Everyone answers to somebody, so we, the staff at Sherdog.com, have decided to defer to our readers. “The Doggy Bag” gives you the opportunity to speak about what’s on your mind from time to time.
This week, readers weigh-in in a wide range of topics, including the public perception of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Gilbert Yvel’s appearance on Affliction’s Jan. 24 card and the future of UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Image woes
“People were surprised to find out that the fighters work hard, that they're not crude thugs but great athletes, intelligent and with good manners.”
Those are the words of UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, as quoted by Maik Grossekathofer -- a German journalist who attended UFC 91 and went on to bash the event several times in his article. This man was clearly not a fan of the sport going in or coming out, and if Grossekathofer had actually been watching season eight of “The Ultimate Fighter,” I suspect that he would have disputed Fertitta on the spot.
Times like these make me hate the antics that go on in “The Ultimate Fighter” house; it not only looks bad on the fighters, it looks bad on Americans and feeds right into the general worldwide view of how we behave. The image TUF 8 portrayed may very well slow the expansion of the sport into some of these other countries. Fighting’s a concept crosses language barriers, but that alone does not mean the UFC will go worldwide with success as quickly as it hopes. And if season eight was the first taste of the UFC these countries got, then I’m embarrassed as a hardcore MMA fan and as an American.
Now I’m not positive that TUF’s being shown in other countries -- maybe it’s just variations of “Unleashed” and old UFC Fight Nights -- but this is a bloody sport that has already proven easy enough to criticize. Is the current format of TUF doing it any favors at all?
Are you familiar with Bill O’Reilly’s interview with UFC President Dana White and former middleweight champion Rich Franklin? Imagine if he had footage of TUF 8 at his disposal. Do you see where I’m going with this? What image is the UFC trying to portray, Franklin’s credentials as a former math teacher or 16 idiots on television once a week? I’d let my children watch live fights. I can’t say the same for“The Ultimate Fighter.” I appreciate any time you take to read through this and hopefully respond in some fashion.
-- Joshua Kreher
Brian Knapp, assistant editor: Joshua, we’re glad you chose us as an avenue through which to vent your frustration. Many share your opinion of the current setup for “The Ultimate Fighter.”
However, I think MMA fans and some of us inside the media spend way too much time trying to woo people who care nothing for the sport and never will. You can’t change the opinion of the Bill O’Reillys of the world, no matter how much evidence you have to support your argument. They have to maintain radical viewpoints in order to stay relevant. Unfortunately, there will always be a significant segment of our society that views MMA competition as something far from noble.
With that said, I could not agree with you more about the current state of Spike TV’s once groundbreaking reality series. While season eight was filled with more stomach-turning moments (insert your favorite bodily fluid comment here) than an Eli Roth film, something else concerns me even more. Sequestering 16 young males inside the same house with unlimited access to alcohol and no lifelines to the outside world seems like a recipe for disaster. Suppose shards of glass from the cup Junie Allen Browning fired at Shane Primm had pierced his eyes and blinded him? The guy was rewarded not only by being allowed to stay on the show but by being afforded a spot in a televised main card bout at “The Ultimate Fighter 8” Finale.
Confrontation and shenanigans make for good TV, but I do not believe the series accurately portrays the life of today’s struggling mixed martial artist. And while I understand that herding all 16 cast members under the same roof keeps production costs down, would it not be more interesting to follow the prospective fighters around in their hometowns? Allowing viewers to get to know who these people -- to see their daily interaction with family and friends, to watch them train in familiar surroundings, to witness their battle to survive in a sport not yet two decades old –- opens up the door to far greater investment from the paying public.
For three months, I watched Browning make a fool of himself in front of the cameras. And I did not buy his act for a second. He talked often of what life was like back home in Kentucky. I would have preferred “The Ultimate Fighter” take me there to see for myself. That’s good TV.