The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first foray into the often bizarre/captivating world of reality television got off to a bang last night with Spike TV’s offering of The Ultimate Fighter.
The first episode was dedicated to introducing each of the fighters and setting up the overall concept and goal of the contest. Eight light heavyweights (205 pounds) and eight middleweights (185 lbs.) will train with marquee fighters Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell. They will compete in contests each week that test the skill and the will of each participant. Each guy will fight, literally, to stay on the show and pick up that contract.
Wisely, the UFC and Spike TV kept this show straightforward and without gimmicks or unwanted pretense—the Ultimate Fighter Econoline vans showed up and took the guys to the new National Training Center, a space that should make any fan or fighter salivate, complete with all new equipment, an octagon and huge pictures of UFC fighters past and present that paved the way adorning the walls.
It was very classy of the UFC to include these photos, giving respect to the guys that have fought and left their hearts on the mat so that this company could continue to provide them the venue to showcase theirs and newcomers skills. Not that there wasn’t a lot of self-promotion on Zuffa’s part.
While training, most of the guys wear UFC gear and the house is basically a billboard for the company, but that is a good thing. You might have noticed that most reality shows have really begun to have product placement within their shows. The difference here is that it’s not Pepsi or Vidal Sassoon that is slyly slipping their products onto a show—it’s the actual reason for the show itself.
The “Ultimate Fighting” brand name has to get as much exposure as it possibly can for this show to be a true success.
Since it was the first episode, it was pretty light on the reality in-house drama, although there was still a strong human element since fighting is such a demanding activity. The episode was mostly dedicated to the introduction of the fighters themselves and explanation of the contest rules.
For sake of time and space I’ll skip going over each contestant. Some names you might know, but most are new faces to the mainstream.
Not all of them were thoroughly introduced during the first episode, anyway. You’d be better served to go to the show’s official website (www.theultimatefighter.tv) to find out who they are and learn about their backgrounds.
All of them were no doubt tough guys; you’d have to be to handle the brutal training sessions alone. Most were not only humble but also great examples of the type of athlete that competes in mixed martial arts: extremely competitive and respectful.
I haven’t had a chance to look at message boards but I’m sure that Team Quest’s Chris Leben is already getting a lot of commentary. Once the guys were moved into their new television home, he got right to work with the booze and making sure that he would be the lightning rod within the house.
Of course all reality shows must have an antagonist and Mr. Leben gave the producers of this show plenty to work with. Nothing like a quote such as “in my mind I’m the greatest fighter in the world” (uh oh) to get the audience’s blood flowing.
After getting hammered and trying to out alpha-male the rest of the guys, he made sure to leave a little late night pee pee on the show’s lone Canadian’s bed. This would prove to be some unsanitary foreshadowing as Jason Thacker, the fighter whose bed Leben used as a urinal, would be the other element of intrigue, as he would try twice to quit the show in the first two training sessions.
Randy Couture was able to talk him out of quitting the first time and fellow contestant Bobby Southworth was also able to keep him in the game. Nice to see a guy actually try and pick somebody up instead of push them down—all the more reason that MMA fighters are something special.
The show can only get more interesting as contestants are eliminated and the pressure and competition gets really heated in the coming episodes.
Hopefully Dana White and the Fertitta boys are smiling somewhere as they read the numbers of last night’s ratings. Congratulations to them for working so hard to get the Ultimate Fighting Championship that much closer to the mainstream public purview.