The Ultimate Fighter: TUF enough

Looking for entertainment? Do we have a show for you! You can watch a grown man urinate in another man's bed. You can see someone get drunk and hit their housemate with a coffee cup. There is the edifying spectacle of a man fouling another person's sushi and standing by while a third party eats it, and of course the timeless charm of a person calling an orphaned colleague a 'fatherless bastard'.

If you recognise those incidents, chances are you're a fan of The Ultimate Fighter. The lousy acts detailed above belong to Chris Leben (bed), Junie Browning (coffee cup), Kyle Kingsbury (sushi) and Bobby Southworth (orphan insensitivity). The show also offers endless footage of MMA training sessions, tedious bedroom conversations between dull individuals, contrived practical jokes, tawdry testosterone-fuelled one-upmanship, and Dana White. Lots of Dana White. There is selective editing to create compelling storylines, which probably veer towards deception of the audience. And let's not forget the dreaded Coaches' Challenge in which established UFC fighters humiliate themselves at such pastimes as air hockey and ten pin bowling. Oh yeah, and did we mention there's plenty of Dana?

For all of its flaws, clichés and flat spots, TUF is still a worthwhile show. It began in January 2005 as a desperate attempt by the Zuffa empire to cash in on the reality TV craze and pump some publicity into their flailing product. The first season was compelling, enlightening, and climaxed with one of the best contests ever seen in the octagon when Forrest Griffin outlasted Stephan Bonnar to become the inaugural winner.

The show has unearthed – or at least promoted – some magnificent fighters. Great names like Leben, Griffin, Bonnar, Rashad Evans, Diego Sanchez, Josh Koscheck, Keith Jardine, Patrick Cote, Kenny Florian, Ryan Bader, Nate Diaz, Gray Maynard and Matt Serra have come through the program – not to mention Geelong's own George Sotiropoulos.

Season three alone showcased the talents of Kendall Grove, Rory Singer, Ed 'Short Fuse' Herman, Ross Pointon, Michael Bisping, Josh Haynes and Matt Hamill.

TUF operates not just as a store window for up-and-comers but also gives mid-career fighters an opportunity to make the big time. The intensive training undertaken while in the house refines the fighters' skills and they gain experience at competing in front of a huge (television) audience. It has a great track record of developing talented mixed martial artists who can then step up to UFC promotions. The fighters themselves gain a level of public profile that assists them in securing fights in lower-tier promotions if their UFC dream does not eventuate.

The other major attribute of TUF is that it builds public understanding of the complexities of MMA and the sacrifices the athletes make for their sport. Pundits attribute a lot of MMA's burgeoning popularity to the ability of TUF to capture a mainstream audience. Viewers get to see fighters' personalities – be they kooky, lazy, religious, intense, laid-back, aggro or psycho – and consequently invest more in the fights themselves. Any contest is more fun to watch when you feel a personal connection to the participants.

And, of course, there is the gaudiness and over-the-top hostility – sometimes real (Georges St Pierre and Koscheck); sometimes pantomime (Mayhem Miller and Bisping) – between the coaches. The program is made in Vegas, and it shows. But the fights are real, the contracts are desperately sought-after, and when it's good (seasons one, three, five and 14 were excellent) it is addictive viewing. Especially if you're a Dana fan.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of BigPond Sport.

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