With "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil" ready to start, which countries do you think would be best for future international versions of TUF? UFC President Dana White has talked about TUF China and TUF India, but they seem pretty far-fetched. Is there another country, like Brazil, that is ready for TUF? -- Jim from Hartford
Oh, the talent ain’t bad this season, either, if you can get past the fact that very talented fighters like Francisco Drinaldo, Dileno Lopes and Pedro Nobre are fighting 20-30 pounds above their ideal fighting weights just for the opportunity. Nonetheless, watching TUF Brazil online will be a good use of your Sunday evenings. But, I digress.
You are spot on in questioning Dana White’s public utterances about TUF being franchised in India and China anytime soon. Plain and simple, the UFC just doesn’t have the necessary TV platform to make TUF impactful there. Part of the reason is that the fighters just aren’t on that level yet. Nevermind the obvious logistical issue -- I mentioned the lack of a serious TV presence -- neither country has any real UFC-caliber fighters.
MMA’s success in a region isn’t just based on familiarity. Look at the cautionary tale of Indonesia. In the early aughts, some of Indonesia’s biggest national broadcasters were propping up lavish Pride Fighting Championships-style MMA organizations. In spite of initial popularity, it went nowhere because the quality of the athletes; as a result, the product was terrible. I can’t imagine TUF China or TUF India being any different at this point. Go watch an old Art of War undercard or the next Super Fight League undercard and get back to me.
The most “realistic” options for an “international” tough are the fairly boring options like Canada, England and Australia. England already partially took part in Season 9, and there isn’t a ton of upside for the show in Britain, where the UFC’s efforts to indoctrinate sports fans have slowed. Canada could fork over the talent, but the nation hardly needs some kind of TUF-type Trojan horse. Australia is likely the best of the three, as the UFC has the chance to access a decent cable TV market or sports package and still has a long way to go in terms of general cultural and public awareness Down Under.
However, earlier I mentioned Indonesia. Weirdly, that slice of the Pacific might be the best chance for a truly foreign-and-fun franchising of TUF.
The UFC has been flirting with the Philippines for years. I’m not sure it’s time to book a stadium in Manila, but the UFC could strike it rich with a strong cable TV iteration of TUF in the nation. There’s already a strong hardcore MMA following there, a rich history with traditional martial arts and a casual TV watching audience who might respond. Like Australia, MMA at least has far higher heights it can reach, not only in terms of riches but even a general cultural awareness in the country, making TUF ideal, just as it was for America in 2005.
Better still, though the Philippines is not replete with UFC-level talent, the fight quality on the show might be shockingly good. One of the real perks to MMA from the Philippines is that the overwhelming influence of traditional martial arts, specifically wushu and sanshou, tends to breed a lot of damn dynamic fighters. These influences might be present in places like China, but their MMA fighters have yet to assimilate them quite like some of the Philippines’ top fighters, especially those out of Lakay MMA.
Moreover, a Filipino TUF gives the UFC a chance to mine for more talent in the 125- to 145-pound weight range. After all, if there is an MMA version of Manny Pacquiao to be had -- hell, I think MMA would gladly take a Luisito Espinosa – it’s going to probably be in the flyweight division if not below it.
On the flipside, maybe that’s where TUF China and TUF India will come in: filling up a super heavyweight division for the future. Indian pehlwans taking on Chinese wrestlers with 600-plus pounds of humanity? I’d watch that for however long it lasted -- hopefully not very.
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