Time to Bash the TUF 10 Finale
by Zak Woods on Dec 7, 2009 9:00 AM EST
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We are 24 hours removed from TUF 10 and WKR has been playing close attention to the reaction from around the MMA blogosphere and the consensus is: The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale sucked.
Secretly the UFC must be counting their blessings that there isn't a Rottentomatoes for UFC fights or else The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale might be at the level of a Ecks vs. Sever. Okay, maybe not that bad but still, the Finale was far from a solid product.
For instance Michael David Smith captures the "after glow" of TUF 10 and it is not pretty,
When the ratings come in, I’m sure we’ll learn that this was one of the most-watched MMA shows in American television history. Does anyone think this show was MMA putting its best foot forward?
I sure don’t. I don’t think Kimbo has much to be proud of in his win over Alexander. I think Hamill would be the first to tell you that he doesn’t have much to be proud of in his win over Jones. I admit that I laughed when Roy Nelson came out to "Fat," but I don’t think his inability to get himself into shape reflects very well on him, on the UFC or on MMA. And I think the sport should be trying to attract fans on its own merits, not by bringing in former NFL players like Jones, Matt Mitrione or, in the case of Strikeforce, Herschel Walker.
While The Rumble delves into the amateurish mishaps on the production end.
WTF was up with: The broadcast mishaps? First, we were treated to mysterious voices from the broadcast booth during both the Diego Sanchez promo for his upcoming UFC 107 title fight against BJ Penn and portions of Joe Rogan's interview with Penn and Sanchez. The problems didn't end there however, as the viewers were treated to the introductory graphics of James McSweeney and Darrill Schoonover while only getting to listen to the action for the first minute of that fight. Maybe it's just my imagination, but these technical issues seem to be popping up more frequently during UFC broadcasts on Spike
Don't forget about the UFC fighter sponsored by an apparel company with Nazi imagery! Nice to see Zuffa banning apparel companies left and right but will allow some Schutzstaffel skull shirts.
Then there was the judges, which Ivan Trembow eviscerates for their decision in the Kimbo Slice-Houston Alexander decision.
First and foremost, I can't believe that one of the judges actually had Kimbo Slice winning his atrocious fight against Houston Alexander by the score of 30-27, which means that particular judge had Kimbo winning all three rounds.
How do you win a round without doing anything other than getting leg-kicked by your opponent repeatedly? Slice landed almost nothing in the first round, while Alexander landed numerous good leg kicks. If neither fighter is being particularly aggressive, but one of them is actually landing numerous strikes and the other isn't, how can the fighter who wasn't landing the strikes win the round? Alexander wasn't doing much, but Slice was doing far less.
Outside of the judging there was the general quality of the fight, which was awful. If a picture is worth a thousand words than a moving picture is worth a million!
Ah, two "fighters" gasping for air when they only fought for 50% of the allotted time. Cagepotato described the fight as, "...of Minowaman fighting a sumo wrestler. We haven't seen the "circle him until he gets tired" strategy in a while..."
After the Slice-Alexander fight was over WKR wondered how Dana White would have described the fight if it wasn't under the Zuffa umbrella? There would have probably been a run-on sentence with the following words in no discernible order with intermediate f***'s throughout: "joke, monkeyshine, horseshit, farce, shenanigan, tomfoolery, gimmick, embarrassment, Kimbo is not a real fighter, ashamed, bad for the sport, carnival, Loretta Hunt is a b****, freak show, sham, catastrof*** and dumbfounded."
Frankie Edgar may have defeated Matt Veach but the very green Veach showed some serious flaws in Edgar's wrestling game. A troubling sign for Edgar's future considering the UFC's lightweight division happens to be stacked with dominant wrestlers. Edgar may be on the precipice of a title shot or a number one contender bout but that doesn't change the fact that he is the "UFC's best featherweight fighter."
But what about Marcus Jones vs. Matt Mitrione; aren't these two fighters future prospect? Well, Michael David Smith points out that these two fighters (and Schaub as well) are really just gimmick fighters,
The first fight on the televised portion of the card matched up a couple of former NFL players who have a long, long way to go before they're ready for prime time in MMA, with one of those former NFL players -- the very likeable former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Marcus Jones -- losing by knockout and showing he has no defense and no chin.
That whole no chin thing will probably prevent Marcus from making a successful transition, right Kevin Iole? Oh yeah, he is thirty-five too.
WKR hasn't even mentioned the Jon Jones disqualification which was incredibly frustrating, yet, completely the right call, which makes it all the more unsettling.
Then Zuffa had one last twist for the loyal fans during the Finale broadcast. Unfortunately the big reveal of the TUF 11 coaches was just more disappointment and more akin to M. Night Shyamalan's recent work (really M. Night? The plants are causing people to commit suicide?).
Zach Arnold sums up the general reaction towards Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz being named the TUF 11 coaches.
Regarding Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz III… that is an ugly fight that I think will draw a cold PPV buyrate. The fight that would have made the most sense was Liddell vs. Kimbo at 215 pounds, but you can’t have either as a coach. When I heard the announcement of Liddell/Ortiz III, it reminded me so much of WCW booking from a decade ago.
Hopefully Chuck can use this victory fight as a launching point for a peaceful retirement.
While some may think we are going a little over board with the criticism, don't be a hater because there were more stories we chose to omit but that doesn't mean we can't link them!
The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 Finale Gets Panned by the Critics - Bloody Elbow
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despite the loss i think shaub is legit as opposed to mirtirone and jones.
In addition, the moment the bell rung the they both put their hands on their knees was the funniest thing i have seen in awhile. I was laughing out loud as if i were watching something intended to be funny.
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I wasn’t exactly surprised after having seen the McSweeney vs Shivers fight from the second episode. That, to me, was funnier. This was more sad, seeing as how both fighters had over two months to train to come into the fight in shape. Speaking of McSweeney, is he a LHW who wanted the shot to be on TUF bad enough that he fought at HW? He seemed a lot “thicker” Saturday than he was on the show.
The only upside from this weekend is that it seems like there’s fewer and fewer fans and media willing to give the UFC a pass when they make boneheaded decisions and shovel out garbage for their fans.
by The Savage Science on Dec 7, 2009 9:26 AM EST reply actions
but at the end of the day...
at the end of the day I’m sure its all Keith Kizer and Steve Mazzagatti’s fault
by The Savage Science on Dec 7, 2009 9:27 AM EST reply actions
I enjoyed the show.
Fine there were a number of mishaps but whatever. The two main fights were cool. Jones performance was outstanding minus the illegal elbows. Nelson and Schaub were great.
“I don’t think his inability to get himself into shape reflects very well on him, on the UFC or on MMA”
OH PLEASE!!! Fedor looks like the Pillsbury Doughboy. Having extremely well defined abs does not indicate you’re in great shape. Example: Kimbo Slice and Houston Alexander. Roy Nelson is as fit as you can get. How can anyone 2nd guess Roy Nelson’s shape or fitness level? Look at his record.
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Roy Nelson's shape
While I understand Dana and Co’s position about not wanting their fighters to all look like doughy everymen, not everyone can or needs to look like a GSP or a Lesnar. And I think part of the UFC’s job is educating the fans that there’s a difference between being in “cosmetic shape” and “cardiovascular shape”. Until Roy Nelson is gasping for breath and unable to execute his game plan, his bodyfat percentage shouldn’t be a condition of his employment, or the degree to which he’s pushed. Give his a fair shot and quality opponents, Dana. He’s earned it.
by pancakehead on Dec 7, 2009 5:27 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
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