Spike, UFC Confirm TUF 11 Coaches

Spike TV and the UFC have confirmed what Dana White announced at the TUF 10 press conference over the weekend: Tito and Chuck will indeed be coaching season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter, and the show will premiere on March 31st.

New York, NY, December 7, 2009 – The 11th season of Spike TV’s most popular original series ever, “The Ultimate Fighter,” will feature two coaches who need no introduction to mixed martial arts fans. UFC legends Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell and Tito “The Huntington Beach Badboy” Ortiz will continue their storied rivalry with a return to the reality show that helped launch them into the American mainstream. The new season premieres Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at 10:00pm ET/PT featuring 16 of the best unsigned fighters in the middleweight (185 lbs) division. Liddell appeared as coach for the first season in January 2005 and Ortiz was a coach for season three in January 2006.

The new season goes into production in January 2010 in Las Vegas and will last six weeks. The cast will be announced in late February.

Payout Perspective:

Spike and the UFC undoubtedly felt the need to make a big splash with their next iteration of The Ultimate Fighter after Kimbo Slice tore up the ratings on TUF 10: Heavyweights. However, one has to wonder how big of an impact Tito and Chuck can truly make; both are not close to the same fighters they once were, and the fans have been told as much repeatedly over the last year by Dana White (to paraphrase: “Chuck is retired. Period.” and “Tito isn’t good enough to fight in the UFC.”).

Without having any details as to the format of the show, the additions of Tito and Chuck almost come off as an attempt to slap on a fresh set of paint to the old, rusty, beatdown vehicle that used to be somewhat of a sports car for the UFC.

It’s not just that the current format and presentation of The Ultimate Fighter is stale, slightly contrived, and borderline sophomoric – generally that’s the secondary definition of any reality TV show. The true problem is that said reality TV show is being pushed as a true and accurate representation of the sport and its personalities. So, the hardcore fans are forced to put up with sloppy, out-of-shape fighters that are locked in a house with all the liquor they can drink, and cameras to encourage every ounce of stupidity they can fathom.

The Ultimate Fighter can, and has, perpetuated just about every false stereotype about mixed martial arts: fighters are a bunch of meatheads, people involved in MMA are uneducated, the entire sport is a glorified blood lust, etc.

Is that the type of representation that MMA wants? The UFC wants?

Now, to be fair, The Ultimate Fighter has also done a lot of wonderful things for MMA. No one can deny that the first TUF Finale got this ball rolling, but I also think it’s fair to point out that it was the Finale – and not the season prior – that really pushed MMA’s lift-off. The episodes did fairly well in averaging a 1.7 HH, but it was that gutsy battle between Griffin and Bonnar that started things off.

So, the question now becomes how can the UFC and Spike take the best of the TUF while eliminating the worst?

I’d personally like to advocate for throwing the entire 16 fighter, 6 week format out the window. Bring in the best younger fighters in the world – regardless of their personality – and tell their story over a year-long TUF tournament that allows Spike to more closely profile that human interest element in every fighter.

The benefits of a year-long show, aside from the story telling aspect, are numerous:

• The human interest is what sells (and not, for example, pissing in some one’s sushi).
• Better fighters will undoubtedly provide better match-ups
• A year-long show means better conditioned athletes
• The UFC has the chance to really run with the idea of a NEW tournament from PR and advertising angles.
• Obviously 16 guys can’t live in a house together for a year, so perhaps Spike goes to their training camps for a few days each in order to film their fighting. This has the added benefit of exposing more camps, giving fans a chance to see how they work, and really showcasing some of MMA’s best.

It could be costly, but if done right it could also be one heck of a show – something that could properly and more accurately represent the sport of MMA to the outside world.

Then again, it’s just one possible solution. The larger point here is that something needs to change, because the current format is becoming a highly inefficient – and some would argue, outright ineffective – use of the UFC’s time and assets.