TUF III Premiere: Shamrock Gasses Out!
Just kidding about the headline. Wow, this is why MMA is currently my favorite sport. Dana White has realized the errors from TUF II and completely changed the show to conform to what FANS want. What a novel concept!
This season there will be no silly challenges or bizarre fight match-ups. Season 2 was marked with Randy Couture creating absurd competitions involving swimming lessons and jungle gyms which dictated what fights were chosen and led to several snoozers and mismatches. Now, we just have a coin flip, and the winning team retains fight selection power. This also removes the Matt Hughes tactic of getting rid of his weak fighters against Franklin's marginal fighters in order to make the team stronger (and if he wins it's a bonus).
On top of this strategical improvement, there is more footage of training sessions and sparring which people who are watching MMA at 10 P.M. on a Thursday nite invariably want to see, not Right Guard plugs.
Best of all, Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz are engaging personalities who genuinely dislike one another. Shamrock is, in my opinion, an overrated fighter legitimately 10 years past his prime but was influential in the first two years of the sport. He thinks everything is a pro wrestling worked interview and spazzes out like a fool. This clearly makes Tito disrespect him. But Tito is taking this show VERY seriously and has really impressed me with his training abilitites.
Perplexingly, I do think Ken may have drafted the better team (why did Tito pass up badass wrestler Ed Herman in favor an inexperienced boxer?), which should lead to overall parity. Tito is investing a ton in Mark Hamill, who is considered a "prospect" in MMA circles. Interestingly enough, Hamill is a graduate of Loveland High School, here in Cincinnati.
Tonite's episode was a 9.5/10, and I really implore any MMA fans out there to tune in and see all the hard work and drama that goes into being a fighter before the real lights even get turned on.
This season there will be no silly challenges or bizarre fight match-ups. Season 2 was marked with Randy Couture creating absurd competitions involving swimming lessons and jungle gyms which dictated what fights were chosen and led to several snoozers and mismatches. Now, we just have a coin flip, and the winning team retains fight selection power. This also removes the Matt Hughes tactic of getting rid of his weak fighters against Franklin's marginal fighters in order to make the team stronger (and if he wins it's a bonus).
On top of this strategical improvement, there is more footage of training sessions and sparring which people who are watching MMA at 10 P.M. on a Thursday nite invariably want to see, not Right Guard plugs.
Best of all, Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz are engaging personalities who genuinely dislike one another. Shamrock is, in my opinion, an overrated fighter legitimately 10 years past his prime but was influential in the first two years of the sport. He thinks everything is a pro wrestling worked interview and spazzes out like a fool. This clearly makes Tito disrespect him. But Tito is taking this show VERY seriously and has really impressed me with his training abilitites.
Perplexingly, I do think Ken may have drafted the better team (why did Tito pass up badass wrestler Ed Herman in favor an inexperienced boxer?), which should lead to overall parity. Tito is investing a ton in Mark Hamill, who is considered a "prospect" in MMA circles. Interestingly enough, Hamill is a graduate of Loveland High School, here in Cincinnati.
Tonite's episode was a 9.5/10, and I really implore any MMA fans out there to tune in and see all the hard work and drama that goes into being a fighter before the real lights even get turned on.
posted by The Eminent Gadfly at 12:22 AM
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