TUF 15.

Bodhidharma

I've seen every season and from day one they have been tinkering with a successful formula, now I think its gone too far. I didn't enjoy the live show. I thought there was something wrong with the sound for the first two or three fights. The three lads "commentating" isn't going to work as far as I can see. They clearly need a play by play man.

I thought it just looked bad, sounded worse and lacked the usual excitement which goes with the beginning of a new season of TUF.

Had to laugh at some of the delusional fighters though, some guy who's already lost 1/3 of the fights he's been in calling himself "the king of pain" or some s**t.

adamski8

Bodhidharma wrote: »

I've seen every season and from day one they have been tinkering with a successful formula, now I think its gone too far. I didn't enjoy the live show. I thought there was something wrong with the sound for the first two or three fights. The three lads "commentating" isn't going to work as far as I can see. They clearly need a play by play man.

I thought it just looked bad, sounded worse and lacked the usual excitement which goes with the beginning of a new season of TUF.

Had to laugh at some of the delusional fighters though, some guy who's already lost 1/3 of the fights he's been in calling himself "the king of pain" or some s**t.

i had mixed feelings about it.
1 round a fight was brilliant though. i enjoyed the no commentry and the lack of teammates shouting advice like in other tufs.
while the dana, dom, cruz talk was strangly absent, very quiet or boring some of it was interesting when they talked about who they had trained with or dana critisizing them.
im not sure the the last few seasons ratings took a nose dive didnt they? they needed to change it up

leggo

I'd lost interest by the end tbh. Had it in the background and glanced up when something interesting appeared to be happening.

But even Jon Anick said on the ESPN UFC Podcast that people would need to kinda go with it for a couple of episodes before they started to see the true benefits of the changes. So I'll trust that they have their **** together. To be fair, last night was a bit of a prototype episode and I'm sure they'll iron the kinks. I won't go writing it off just yet.

adamski8

leggo wrote: »

I'd lost interest by the end tbh. Had it in the background and glanced up when something interesting appeared to be happening.

But even Jon Anick said on the ESPN UFC Podcast that people would need to kinda go with it for a couple of episodes before they started to see the true benefits of the changes. So I'll trust that they have their **** together. To be fair, last night was a bit of a prototype episode and I'm sure they'll iron the kinks. I won't go writing it off just yet.

Well I wouldn't write it off. Sure all the other episodes will be totally different. Highlights of the traning and house and only a few fights live which will be more rounds

MrStuffins

I liked it. And I think the live fights add 2 things. Firstly, the added excitement of the fight being live and secondly, those editing the show won't be able to edit in such a way as to spoil the result.

Also, the show has been stale for a while, it can't get much worse

MrStuffins

MrStuffins wrote: »

I liked it. And I think the live fights add 2 things. Firstly, the added excitement of the fight being live and secondly, those editing the show won't be able to edit in such a way as to spoil the result.

Also, the show has been stale for a while, it can't get much worse

The best thing is we won't have people saying "They're showing Christian Marcello a lot on the T.V so he must be going through". It was pretty predictable when they pre-taped and you could find a leak pretty much anywhere if you wanted to.
I watched a Youtube video of a highlight from last season and it gave away that Brandao and Dillashaw were in the final in the comments. This was 4 episodes away from the end of the show.

Roar

to be perfectly honest it needed commentary. Especially with them being on FX and trying to bring in new fans to the sport, they needed someone commentating on the action to explain what was going on. For long stretches of the night there was just silence - 16 fights with no commentary wasn't a great idea tbh

El Guapo!

None of the other seasons had commentary though. I don't think Dana and the lads were there to commentate but rather to get their reactions to seeing the fighters for the first time. Anyway that was only the first episode and from now on there'll be the coaches in the corners shouting instructions as per usual.
I personally liked the episode and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.

Roar

Dean09 wrote: »

None of the other seasons had commentary though. I don't think Dana and the lads were there to commentate but rather to get their reactions to seeing the fighters for the first time. Anyway that was only the first episode and from now on there'll be the coaches in the corners shouting instructions as per usual.
I personally liked the episode and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.

none of the other seasons had 16 fights in a row on a new network either. it's ok for one fight, but not for that length of time IMO.

Minstrel27

MrStuffins wrote: »

those editing the show won't be able to edit in such a way as to spoil the result.

This. It was the one thing that really annoyed me about previous seasons of TUF

Mellor

Roar wrote: »

none of the other seasons had 16 fights in a row on a new network either. it's ok for one fight, but not for that length of time IMO.

THere was always 16 fghts to the opening show, and never commentary.

TUF is about the trainign as much as the fighting. Being able to hear the corner and teams is a part of that imo. it's as much about see which guys take instruction as it is about seeing which coaches are able to give good instruction.

Commentary serves a purpose at events. But at TUF level, I don't think there are too many subtleties that we might miss. Normally, its pretty clear whats happening

Minstrel27

Dana White on Twitter

Just landed in Vegas from TUF Brazil and something bad has already happened on TUF here so on my way to the training center.

Wonder what that's about

MrStuffins

Minstrel27 wrote: »

Dana White on Twitter



Wonder what that's about

Something bad? Wow!

I wonder whether it's something serious (like an injury) or whether it's a way to hype people watching this week's episode? I dunno! But now i'm really looking forward to seeing what's happening!

El Guapo!

Id say it's an injury and someone is out. If it is, I wonder who they'll bring back in. Maybe the guy with the messed up toe!!

El Guapo!

Looks like it was an injury.......

TUF live cast member Jeremy Larsen was medically suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after his win over Jeff Smith on the premiere episode of the reality series. He is suspended until April 9th due to a scalp laceration, but can be released early by doctors after March 16th. It is unclear at this time if he will be removed from the show due to the suspension.

Mellor

I dunno if that's a big deal. That's pretty common. Fighters on TUF get injuried and need clearance all the time. it's only 4 weeks, so I'm assuming he'll just not fight on early shows.

Ian Whelan

I get the feeling that if McLean fought that guy 5 times he would lose 5 times

Kurz

Anyone watching this? I'm not sure if it's on the telefís or not. Fairly good so far.

Kurz

I know it's fairly irrelevant, but it bothers me how John Anik never shakes the hand of the winning fighter that just gave him an interview. He actually has gone so far as to leave some guys hanging that have gone to shake his hand while he walks away. Really bad manners to walk away when someone puts their hand out IMO.

Minstrel27

That was a sweet ko

Jon Anik congratulated the guy who was knocked out. Hmmmmm

OrgasmicBaz

Great knock out by Wick last night but i think he got a little lucky, he could be a nuisance to some fighters cause of his height.

Lawrence and Marcello is going to be some fight, im suprised Cruz picked a hard opponent in his first pick

Sweet KO, didn't think much of Vick until that moment, he was hesitant in his striking and seemed to let Cruickshank push the pace. Good episode, must be tough for Chiesa to be there right now. Great move by Cruz asking Faber to pick the fighter again, cue every one of his guys not making eye contact... awkward.
Marcello ends Lawrence's hype train imo though.

Sorry for the spoiler tags, there's none in the title guys.

Roar

Ouch.

phily2002

Thats got to be a confidence booster for Lawrence with no one stepping up. I thought at least one of the guys would be eager to step up and fight. Think Fabers team will loose badly this season... Delighted for Vick, hopefully he'll get some confidence and let the hands go in future. 2 times golden gloves champ he must have serious skills!

leggo

I have to say, I'm liking the changes so far. Even the highlights are more edgy now you know you're getting an ongoing view of events, not one that happened weeks beforehand. They still need to iron out some creases, production-wise, like having nothing happening while they awaited the official decision (whereas commentary and replays usually fill that gap nicely). But what it lacks in crispness, it makes up for in rawness. For now at least.

As for the fight, am I alone in thinking Vick was completely lucky there? He said himself he wasn't even looking for a knee. It was more a rookie error on Urijah's guy's part (forget his name, Crookshanks??) Dana bigged Vick up afterwards but Dana would tell the world my shoe was a top contender if I offered him enough money. Obviously he has a lot talent to even be in the house...I just don't think we really learned anything nor should anyone else fear him after that.

I'll be gutted if Marcelo loses next week. He's my favourite so far. Big fight to have this early too.

Kent Brockman

Potential grand finale fight up next. I have a feeling Dana won't be too happy.
I vaguely remember something coming up in an earlier TUF where it was discussed about eliminating the weaker fighters early and trying to have the best 4 in semis.

Would be pretty crap if all the best guys eliminated each other early and left a potential Diego Sanchez v Ken Flo repeat

As for this week:

Overconfidence cost the guy who got Ko'ed, and the tall fella even admitted he was throwing a kick.
Faber was made to look like a bit of a knob when he started the crap at the fight announcement and then Cruz really put him on the spot by putting forward his best guy (1st pick) and making Faber pick one of his guys to fight him.
"Are we doing the final now?" I think was fabers question to Dana

Interesting that none of Team Faber seemed to want the fight.....good mind games by Cruz.

adamski8

great espn **** up again with their scedule, recorded half of mma live instead of tuf! wtf is up with them?

Charlie Haughy

Should be a very interesting fight next week.

Minstrel27

adamski8 wrote: »

great espn **** up again with their scedule, recorded half of mma live instead of tuf! wtf is up with them?

Mine recorded ok.

MrStuffins

adamski8 wrote: »

great espn **** up again with their scedule, recorded half of mma live instead of tuf! wtf is up with them?

Are you with UPC? I'm with Sky and mine was fine. If you're with UPC then it's a fault at their end i'd reckon!

adamski8

Minstrel27 wrote: »

Mine recorded ok.

strange then, it says in my recordings that its "Live: the ultimate fighter" but when i play it it was football first for 30mins then 30mins of mma live. I dont see any repeats either

yeah its upc

Leeg17

adamski8 wrote: »

strange then, it says in my recordings that its "Live: the ultimate fighter" but when i play it it was football first for 30mins then 30mins of mma live. I dont see any repeats either

yeah its upc

I don't think there's anything you can do from your end Adam other than to ring customer support and notify them of the problem and extended the TUF recording by 30 minutes before + after the scheduled times and hope it covers it.

scudzilla

What an awesome call by Cruz...."You choose"

Not one of Faber's guys stood up

MrStuffins

scudzilla wrote: »

What an awesome call by Cruz...."You choose"

Not one of Faber's guys stood up

If I was Faber i'd be concerned that every one of my fighters sh*t themselves when asked to fight the No.1 pick!

leggo

MrStuffins wrote: »

If I was Faber i'd be concerned that every one of my fighters sh*t themselves when asked to fight the No.1 pick!

I dunno, I don't think it's as straightforward as that. Cruz engaged in some very clever mind games with that strategy and I think it just caught everyone unaware. They're all aware that, if he is that good, they'll have to go through him at some stage so it's not as if they're going to be scared of fighting him...if they wanna win, it could be inevitable that they do. And, if I was Faber, I'd be stressing that point to both my team and the cameras over the next week. Make sure they still feel confident and Cruz doesn't get to gloat over calling them out.

But it'll give Lawrence the psychological edge going into the fight, no doubt.

That said, it could backfire massively on him. However confident you are in Lawrence, Marcelo seems like a beast capable of destroying anyone on his day, so the fight could go either way. So, if Lawrence loses, it could be one of the dumbest decisions in TUF history. Interesting times ahead, anyway! :cool:

MrStuffins

No, they pretty much sh*t themselves. Every season we see fighters wanting to avoid the favourites and use strategy to get them further in the competition.

Whatever way you look at it, nobody showed courage and stepped up. They were all given ample opportunity to get in there.

Mellor

MrStuffins wrote: »

If I was Faber i'd be concerned that every one of my fighters sh*t themselves when asked to fight the No.1 pick!

I don't think anyone sane would choose to take a tougher than necessery path to the final. Even if they were confidant they are the best in the comp. Fighting the no.2 guy early is not a good idea.

Injury, lucky KO, bad judging decision etc could all have career defining effects.

D_Man_22

Has This started yet???

liverbear

My sky recording cut it off right at the point where cruz said you choose

Klim

liverbear wrote: »

My sky recording cut it off right at the point where cruz said you choose

If you go into Sky+ setup (services button) , there is an option to add up to ten minutes onto a recording, at the start or end of a programme. Not fail-proof by any means, but very helpful for live events. Would've meant you caught the ending at least, this time.

liverbear

Klim wrote: »

If you go into Sky+ setup (services button) , there is an option to add up to ten minutes onto a recording, at the start or end of a programme. Not fail-proof by any means, but very helpful for live events. Would've meant you caught the ending at least, this time.

Thanks Klim,

Had it set at 5 mins but should extend it

Ian Whelan

It was crazy how Cruz dealt with the pick on live television. I still can't believe that when he got the option back he chose Marcello who's tough and extremely experienced. Surely he would have been better to pick someone who's guaranteed to stand with Lawrence? I would have picked Andy Ogle all day.

Ian Whelan

Ian Whelan wrote: »

It was crazy how Cruz dealt with the pick on live television. I still can't believe that when he got the option back he chose Marcello who's tough and extremely experienced. Surely he would have been better to pick someone who's guaranteed to stand with Lawrence? I would have picked Andy Ogle all day.

He doesn't want to lose control and have Faber put Marcello against one of his weaker guys. He's showing that he's confident that Lawrence can take out Marcello and also allowing the lower ranked guys to fight people of their own skill level, remember in TUF 5? Maynard V Weems they don't want a repeat of that anyway.

DrPhilG

I also think that after Marcello joined the rest of his team in looking the other way when presented with the offer of fighting Cruz's best guy, it gives a huge confidence boost to Lawrence.

Charlie Haughy

Very impressive win for Lawrence. Marcelo never really threatened him and it always looked like lawrence would win by either KO or decision. Definitely an impressive fighter, and hope he wins the contract, as id like to see him fight more in the UFC.

Devastator

Very impressed by

Dominic Cruz. Very guy. As soon as the fight finished he said to Lawrence "Go check on your opponent", he mustn't have been heard because he ended up saying it about 4/5 times but thought it good that hes not just trying to prepare them for the fight but giving them guidence allround for fighting. Was a great 2nd round from Lawrence, he caught him with a lot of big left's

El Guapo!

Really impressive performance from Lawrence. He totally controlled the fight and Marcello never looked comfortable against him. I think Lawrence is one to watch for the finale.

Cruz seems to be a really good coach. The way he was saying he wants this match up as a challenge for Lawrence shows that he genuinely wants his team to improve and challenge themselves. I think he wants to help them as much as possible and it's not all focus on winning the show.

Mr. Manager

Marcello looked so nervous throwing kicks/punches. He never once committed himself to anything. Very disappointing IMO.

leggo

Cereal Rapist wrote: »

Marcello looked so nervous throwing kicks/punches. He never once committed himself to anything. Very disappointing IMO.

Agreed, though to be fair Lawrence wasn't giving him any opportunities. His gameplan was spot on and it's very ominous for everyone else that he can control the Octagon so convincingly against an experienced fighter like Marcello. Definitely worthy of his No1 pick.

Roar

a BJJ blackbelt with shocking hands, spends the entire fight on his fight.

I was screaming at him to try and take him down. It was frustrating to watch. Taking nothing away from Lawrence who fought very well. But if you're a blackbelt, why don't you play to your strengths?