Gather ’round, kids, and let me tell you of a time long ago when there was a show called The Ultimate Fighter and everyone cared about it. It was a grand, ground-breaking thing, this TUF, and season after season would culminate in a finale that featured future stars mixed in with veteran warriors. Oh, what breathtaking days those were…
Sadly, the TUF franchise has been run into the dirt. Now, when there’s a season of TUF, not even those who appear on it bother watching. And when there’s a finale, it’s pretty much a guarantee that of all the new blood showcased on the card, maybe one or two will get invited back to the Octagon for another scrap.
Yes, the TUF 28 Finale is tonight. Veterans Rafael dos Anjos and Kamaru Usman are fighting in the main event. But nearly every other warm body – including the TUF finalists themselves – could disappear off the face of the Earth and we’d be none the wiser.
Seriously, who the heck are these people?
Why should we even care?
The truth is, TUF has become just another form of throwaway content, a kind of filler for whatever contract obligations the UFC and its broadcast partner du jour have with each other.
So enjoy tonight… if you’re watching. If you’re going out and having some drinks at the pub, and watching the highlights on DVR when you stumble home drunk later on, well, enjoy that even more.
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