Depleted Talent Pool: The TUF 10 Story
Published by Jim Genia on October 30th, 2009 in Current Events

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It’s simple mathematics, really. If there’s a finite amount of talent in a specific weight class, and that talent has been scooped up by organizations hoping to secure the best fighters they possibly can, what’s left over is the detritus, the debris and the bottom-of-the-barrel. Thus far, this season of the Ultimate Fighter – meant to showcase the heavyweights and Kimbo Slice – has seen seven match-ups realized, each one a dismal exercise in failure and lack of preparation. None have been competitive like a contest between two skilled fighters is competitive, none has provided a moment of “Wow, what a fight!” Did the powers-that-be at SpikeTV choose the TUF 10’s contestants poorly, overlooking those with ability for those who simply looked like they’d provide “good TV”? Not at all. With the rosters of the UFC and Strikeforce stocked with nearly every “name” fighter out there, and the heavyweights traditionally a shallow division as it is, the latest Ultimate Fighter offering is just a case of a seriously depleted talent pool.

That’s not to say that viewers should just grin and bear it, because they shouldn’t. This season has been a virtual embarrassment once the cage door shuts at the tail-end of each episode. A contest between HIT Squad member Jon Madsen and part-time fighter Abe Wagner brought us back to the UFC’s early lay-and-pray wrestler days, an undersized James McSweeney just barely squeaked by the severely gassed Wes Shivers, ex-NFLer Matt Mitrione versus the veteran Scott Junk was awful, and in the pairings of Brendan Schaub and Demico Rogers, Justin Wren and Wes Sims, and Darrill Schoonover and Zak Jensen, the degree of mismatch bordered on the disgusting. Not listed here is Kimbo’s bout against IFL champ Roy Nelson; of course the relatively inexperienced Kimbo would lose to the ultra-experienced, ultra-accomplished Nelson. That much is a given. But why must we be subjected to bouts that stink? These are MMA fights on national television, not heavy-breathing competitions. Fans, both new ones and those who’ve been around forever, deserve better.

After the TUF 2 debacle, when Rashad Evans won the competition as a heavyweight then promptly moved down to light-heavyweight, Dana White vowed no more seasons of heavyweights. He amended that when blasting EliteXC’s star player Kimbo, saying that if the YouTube sensation wanted into the Octagon, he’d have to go the TUF route. True to his word, after Kimbo signed on the dotted line, White put together a season of out-of-shape, under-talented aspirants to welcome him to the fold, and the series has remained a ratings monster throughout the season because everyone wants to see Kimbo.

How much better would it have been if some of the UFC’s current roster had taken part? Competitors like Mostapha Al-Turk, Paul Buentello, Todd Duffee, Tim Hague and Chris Tuchscherer could’ve spiced things up nicely, and their absences from the organization’s normal rotation would’ve had little to no impact whatsoever on who does or does not face champ Brock Lesnar next. But instead, we’re given football players, failed UFC vets and big men with no business getting into the cage – slim pickings that redefine the term “slim pickings”.

Hopefully, if there is ever another TUF season with heavyweights, we’ll have better. But that’s doubtful. Any capable heavyweight out there would likely already be under contract – with the UFC, with Strikeforce, with one of the promotions in Japan – and the resulting depleted talent pool is so shallow you could dive into it and never get wet. Oh well. At least there are only a few more episodes of TUF 10 left.