A few things gleaned from the first episode: I think the Zuffa and SpikeTV are prepping viewers for a future season where no one speaks any English and contestants live in a big hut deep in some distant jungle. Team Mir" that requires captions whenever the Brazilian coach speaks. Last night saw the season eight premiere of "The Ultimate Fighter" on SpikeTV, a season dubbed "Team Nogueira vs. ![]() Trust me, MMA will get "huge" again - and flush with fools and faulty business models just like it always does. It's the "same old, same old", and if the market demands that EliteXC folds (doubtful), Affliction dies (likely), or that the FightNetwork goes bye-bye (see ya!), well. Are you sensing a pattern here? You should be. The Ultimate Fighter came along in 2005, providing yet another infusion of consumer dollars which in turn prompted the creation of the IFL and BodogFIGHT. Remember the WFA? Or Ultimate Athlete magazine? I do, and I remember the inevitable market downturn once more rearing its ugly head. In 2001 Zuffa bought the UFC and began making strides in getting the sport back on track, and the industry took off again. A market downturn killed them off, enabling the strong to live on. They were nice, big alternatives to the UFC that bled money like crazy. Remember Extreme Fighting and the World Combat Championship? I do. Back in 1996, when the UFC's original incarnation was pulling in Earth-shattering pay-per-view buy rates, the industry was flush with money and people angling for a share of it. ![]() Like the stock market, the MMA market cyclical, and after every boom comes a period of economic downturn. Rumors abound concerning EliteXC's dire financial straits, Afflictions impending doom, the demise of the newssource FightNetwork and what-have-you. It looks like TUF's heterosexual leanings will remain intact. The preview at the end of the episode provided brief glimpses of the rest of the season, including drunkenness (surprise!), rowdiness (no way!) and Dana White telling the cast to "beat each other off".Expect hilarity in upcoming episodes with Polakowski running around the gym with open arms and Mir hiding under the Octagon. ![]() Mir, on the other hand, employs a rigid three-second rule.
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