Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted August 31, 2020 Author Paid Members Share Posted August 31, 2020 I’m not saying it wouldn’t help for anyone else’s enjoyment of the sport but, myself, I was over TUF a long time ago. In those early series it was really effective in making you get to know the characters on the show so that when they got in the UFC, you’d be invested in rooting for or against them. Guys like Griffin, Bonnar, Sanchez, Koscheck, Bisping, Serra etc benefited massively from that. But after about TUF 10, I don’t know, it wasn’t really the same. And I still watched pretty religiously up until about TUF 18 or 19. Whichever one Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn coached. That was pretty much the end for me as a regular TUF watcher and I only ever dipped in and out after that. I never really found a connection, good or bad, to the vast majority of the guys and girls on the show in those later series so I was as indifferent and apathetic towards them as I am any of the debuting ham and eggers we see randomly pop up on the prelims these days. TUF just became a chore by the end for me. It wasn’t as entertaining anymore, the format felt tired, it didn’t seem to find as many engaging personalities or legit prospects as it used to and it seemed to exist just to hold up titles and make us wait longer to see certain fights we wanted to see. Dana White’s Contender Series is doing a decent job of the ‘finding new talent’ bit that TUF used to do. So that void’s already been filled. The only other thing TUF offered was the in house antics and food fights and stuff. Which I’m not particularly arsed about seeing anymore. Once you’ve seen someone spunk into sushi and watch their fellow contestant/housemate eat it, there’s not really anything left to see. TUF will be back though. Dana’s already said as much and they were planning to have Adesanya and Costa coach the next one but the current situation globally has obviously made it unfeasible for now. It’ll be back at some point. But I don’t see it changing much. It’ll just mean more content to watch and more nobodies filling up the undercards. You might get the odd standout skills and/or personality-wise but remember what TUF was like at the end, it added fuck all to anyone’s enjoyment of MMA really did it? I know the dead wood jobbers of the early TUFs like Strangebrew Thacker and Wayne Weems yet I genuinely couldn’t tell you the last 3 winners of TUF without googling it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members WeeAl Posted August 31, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted August 31, 2020 9 minutes ago, jimufctna24 said: Coker said at the start of the year that he wanted Bellator to run 30 shows in 2020. This was before COVID. Obviously, a lot has changed since then. Last I heard, it looked as though Bellator and DAZN were going to part ways. Bellator's new TV deal with CBS Sports starts in October. I assume that is where most of Bellator's shows will air in the US from now on. Although Coker has suggested that Bellator air shows on CBS's network channel at some point. A writer on Sherdog actually suggested something similar to your idea. He proposed that Bellator split their shows between contender shows and main shows. Whether it is feasible or not, I have no idea.  Based on the thirty shows plan you mention there, it probably wouldn't be feasible. Everyone just wants to create as much content as possible these day, without the emphasis being on quality content. They need to do something though, as their ratings are in the toilet. The CBS sports move is something , but it's apparently not a good something, as it's not even a Nielsen listed channel, with it's viewership likely to be pretty small compared to paramount. If it helps them get on CBS network, that could be pretty exciting, and would no doubt provide some loaded cards that would capture attention.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted September 1, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted September 1, 2020 13 hours ago, David said: There's elements of the UFC's booking that really bothers me sometimes. It happened with Anderson, and it's happening with Lawler. We have these fan-favourites at the tail end of their career, and instead of getting the best out of them, the UFC chucks them in there with a bunch of up & comers who you couldn't pick out of a lineup. Why? Do they think fans buy their shite of "oooh, Neil Magny beat Lawler! That must means he's good!" fuck off, it doesn't. He beat an ageing Lawler. I'd rather have my head stapled to the living room carpet than watch Neil Magny fight, and an insomnia-busting win over Lawler ain't changing that. i'll give em a pass here cause the pandemic has foreced all sorts of weird matchups, but i totally agree. Magny/Lawler was always a horrible matchup for Lawler. Magny, as good as he is, is in that dangerous spot now that Ryan Bader and Corey Anderson found themselves in. A single loss could see him cut because he isnt a crowd pleaser, if he's anywhere near the end of his contract he'd probably be wise to field offers cause Bellator would take him and he'd likely get a shit ton more money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted September 2, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted September 2, 2020 Rakic messed Anthony Smith up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted September 2, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted September 2, 2020 I feel bad for the guy. Anthony Smith has guts like very few others, especially when you consider how few of his fights have gone to decision, and how many losses he's taken to claw his way to the top. He's the kind of scrapper I like to see win, it's sad to hear him despondent like that. Got to think all these wars and batterings he's been in are taking their toll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members WeeAl Posted September 2, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted September 2, 2020 If he can afford to, I think he could do with 18 months off. Recentre, refocus, whatever. Maybe in that time he discovers he has unfinished business, or maybe he doesn't mind training but being away from the actual fight night. Focus on either making his body bigger or smaller and giving himself time to adjust to the weight and make one last push at 185 or 205. If he takes a break and instead figures he doesn't want to do it anymore, then all the power to him. Despite all the wear and tear he'll have had with having so many fights, he is still young enough to try something else, should all that damage be too much to overcome. He's a 32 year old that has more miles than most 42 year old fighters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted September 2, 2020 Author Paid Members Share Posted September 2, 2020 (edited) Despite looking like the typical meathead thug most non MMA fans think all ‘cage fighters’ are, Smith is intelligent, well spoken and a good analyst as well when he’s been in that role. Maybe that’s something he could do more of if he decided to retire. Or even a bit of colour commentary. Not that I think he necessarily should retire right now but it’d be understandable if he’s had enough after a long and punishing career. He’s got further than I thought he would, to be fair. He’s a fighter I’ve always enjoyed watching but I never thought he’d get a crack at the title, much less go the distance with Jones and beat Gustafsson. It does seem like he’s hit a wall now though, and hard. And I’m not sure he’s the type who’d be content to stick around fighting lower level opposition now after grafting for years to get in the mix. But the alternative is to keep fighting the up and comers and the contenders and fights with the likes of Ankalaev, Cutelaba, Prochazka, a returning Rumble...well, a couple of them might be more winnable than others but they’re not going to be fun. The way Smith fights, even the wins are going to be rough on his body. It’s mad to think he’s still only 32 years old. It feels like he’s been around donkeys years. Edited September 2, 2020 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted September 2, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted September 2, 2020 As tough as he is, if I were a matchmaker I'd feel really bad about putting him in there against Rumble. I'd at least give him some matchups against some submission-focused grapplers first, to give him a bit of a break from getting stoved in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted September 2, 2020 Author Paid Members Share Posted September 2, 2020 Yeah but it’s Dana we’re talking about here. The guy who booked BJ Penn again and again, years after he was shot to shit, and only stopped putting him in fights when footage surfaced of a fat bouncer sparking him in Hawaii at 3am. He only cares about this shit if you’re his mate like Chuck Liddell. Brain damage... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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