The Ultimate Fighter

Spike has had an "The Ultimate Fighter" marathon on all day today. Needless to say I have watched as much of it as possible. The amount of testosterone this show radiates is amazing. I think put on a few pounds of muscle, just watching the shows today.

For the uninitiated (read women), "The Ultimate Fighter" is a reality show where 16 different men compete for 2 ultimate fighting championship contracts, one middle weight and one light heavy weight. Ultimate fighting Championship (UFC) is a mixed martial arts contest (basically street fighting) in an octagon.

I do not know official rules, but the rules are played with on "The Ultimate Fighter" are there are five minute rounds. In the regular matches, there are 2 rounds, in the semi finals there are 3 rounds. The matches are over seen by the Nevada state gaming commission. The are compete with corners to go to between rounds and official weigh ins. Fighters can tap out, get knocked out, the fight could be stopped on account of cuts, or the fight could go to the judges. Several of those things have happened in fights on the way to the finial round, that will show tonight. There is no biting or kicking in the testicles.

The 16 men were divided into two teams of 8 men each. Each team was coached by UFC legends, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture and UFC Light Heavyweight #1 Contender Chuck Liddell. In fact Couture and Liddell are the names of the different teams.

The Ultimate fighter is made up of a bunch of moronic. All of them are dumb as mules, but what do you expect from people who do not mind being punched in the face. The show does do a good job of mixing in the traditional personality conflicts that occur in reality TV and the fighting. Though I do not think this show could convince me to follow it regularly, but they can convince me to watch it for an entire day. It is filled with enough trash talk, it makes Mike Tyson's mouth clean. It is also built to promote the UFC brand, which is fine with me.

The latest twist that occurred during the show was making teammates fight each other once there were 8 fighters left. They wanted a representative from each time in the finals. So teammates who had been training together against the other team were forced to fight each other. The fights are fair and UFC does a good job of trying to keep everything fair and clear.

predictions
Diego Sanchez vs Kenny Florian
Sanches, tough, small, strong and compact. Florian is just a skinny white guy, though he is just as tough as Sanches. In the fights I have seen, Sanches has finished 2 of his 3 in less than 2 minutes. Though one went the full 3 rounds. Florian will be out classed. He probably will tap out in the second round, because Sanches is a submission master.



Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonnar
This one is a close one. Stephan is good on the ground and Forrest wants it more than Stephan. I think if Forrest works Stephan and wears him down, he will make a mistake and win. It will go the full length and will be boring to watch at first, but will get interesting towards the end.

cube

update:
Diego Sanches vs Kenny Florian
Sanches did win, but not in the second. It was in the first with an elbow to the forehead of Kenny. Sanches will show you a different look every time you see him. He will adjust his fighting style and stick to his game plan well. He is very impressive.

Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonnar
Man I called that one. Forrest won, but UFC did the right thing by offering Stephan a contract also. That was what I meant by UFC being very fair, clean, and clear with the fighters who fought for "The Ultimate Fighter".