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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The Ultimate Fighter doesn't always leave people looking their best. The selective editing necessary for a reality show can make people seem perhaps worse than they were perceived going in, and that's something we've seen with many of the coaches from season to season.
It could be argued that his time on two seasons of The Ultimate Fighter did more harm than good to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson; Ken Shamrock was perhaps the worst coach in the show's history in season three; Josh Koscheck made a fool of himself more often than not opposite Georges St-Pierre.
But oftentimes, a fighter without the best reputation prior to the show can actually improve their image while on the show. The most notable example is Tito Ortiz, who has never looked better than in his role as a coach on both season 3 and season 11 of the show. TUF 17's Chael Sonnen followed in that vein, mostly dropping the schtick and showcasing the actual person behind the madness. He was a knowledgeable, helpful coach, and as Jon Jones described on Tuesday's final episode, they both were there for the fighters more than themselves.
That's evident in the performance of one fighter in particular in Uriah Hall, whose immense talent drove him to three easy wins once in the house and a spot in Saturday's finals. But where the talent was, the confidence was not, and Hall credits Sonnen for helping him move forward and embrace what's ahead of him.
"He said to me it was okay to lose," Hall said in an interview with BleacherReport.com. "I'm used to him saying go out there and give 110 percent, and it's good to have that attitude. Maybe for other guys they can go out there and say 'failure is not an option' and they have to give 210 percent. I've been doing that for a while, but it just didn't feel right or click with me. Chael just pretty much said 'Hey, at the height of your level where you're training at and what you've accomplished, it's okay to fall.'
"That just pretty much took all the pressure off of me... I think he helped me understand my potential to a point where I'm learning how to use it."
Still, while he benefited greatly from working under Sonnen during his time on the show, Hall knows he's got to finish things out on Saturday night for himself more than anything.
"So going back to that spectacular kick and living up to expectations, I'm not living up to anybody's expectations," said Hall. "I know people are going to say 'Oh man, this guy is good, he could be the next whatever.' I don't want to compare myself to anyone else. I'm me. If I go out there, I'm in that cage by myself. There's no one in there with me so I have nothing to prove to anyone but myself."
Hall will now take on Kelvin Gastelum, his Team Sonnen teammate and the youngest fighter this season. Their time together on the show has Hall confident, yet knowledgeable about what Gastelum brings to the cage. He's also readying himself to separate the personal feelings from being teammates and friends on the show and going full out to win this tournament.
"There was a big advantage because you get to train with the person, you get to see what they have," Hall said. "I never try to look at anything and say 'Oh this person's not that good.' I never underestimate anybody. I know he's a strong guy. His base is definitely his wrestling. His hands are amazing, he's so quick. So I know his power and I know what to stay away from, but all in all I'm just ready to go out there and have some fun."
"It's all about having fun and that's something I failed to realize for a long time, but just being on the show kind of brought that out. At the end of the day it's just business. I love the kid, we trained together, we lived together, and it crossed my mind a couple of times [that we could fight] but you have to separate those emotions. I did it twice—I did it with Dylan [Andrews], I did it with Bubba [McDaniels], so I have to do it again."
Penick's Analysis: If Hall's taken some very positive messages away from his time on the show, that can only bode well for his career in the UFC. He's already got the talent, that was evident enough during his time on the show, but putting everything together physically and mentally to be successful is what's going to bring him to a different level than other fighters out of this show. He's still got one step left on Saturday night, but he's already one of the brightest competitors to come out of the show in a long time.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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