...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
This review was originally posted on Thursday, Nov. 8, the program airs today at 1PM ET.
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Saturday's Fuel TV schedule features another slate of live MMA action with the Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le headlined broadcast from Macao, China in the morning, but it's the afternoon's featured offering that may be the best thing on TV during the day.
The UFC's behind-the-scenes specials have always been amongst their strongest, and the latest from Fuel TV, UFC Unrestricted, might just be the best hour of documentary-style programming scene on the UFC.
Debuting at 1PM ET this Saturday, the program features a peak behind the curtain on fight week for July's UFC 148 event, which the UFC billed as one of their biggest fights of all time. The build up to the rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen is at the forefront, along with following Tito Ortiz into his UFC Hall of Fame induction and final career fight against Forrest Griffin.
It's all fairly standard material, but it gives nice insight into all sides involved throughout the week and through the fights themselves. But that's not what makes this program a must-see. The highlights of UFC Unrestricted come in the form of Burt Watson and Craig Borsari, whose part in the UFC machine is brought to the forefront.
Watson especially is the star of the show. Fans have seen him at every weigh-in over the last 12 years, directing fighters as they get on stage and keeping things moving, but Unrestricted captures just how vital he is to things moving smoothly for the organization. Perhaps for the first time, fans truly get a look into how much goes into his job, which he describes as a liaison between the fighters and the UFC, and his passion for the organization.
Beyond the organization itself, Watson's genuine affection for every fighter that competes on a UFC card is apparent. His job boils down to making sure the fighters get where they need to be, when they need to be there throughout fight week; but more importantly for him, it's to make sure every fighter feels important and taken care of, whether they win or lose. It's a job he has done for 12 years, and the impression left by UFC Unrestricted is that things would be just much more chaotic without Watson's involvement.
Though UFC Unrestricted does appear to be the Burt Watson Show, fans also get an interesting look into Craig Borsari's responsibilities on fight day. Borsari is the VP of Operations for the organization, and the Unrestricted cameras follow him as he keeps the production on task throughout fight night. This includes a look back during what could have been an even more controversial knee from Silva in the main event against Sonnen, with the production team immediately questioning whether it was illegal or not, then searching through to find the replay to determine that it was to the body. It's a small moment, but an interesting note to how that played out in July for the UFC's team backstage.
All-in-all, you're going to get what you expect from a UFC special, with a recap of events and look back through the week of UFC 148; but there's so much more to UFC Unrestricted than that. It's beautifully shot, effectively narrated, and it's compelling. I put a lot of the credit to that on Watson and his role being highlighted. He just comes off as the heart of the UFC.
UFC 148 was a major fight week, with a highly anticipated main event featuring a heated rivalry, and the final fight from a UFC Hall of Famer, along with all that happened in that fight as well. It was, as is, one of the more memorable UFC events in a long time, and Unrestricted captures that on another level, with a more expansive look into the UFC's fight week than perhaps any show's looked into to date. It's a must watch for Fuel TV viewers and UFC fans, and for those who don't have the network just hope it's rebroadcast on another Fox network in the future.
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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