectful as possible because at the end of the day, I'm just some guy and not a fighter or coach or anything of the sort. However, there comes a time when things can drift too far into sugar coating territory and I'm not going to do that here. I don't think anyone watched those fights on Saturday and looked at Miller or Usman as someone who is going to compete for a title any time soon. To be frank, those were the equivalent to entry level fights in LFA or Invicta. There was once a time when being The Ultimate Fighter meant something, but that time is long gone. I don't think even the biggest MMA fans could name more than half of the winners from the last 10 seasons. There was a day when we would watch someone win TUF and wonder if they could become champion one day. Now, we watch TUF and wonder if they can actually win a UFC level fight. The world, both inside and outside of MMA, is a very different place and I think the time for TUF is in the past and we should just leave it there.
I know that I am sort of on the younger side when it comes to understanding the impact that TUF had on the sport, but I don't dismiss that it contributed significantly in shaping the MMA landscape as we currently understand it. It isn't extremely far fetched to say that the first season of TUF saved the UFC. If the UFC had died out, it's hard to say what MMA would look like here in the United States. Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonnar is one of the most important fights in the history of the sport and I don't think many people in the know would debate you too hard on that. Maybe there's some debate on where exactly it sits on the list, but it is on the list without a doubt. This season and fight really created a buzz around the UFC that was instrumental in the sport gaining popularity very quickly and becoming profitable. Having Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture as the coaches on that season was also a huge contributing factor to it's popularity. These early seasons also provided a lot of fighters that fans would really latch on to, one way or another. Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping, and Nate Diaz are just a few examples of fighters who got their start on TUF and were able to have some fan backing right from the jump. I think all of these things are some of the main reasons why the show was so successful. I think the lack of a lot of those same elements are now contributing to interest in the show being about as low as I can ever remember, which is what I wanted to get more into with this post.
I think the biggest reason that the show isn't as popular is that the sport of MMA is in a much better place now than it was in 2005. As I mentioned earlier, MMA and the UFC specifically were struggling in the United States at the time. Having fights or anything related to the sport on TV wasn't very common and getting exposure was the biggest concern on a day to day basis. Having a reality show based on the sport on TV for people to see exposed a lot of people to a sport that they may not have even known existed at the time. Having the "gimmick" of the game show provided a structure that people could connect to and enjoy, even if they didn't really know or understand too much about fighting. While MMA hasn't reached the mainstream popularity and coverage that many of the more traditional stick and ball sports have, it has become way more well known and mainstream. It is now broadcast on ESPN and I think most people who watch some type of sport at least know what MMA is. Even if they don't know what MMA stands for, if you tell them it is the fighting or type of wrestling that Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey do, they'll likely know what you're talking about. The point being is that MMA is desperate for that type of exposure anymore. When TUF first debuted, it was reaching people who would have been interested in MMA, but they just hadn't heard of the sport yet. Now, almost anyone who would be interested in MMA already knows about it and is a fan. TUF is also streamed on ESPN+, which limits it's exposure in the first place. Random people who have never heard of MMA aren't going to be watching the show because they're never going to hear about it. I would be surprised if there was a significant percentage of the people who are already subscribed to ESPN+ that have no idea what MMA is. Another part of the sport being in a better place is that American MMA has evolved beyond just the UFC. At the time that TUF was starting and at it's best, there wasn't a ton of MMA available to be consumed. Both Pride and the WEC were purchased by Zuffa not too long after TUF started, so there wasn't a ton of access to MMA beyond the UFC at the time. For those who were already MMA fans, TUF provided another opportunity to consume the sport. That really isn't a problem in 2022. There is plenty of MMA available to watch almost 7 days a week. The UFC, Bellator, and the PFL are putting on bigger shows almost weekly. I can't imagine there are more than a few weeks every year where all 3 of those promotions are off. On top of that, there are countless regional shows and promotions that are putting on fights. LFA, Cage Warriors, and Invicta are some of the more well known ones, but there are promotions in almost every major city in the US as well as some bigger ones overseas at this point. Fans no longer need TUF to see the sport they love because they can watch it almost any night of the week.
Branching off of this point is that the increased popularity in MMA has allowed these other promotions to create a niche for themselves. Both Bellator and the PFL have grown to the point where they provide legitimate alternatives to the UFC for fighters. They're large enough to provide both payment and opportunity that is at least comparable to what the UFC does. ONE Championship provides a similar opportunity in Asia with K-1 filling a similar role in Europe. You may be asking "what does this have to do with TUF?" My point is that the fighters no longer need the exposure from TUF either. In years past, the UFC was largely the only show in town. After both the WEC and Pride closed up shop, the UFC was dominating the market. Strikeforce would eventually carve out a role, but it would merge with the UFC not too long after it gained peak popularity. That isn't the world we live in anymore. Fighters don't need to ever fight in the UFC to gain popularity and make a great living. Even if they do eventually want to get into the UFC, there are almost infinite paths to do so at this point. I would argue that TUF is one of the worst ones. With so many other potential routes, being locked in a house with a bunch of other random fighters for 6 weeks while not being able to have any contact with the outside world so that you can maybe earn a 4 fight 12 and 12 contract just doesn't sound like a great opportunity. For any fighter who is a legitimate prospect of any kind, there's just no real reason to do that. They can wait for a contender series fight where they just need to win and they'll probably get a direct contract into the UFC. They can also just hang out in Vegas for a couple of months and they would probably have the opportunity to step in on short notice. They can sign with another organization for a better deal and build themselves there and then if they want to make the move over to the UFC, they can do it at the end of that contract. Take someone like Bo Nickal who is hot right now. Out of all of his options, TUF would almost certainly be at the bottom. He has opted to be in business with the UFC where they pretended to not sign him, even though he is almost guaranteed to already have a deal in place, but he didn't have to. He could have probably gotten a 6 figure deal with Bellator right out of the shoot. He could have gotten a nice deal with the PFL and had the chance to fight for the $1 million as well (he would have had to move up to 205 since PFL doesn't have middleweight). At the end of the day, these fighters don't need TUF like they used to because they don't need the UFC like they used to. There are now 2 or 3 other major players for free agents (Bellator, PFL, and maybe ONE) that can provide similar money to what the UFC does.
The fighters also don't need TUF because they don't need the exposure that it once provided. It is much easier to get noticed now than it ever has been. Clips from random regional shows taking place in a high school gym go viral weekly. MMA promotions are as big and as profitable as they have ever been. They now have the resources to evaluate talent at a higher rate than they ever have. The UFC as well as others have the monetary capital and human capital to send their equivalent of scouts all across the world to evaluate talent at these small regional shows if they want to. Most of these shows have some sort of stream as well, even if it is on Facebook live, so the fighters can be evaluated from someone's office without having to leave their house. Fighters are taking advantage of the prevalence of social media in today's society and generating their own buzz. TUF used to provide an opportunity for fans to get to know fighters before they even debuted, but now, we can directly interact with these fighters on social media. We have an insight into these fighters' personalities everyday and no longer need the show to put that kind of content out there.
So if the fighters don't need TUF and the sport doesn't need TUF, that must mean that the fans are the party that just keeps demanding it, right? I really don't think that is the case either. I'm obviously coming in with some very unscientific data here, but I really just don't know anyone who watches it. I monitor MMA Twitter pretty much daily and I never see anyone talking about it there either. Even when the new episode drops, I don't think I've ever seen a twitter thread of people discussing it. I follow multiple media outlets and reporters, who I also never see talking about TUF. I honestly can't remember if I've seen MMA Junkie, MMA Fighting, Bloody Elbow, or any other outlet actually cover what happened on the show. I'm sure someone has had to at some point, but I don't think I've ever really seen it. I think the general interest is so down because the show doesn't actually give viewers anything to be interested in. Because of what I just went through from the fighters' perspective, there's no reason for high level prospects to go on the show. That leaves only low level fighters on the show, which doesn't translate to interesting fights. The show is prerecorded, so there is no chance to bet on the fights, which is a huge part of MMA culture right now. Then, if the fighting itself isn't that interesting, the show itself isn't developed enough for anyone to want to watch for anything else. At the time that TUF exploded, reality television was an extremely popular phenomena that most people were consuming in one form or another. MMA capitalizing on that general popular culture trend made sense at the time. Reality TV is no longer relevant and most of those types of shows are long gone. The only one that I can really think of that has a legitimate fanbase and interest still is The Bachelor and it's spinoffs. Having TUF structured around fighters just living in a house and putting on bad fights isn't going to generate interest because that general show structure doesn't generate interest anymore regardless of the subject matter. They have toned the pranks down from what I've heard, so that part of the show is gone as well. The coaches used to be a big selling point of the show, but they've done so many seasons that they ran out of heated matchups to make. They just kind of make two fighters who they want to matchup coach against each other regardless of if they would actually be entertaining or not. Having Chuck and Randy coach that first season was a huge component of the intrigue because people wanted to see them interact as much as the actual competitors. I would consider myself a fan of both Brian Ortega and Alex Volkanovski, but there was no heat there. It was just one guy who wants the title and another guy who already has the title. Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena at least had some history, but Amanda isn't the type of personality who is going to create conflict or intrigue. That just left Pena to try and carry it with some cringe inducing lines, but I don't think she really had much of a fanbase that actually cared.
I think the only people who are really benefitting from TUF still going is the UFC and ESPN. ESPN pays the UFC to make the show, so they're making money from finding enough fighters who do need the opportunity that the show provides. ESPN wants this show to be made because they just need the content. ESPN+ doesn't have a ton of original content that keeps brining people back, so they just need something to fill out their library. I have to imagine that the UFC is responsible for a vast majority of ESPN+ subscriptions, so anything related to the UFC probably gets the most amount of views. As long as both the UFC and ESPN are making money, they'll continue to make the show, but I just find it hard to believe that there is really a ton of profit to be made from this in 2022 and beyond.
The Ultimate Fighter used to be an institution of MMA. It was one of the biggest opportunities and honors that the sport could provide. However, as time has passed, it has gone from that to being on par with 90 Day Fiance. It is just sort of a cash grab TV show that isn't concerned with anything except the bottom line. There's nothing wrong with making money, but I just question how profitable the show really is. It's relevance is so diminished that it is starting to feel like it is taking away from how important the show used to be. The sport of MMA no longer needs TUF because it is now much more mainstream. Promotions no longer need shows like this to evaluate talent because the sport has enough money in it that evaluators can travel the world to see all of these shows in person if they want to. Even small shows will likely have a stream where someone can evaluate fighters from their living room if they want to. MMA as a sport has a much wider reach to fans and the convenience for promotions to evaluate talent is no longer necessary. TUF is also no longer as beneficial to the fighters. The emergence of other promotions has given fighters options and they no longer need to make it to the UFC in order to make a living. Even if their goal is to one day get to the UFC, these other promotions have provided infinite pathways to that end goal. These other organizations provide legitimate pay, while giving these fighters a platform to grow their individual brand. TUF used to provide that opportunity, but now fighting in the PFL or in Bellator provides the same thing with better pay and without any of the TUF inconveniences. Because of all of these superior options, it has decreased the quality of the product. The high level prospects get directly signed to a major promotion. The mid-level prospects sign with a feeder level promotion (LFA, Cage Warriors, Invicta) to improve themselves until they can get to a major organization on a short notice opportunity or a contender series (or PFL challenger series) type of fight. That leaves only these very raw and inexperienced fighters who actually benefit from the being on TUF, which just makes it a less interesting product to watch. The less interesting coaching matchups doesn't help, but in a show about fighting, if the fights aren't good, the show is going to lack. The quality of competition is below contender series, which also has the gambling component to help it. I can't imagine that there were fans who didn't watch this season of TUF, but saw the finale's on last Saturday's card and were then interested. They watched those two fights and thought "if these were the four best fighters from the show, then I guess I didn't miss anything". I think it would honestly be the best move to just preserve the legacy of the show and stop it now before it diminishes what it once meant any further. That obviously isn't going to happen until the show is no longer profitable, but I do wish it would.
What do you guys think? Should TUF stay? Do you still watch? What made you stop or why do you still like it? What would you do to fix it? Leave any and all thoughts in the comments. Thanks for reading and have a good one.
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