Beau Dure
The last biggest boxing-MMA crossover: When Randy Couture met James Toney
The crowd chanted “U-F-C!” The boxing writer next to me wept. The last big matchup between a boxer and a mixed martial artist took place Aug. 28, 2010, when James Toney got his chance to step into the Octagon and teach the MMA world something about boxing. Unfortunately for him, his opponent was grizzled grappler […]
The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption episode 12 recap – Second finalist decided
Fourteen fighters returned to The Ultimate Fighter in search of redemption. Did any of them find it? In the cage, probably not. James Krause has been solid, but we expected that from a guy who’s on a two-fight UFC win streak. Dhiego Lima and Ramsey Nijem look ready to step back into the Octagon. Jesse […]
The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption episode 11 recap – Snakes in a gym
Drama in the house? We’re getting drama in the house? Is it because James Krause has a ridiculously hard path to the final, the result of Dana White going against both coaches and picking Krause to fight Jesse Taylor? The hint is that Krause’s cornea injury may somehow figure into it. The promo says we’re […]
The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption episode 10 recap – Hey, we’re fighting here
The promo promises two quarterfinals, an injury and more Cody Garbrandt-T.J. Dillashaw chatter with various assistants trying to get screen time. Sounds busy. Maybe in future seasons, they should put all the contestants together in a house and see if anything dramatic happens. The opening credits remind us that Seth Baczynski and Johnny Nunez were […]
The Ultimate Fighter 25 Redemption episode 9 recap – Don’t know how to party
We’ve hit the doldrums. We know the Cody Garbrandt-T.J. Dillashaw fight won’t be happening any time soon, so their feud seems a bit more pointless. We’ve seen some fighters look like shadows of themselves. And we have one of the most lopsided team matchups in show history — Hayder Hassan is the only Garbrandt fighter […]
The Ultimate Fighter 25 Redemption episode 8 recap and video – Uppercut and tetherball
One of these people will get redemption tonight … – Joe Stevenson, the only fighter from Team Dillashaw to lose his first fight. – Hayder Hassan, the American Top Team workhorse in TUF 21 but frustrated against teammate Dhiego Lima in their fight earlier this season. – Cody Garbrandt, who seems to be auditioning for […]
The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption episode 7 recap – Joe Daddy vs. Father Time
In this “Redemption” season of The Ultimate Fighter, no one needs redemption more than the reigning UFC bantamweight champion. Cody Garbrandt botched the draft. He and his assistants are steadfastly committed to taking the low road in the interteam conversations. If you’re looking for reasons why T.J. Dillashaw and coach Duane Ludwig left Team Alpha […]
The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption episode 6 recap – Assistant coach smackdown!
If you read the “Inside the Ultimate Fighter” series, you may remember these words from Nick Thompson: “I understand why don’t they don’t use veterans. Frankly, we’re boring. We train, eat and sleep right. We’re not drinking three days before a fight. That makes for boring TV. That’s why you’ll never see a veterans season […]
The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption episode 5 recap – Friendly fire
In case you missed the previous four episodes: T.J. Dillashaw’s team has won all four fights so far. But Cody Garbrandt grabbed Dillashaw by the neck, so he’s got that going for him. Very little has happened in the house except for a bit last week in which Garbrandt, his girlfriend, Clay Guida and Miesha […]
The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption episode 4 recap – Poetry and purple toenails
A quick recap of The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption so far: A bunch of fighters who’ve been on TUF before are back in the TUF house, and they must be behaving, because we’ve seen very little from the house. Cody Garbrandt grabbed T.J. Dillashaw’s neck. Perhaps as karmic retribution, Team Dillashaw is 3-0. And on […]
The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption episode 3 recap – Taylor owns TUF gym
Catching you up to speed on TUF 25: Redemption … Cody Garbrandt: Snake! T.J. Dillashaw: Real original. Urijah Faber: Liar! Fourteen fighters returning to TUF: Hey, we’re here, too! Hector Urbina: I’m not. I wasn’t even close to making weight. Speaking of weight, you may have heard that TUF 26 will crown a women’s flyweight […]
Why the ESPN layoffs should terrify MMA promoters and fans
Journalism layoffs aren’t new. At USA TODAY, I saw a young woman in tears when her first post-college job ended after a few months. And I saw an older man come in to tidy up piles of papers he’d accumulated on and around his desk over 15-20 years. For the last two days, Twitter and […]
The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption episode 2 recap – Fight surprises, chatter doesn’t
Tonight on The Ultimate Fighter …. Cody Garbrandt rips into T.J. Dillashaw! Dillashaw responds with a smirk! Urijah Faber looks like he’d rather be in Sacramento! Will Garbrandt grab Dillashaw’s throat again and brag that an eagle got a snake? (Oh, and two fighters with compelling stories will battle for a shot at reviving their […]
The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption episode 1 recap
A two-hour retrospective of the show’s first 24 seasons, then a two-hour season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter’s big 25th? Who has time to watch all this? Hey, didn’t you spend the afternoon trying to reason with women’s soccer fans tossing accusations at you like spaghetti being flung at a wall? Right. Four hours of […]
Inside The Ultimate Fighter: What fighters got from the experience
The Ultimate Fighter isn’t the only way into the UFC. Most fighters still ascend through the regional organizations to the big show. So why does the show draw hundreds of applicants each season? Why have several fighters signed on for another trip to the TUF house in the “Redemption” season that starts airing Wednesday? Let’s […]
Inside The Ultimate Fighter: What happens at a TUF tryout
The typical path to The Ultimate Fighter today: Send in an application, go to a tryout with a couple hundred others, and hope. As of 2011, that application asked for: – A DVD with an interview and fight footage, at least two minutes long, that becomes the property of the producers. – A record of […]
Inside The Ultimate Fighter: Is the talent pool tapped out?
Does The Ultimate Fighter want the best fighters or the most interesting personalities? Yes. The problem, though, with competitions that are basically talent searches is that you eventually run out of untapped talent. The first American Idol was Kelly Clarkson, and while you may not like her song choices, you have to respect her voice […]
Inside The Ultimate Fighter: The challenges of evolving
The format of The Ultimate Fighter has changed little over the years. Fighters live and train together, then fight their way to “a contract” (though, usually, multiple fighters end up in the UFC). But the show has evolved a bit over the years. If you were frozen in a cave after Season 2 and thawed […]
Inside The Ultimate Fighter: Sometimes you gotta fight …
A Survivor must survive tough conditions. A Top Chef has to cook something. And so The Ultimate Fighter must fight. One fight in particular stands out, and no UFC fan — even a casual one — needs to be reminded which one it is. It’s easy to take live MMA on free (at least, non-pay-per-view) […]
Inside The Ultimate Fighter: On injuries and discipline, there are no rules
MMA is governed by the Unified Rules. The Ultimate Fighter is governed by Dana White. The UFC president is consistent in some ways. He’s sympathetic to those who’ve been injured. He’s not sympathetic to people who quit in any sense he can define. Trouble at home? Depends. Abdel Medjedoub got a trip home, an accommodation […]
Women’s MMA: Royce Gracie shows he’s simply behind the times
Joe Buck is a seasoned broadcaster. Royce Gracie has plenty of media appearances under his belt. So we may never know why Buck felt the need to ask Gracie, last week on Buck’s talk show ‘Undeniable,’ what he thought of women’s MMA. It was a strangely tone-deaf question. And we have to wonder why Gracie […]
Inside The Ultimate Fighter: Even Rich Franklin fears the Edit Monster
Rich Franklin is not one of the more controversial figures in UFC history. He tended to respond to trash talk with gentle self-deprecating wit. He has given an engaging TED Talk on losing. The description “company man” often accompanied his name during his long UFC career, in part because he would show up and fill […]
Inside The Ultimate Fighter: Fishbowl format distorts reality for reality TV
“It’s rarely the best fighter that wins the show. It’s the person that can stay focused the longest. It’s easy to get caught up with a whole bunch of dramatics and a whole bunch of non-relevant bullshit in that house. It’s the living embodiment of Lord of the Flies.” — Matt Mitrione “The Ultimate Fighter […]
Inside The Ultimate Fighter: Talent, check. Alcohol, check. Food …?
Day 1, Season 1. The fighters check out the gym. They’re impressed. They check out the house. They’re even more impressed. And the place is well-stocked with alcohol. The producers thought of everything. Almost. “They didn’t realize how much food 16 fighters can put down,” Kenny Florian said. “I think they ran out of food […]
Inside The Ultimate Fighter: Why the reality show was (is?) so important
“I’ll never forget being at the airport once we all got out. We all went in different directions, and I turned my phone on. I’ve got all these messages and Facebook and everything else, and it’s like, ‘Did that just happen? Did I just make it through six weeks of complete hell? And now I’m […]
Inside The Ultimate Fighter: The best-selling tell-all book that never was
I am the author of a book called Inside The Ultimate Fighter. Don’t look for it at Amazon. You won’t find it. The publishing industry works that way sometimes, particularly when it comes to dealing with the volatile world of MMA. Or, as Paul Shaffer lamented in This Is Spinal Tap, I got no timing. […]