UFC: Ultimate Fighter?

[absolutemayhem]

Anyone else hooked on this?

I'm not a hardcore MMA fan, but I like the big fights on PPV, plus I've always liked fight movies whether they are Martial arts or just a good o' ass kickin brawl.

I think its like season six and I think its one of the best so far. With maybe the exception of the first season.


-MayheM

[dolson]

I'm pretty sure this is season 7. My wife and I are huge MMA fans, and we always watch this series. I find the actual events are better than the show, but sometimes the coaches really make it interesting. We love Rampage, so this season is pretty good.

Aside from UFC, I recommend old Pride events (stupid Zuffa had to buy them out!! grr), WEC (next event is a week from Saturday I think, Jens Pulver vs Urijah Faber!!!), IFL (I made a topic about the most recent event, which nobody replied to), EliteXC (making primetime TV debut soon, within a couple weeks IIRC - they actually bother with female fighters too, so respect++ for them), and in July I think it is, there is a new event called Affliction: Banned and it's going to be FREAKING AWESOME. Tim Sylvia vs Fedor Emelianenko, Aleksander Emelianenko vs Paul Buentello, rumors of Andrei Arlovski fighting, plus many more. It's going to be off the hook.

[absolutemayhem]

Googling now!

Thanks for the info!

Got any site links? I was jsut IM'ing a friend and he gave me:

http://www.mmatko.com/

have not really checked it out tho.

-MayheM

[dolson]

Depends what type of sites you're looking for. Mostly I use sherdog.com, mmanews.com, and mma-tracker.net.

[forthekids85]

I'm a big MMA fan and have enjoyed this Ultimate Fighter season so far. I really like Forest and Rampage as fighters, and its nice to see that they seem like genuinely nice guys.

There we quite a few odd fights in the first round, though. Hopefully, this next round will make up for it. The Amir/Matt Brown fight should be fun as hell to watch and I also look forward to someone knocking around C.B. Dollaway. Unfortunately, I don't think Cale Yarborough is the guy to do it.

I'm looking forward to the EliteXC on CBS card, especially since Gina Carano is going to fight. I feel a little shallow for lusting after her as much as I do, but as soon as the fight starts, I immediately get into the "fight mode" and turn off the lust. But damn, that chick is gorgeous.

Wait.. what was I talking about?

Oh, the IFL. I've only seen a few of their shows, but their presentation really just takes me out of it. They've got some good fighters, but I can't get myself to really get into the fights. I'm not a big fan of the ring, since the ropes usually get in the way of an intriguing chess match on the ground. Having to reset in the center of the ring just kills any momentum going for the fight.

Is there anything I should watch to change my mind about the IFL?

Last thing.. the WEC and I have a torrid, torrid love affair. Every fighter seems to fight just a little harder than other promotions and they really have a knack for getting incredible fighters. I've mentioned it before, but Miguel Torres' skills should be video taped and put into art exhibitions.

[skin87]

I'm pretty sure this is season 7. My wife and I are huge MMA fans, and we always watch this series. I find the actual events are better than the show, but sometimes the coaches really make it interesting. We love Rampage, so this season is pretty good.

Aside from UFC, I recommend old Pride events (stupid Zuffa had to buy them out!! grr), WEC (next event is a week from Saturday I think, Jens Pulver vs Urijah Faber!!!), IFL (I made a topic about the most recent event, which nobody replied to), EliteXC (making primetime TV debut soon, within a couple weeks IIRC - they actually bother with female fighters too, so respect++ for them), and in July I think it is, there is a new event called Adrenalin: Banned and it's going to be FREAKING AWESOME. Tim Sylvia vs Fedor Emelianenko, Aleksander Emelianenko vs Paul Buentello, rumors of Andrei Arlovski fighting, plus many more. It's going to be off the hook.

The fights this season have been pretty awesome so far, but I'm a little disappointed in the coaches. I thought they'd be a little funnier.

Definitely check out that WEC fight (on Vs). Jens vs Faber is going to be bigger than many UFC PPV main events.

Lastly, it is Affliction: Banned.

[dolson]

With regards to the IFL - there are many other organizations that have used rings with ropes, and it never stopped a good fight, really. Pride was the same, ring with ropes, and I enjoyed most Pride fights more than most UFC fights. But, the IFL is soon implementing a 6-sided five-rope ring called The Hex, which should be a bit better. The latest IFL event, from a week or so ago, was pretty good. I do miss the old team-based format, though.

The fights this season have been pretty awesome so far, but I'm a little disappointed in the coaches. I thought they'd be a little funnier.

Definitely check out that WEC fight (on Vs). Jens vs Faber is going to be bigger than many UFC PPV main events.

Lastly, it is Affliction: Banned.

You're right, my bad. There are so many organizations, I start to get them mixed up - especially the ones I haven't seen yet. There is one called Adrenaline MMA, or did they rename it? Like I said, it's hard to track it all. I just watch it and enjoy. :)

[forthekids85]

With regards to the IFL - there are many other organizations that have used rings with ropes, and it never stopped a good fight, really. Pride was the same, ring with ropes, and I enjoyed most Pride fights more than most UFC fights. But, the IFL is soon implementing a 6-sided five-rope ring called The Hex, which should be a bit better. The latest IFL event, from a week or so ago, was pretty good. I do miss the old team-based format, though.


Yeah, I didn't mean to insinuate that you can't have a good fight with rings, because as you said -- Pride had fantastic fights. I was wondering what happened to the team format.. I thought I was maybe thinking about another organization that did that.

I don't think the ring will stop a good fight from occurring, but I do think that it make a fight much less exciting to watch, especially if one of the fighters uses the ropes as crutch for a poor ground game. I just get tired of guys trying to go further under the ropes so that they'll be reset in the center of the ring and/or using the ropes as a defense for their opponents striking and submission attempts.

I'd point to the Ryan Schultz - John Grunderson fight I saw a replay of a few days ago as a prime example. Two good fighters that really produced a boring fight. Grunderson was in the ropes half of the fight, which kept Schultz hopeless to really do his thing. If they were in a cage and Grunderson had to defend himself constantly, it would've been a better fight.

[dolson]

I'm not a Gunderson fan, regardless of if he used the ropes or not. But I can totally understand what you're saying.

Ryan's best fights were Chris Horodecki (AMAZING display of dominance, seriously, and I love Horodecki) and the recent Deividas Taurosevicius (SIC?? PROBABLY!!) fight. If you're a Schultz fan, check those out for sure.

I thought when they announced The Hex that it was going to be a 6-sided cage, which would be awesome. But whatever.. They're adding some ropes, so that may help a bit. I don't understand why they'd choose a ring instead though. Maybe it's cheaper or easier to transport? Really, I don't know.

The team-based format went out the window when they introduced belts. I was afraid of that. Now it's camp-based, which would have been just as good, had they kept the 5-fights, 1-per-class format.. But I guess they decided it wasn't worth it for some reason. I also preferred when Bas was the coach fo the Anacondas (now Team Xtreme Couture). He's funny as a commentator, but he really has to stop with the P.O.D. lyrics. "BOOM! Here comes the - BOOM!" Shut up, man! lol

[forthekids85]

The Schultz - Horodecki fight was, as you said, complete dominance. Really opened my eye up to Schultz. I haven't seen the recent fight, so I'll have to see if I can track it down.

I'm wondering if they're keeping the ring just to remain different from all of the cage fighting organizations? Seems as everyone's going to a cage, so keeping a ring might help them with differentiating their brand.

I enjoy Bas' commentary.. especially when compared to the other guy, it seems like they aren't even listening to each other sometimes... just saying whatever comes to mind. I can't help but laugh, though.

[drghoo]

Oh, the IFL. I've only seen a few of their shows, but their presentation really just takes me out of it. They've got some good fighters, but I can't get myself to really get into the fights. I'm not a big fan of the ring, since the ropes usually get in the way of an intriguing chess match on the ground. Having to reset in the center of the ring just kills any momentum going for the fight.

I totally agree ftk85! I loved watching Pride fights but for some reason I couldn't get into IFL. Maybe like u said it's the presentation.
I've been watching MMA since UFC 1 and have been hooked ever since. I've always loved the martial arts whether practicing or observing since I was a kid. So to have it get to this point is friggin' exciting. Being able to watch it on regular tv is a dream come true since I was a kid immersed in Kung Fu theatre here in LA. And btw, I like the format for TUF this season and I like the coaches but it's lacking the real drama from coaches past. I don't feel polarized like I have in the past with Forest & Rampage. I like them both equally and don't feel any real friction or buzz btwn them. Either way it'll be a good fight come July.

[optimus187prime]

Unlike you guys I am getting a little tired of TUF. The whole beginning 3/4 of the show is just so slow now. Just feels like here are the guys goofing off, or breaking stuff, or arguing, just like the last few seasons. I definitely agree with whoever said that they thought Rampage would be funnier, although Forrest getting him with the netgun was good. I hate being the guy who has problems with no solutions but I think they need to shake TUF up, make it fresh again, not just same show/format different cast.

BTW I love that there are people talking MMA here. The Rev3 forums are filled with great people and all of the people on most MMA forums suck.

To the OP check out sherdog.com those guys know what is going on in the sport. and if you havent already look into getting some prideFC dvds. Just look for "Fedor" thank me later.:D

[gonzooo]

Unlike you guys I am getting a little tired of TUF. The whole beginning 3/4 of the show is just so slow now. Just feels like here are the guys goofing off, or breaking stuff, or arguing, just like the last few seasons. I definitely agree with whoever said that they thought Rampage would be funnier, although Forrest getting him with the netgun was good. I hate being the guy who has problems with no solutions but I think they need to shake TUF up, make it fresh again, not just same show/format different cast.

BTW I love that there are people talking MMA here. The Rev3 forums are filled with great people and all of the people on most MMA forums suck.

To the OP check out sherdog.com those guys know what is going on in the sport. and if you havent already look into getting some prideFC dvds. Just look for "Fedor" thank me later.:D
Unlike you, I believe I have noticed TUF being more about the fights and training in this season, as opposed to the endless jackassery that plagued the series after they noticed they had people willing to watch just for Leben shenanigans.

[optimus187prime]

Unlike you, I believe I have noticed TUF being more about the fights and training in this season, as opposed to the endless jackassery that plagued the series after they noticed they had people willing to watch just for Leben shenanigans.

I argue that although they definitely have skewed the focus more towards training and fights there is still not enough of it to keep a tired formula from becoming stale. I would like to see them focus on the training and actually not see the guys in the house (unless relevant ). I would prefer a "countdown" or "all-access" style take so we can actually see how much work the guys do (im sure that would just give us a greater appreciation of the difficulty and dedication involved in the sport). In all honesty I would even prefer they brought the stupid challenges back over seeing the boring house stuff.

[optimus187prime]

How some predictions.

Sherk - decision
W. Silva - TKO (2nd or 3rd)
Gouveia - Sub (2nd or 3rd)
Machida - decision
T. Silva - KO (1st)

What do you guys think?

[skin87]

@forthekids85 - One of the biggest arguments for a ring is it is much better for spectators. With all the posts, the bar atop of the cage, and cameramen standing on boxes to get a view inside the cage fans that are paying money to be there in person don't get a great view.

@optimus187prime - The last few weeks there's been two fights per episode with hardly any time spent in the house. As far as showing more training, that probably wouldn't appeal to the mass audience.

And I like your Sherk prediction. I really dislike BJ Penn, so I may be a bit biased, but I think he doesn't match up well against him. Sherk is pretty well rounded, crazy strong, and has great cardio. It's a similar matchup BJ had to GSP, where he lost due to GSP being in better shape and that was over 3 rounds. No way BJ will be able to hang with Sherk in a 4th and 5th round.

[dolson]

Unlike you, I believe I have noticed TUF being more about the fights and training in this season, as opposed to the endless jackassery that plagued the series after they noticed they had people willing to watch just for Leben shenanigans.

I don't remember every detail of the previous seasons, but season 7 has had the most fights and most training out of all seasons, for sure. Hell, what was the last season that showed more than one fight per episode on a regular basis? Season 7 has, sure not every episode, but fairly often. The first two or three episodes was JUST fights. What more can we ask for?

I know everyone wants more fighting and training, but I woulda rather seen more Rampage, to be honest.