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Was The Ultimate Fighter 16 the worst season of TUF ever, and where does Smith rank amongst the show's tournament winners?
RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
I'm hardly the right person to ask, since I've averaged an hour or two of TUF-viewing since Kyle Kingsbury tried to impregnate some other dude's food back in 'Season Whatever Season It Was They All Blur Together.' That said, this season in a vacuum was horrendous, Colton Smith seems so bland that someone with 42 ulcers would say, "Damn, how about some spice," and I have zero interest in following the career of anyone from this most recent season.
BRAD WALKER, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
This was not only the worst season of TUF ever, but the officiating in the finals bout was probably the worst ever, with Steve Mazzagatti looking directly at a blatant groin shot and doing jack squat about it. You could even see in the replay from the UFC that Mazagatti was looking directly at the blow and didn't even blink. It brings to mind numerous questions about fighter safety and how incompetent some of the refs really are. Sure it wasn't as bad as Kim Winslow during Mo Lawal vs Lorenz Larkin, but it was still obnoxiously awful. Smith is a guy who's not going to achieve a whole lot of success if he fights the way he did against Ricci in the final bout, he looks like a less entertaining Jon Fitch with a touch of Ben Askren, but without the dominance. A ton of fighters would have powered out and made him look silly; Ricci, though, just didnt have the ability to make his way back to a less precarious position. The season was awful, the final was awful and the officiating was awful. The show in general is terrible, the premise is out dated and it's a rinse and repeat now. Being a past winner no longer means anything. Cancel it. Change it, do TUF: Women Rousey vs. Tate, something to freshen it up. Sure, the promos for next season look pretty cool, they mimic some Pulp Fiction-esque styles, but dear God nobody who truly loves this sport cares at all about Chael Sonnen fighting Jon Jones.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
First, yes, Smith probably is the worst winner in the history of the show. He just seems like he won't do a whole lot for the company. I might be forgetting some of the past winners, I tend to forget and block out bad stuff as best as I can. It just might be the worst season ever, and that's saying something because there have been some bad seasons.
ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
If this was the worst season of TUF, it was not due to the skill of the fighters on the show. At the finale of TUF 16, Joe Rogan reminded us of the talent in season one of the show and how many fighters, including Josh Koscheck, were basically one dimensional and not true mixed martial artists. The transition of fighter expertise from the first days of the show to today is amazing. Remember the game show goofiness of the challenges in the first season? We should never forget the importance of the show and what it did for the sport. It literally put MMA and the UFC on the map. If you look at the show from a historical perspective and break down the seasons, it is inevitable some seasons would be stronger than others. It is just a fact, not every season can be as strong as the Randy and Chuck season.
What has hurt the show most recently is the loss of Mike Rowe as the narrator, the horrible time slot, and terrible, uninteresting coaches. Next season will be no better. Choosing a fighter who is not even in the weight class (Chael Sonnen) instead of Dan Henderson or some other deserving and more interesting fighter, seems like another lose-lose situation for the show. Was TUF 16 the worst season of the show? For me it would be one of the worst, but not the worst. I think the Faber/Cruz season 15 was the worst. Only time will tell where Smith stacks up amongst the show's tournament winners. I can tell you I gave him zero chance of winning the show and that tells me he has the skills to be a UFC champion if he finds the right camp. I sincerely hope the UFC will stop denigrating the most important show in the history of our sport. If they do not stop its current downward trend, it should be cancelled, because it will not be worth watching.
ALVIN CARTER, MMATORCH SPECIALIST
It seems like winning TUF can be like winning American Idol. You get a trophy and a vehicle, but the person that should have won, or just someone else in the cast, ends up becoming the major player/contender in the business. TUF serves its purpose. It is part of the culture around mixed martial arts, and it has brought some great fighters and champions into the UFC. Still, as seasons go on, and the UFC becomes a bit more dense, fighters have to truly shine after the season ends.
This season might have been the least entertaining, but we have to see how the cast members move through their next couple of bouts before we count season as a total lose. After Saturday night I am not sure where to place Colton Smith. He won and a lot of people got sleepy. Right now he is maybe just above Jonathan Brookins and well below John Dodson. We really have to see how his next two bouts go to get a feel for his potential.
DAN MOORE, MMATORCH UK CONTRIBUTOR
I'm not ashamed to admit it, but I didn't watch a single second of TUF 16. Here in the UK, we've had the excellent TUF Smashes to give us our Ultimate Fighter fix. The added competitive aspect of country vs. country gave TUF Smashes far more appeal, and I loved the format. Not only were the fighters competing for a UFC contract, they were also representing their countries. TUF 16 was just the same old tired format with fighters not good enough to have already been given a UFC contract.
As for Colton Smith, I read an interesting article yesterday, written by friend of MMATorch, Mr Jonathan Snowden. In it he mentioned how Smith, a Staff Sergeant in the US Army, hasn't represented his service well at all thus far. He alluded to a couple of incidents that took place on the show, and also a couple that took place on Saturday night. Well, I took an instant dislike to him after only 20 minutes, so god knows how much I'd dislike him if I had watched the entire series.
I was bored watching his fight, but his style gets results. He nullified his opponents arsenal and executed what was a very effective game plan. Most TUF winners get instant recognition, and don't necessarily get thrown in against high level opponents they might fall foul of. For Smith, having pissed off Dana White, his next opponent might be someone well above his limited skills. Too early to say if he goes the way of a Rashad Evans, or more likely a James Wilks. Both TUF winners with very varied levels of success, all since winning that horrible tacky looking glass trophy.
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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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