Ultimate Fighter Thoughts: Season 10, Episode 1

It seriously wasn't long before I found myself cracking up at this episode. I caught onto MMA after the first season of TUF, and didn't start actually watching the show until Season 6. That said, I stand by my notion that this show has the most promise for pure entertainment value.

I just really hope the fights stack up half as well... after last night's display, I'm a little wary. Time for my bulleted thoughts...

• Rampage and Rashad are going to be the forces that make this season enjoyable. Count on it. If the opening last night wasn’t evident of that enough, the preview of weeks to come at the end should have been. Sure, people will tune in to see how Kimbo does, but realistically, beyond that the man has no drawing power. If you’ve listened to his interviews, you’ll know he’s far, far from an engaging personality. Some people just gotta be thankful for YouTube, I guess.

• Speaking of Kimbo, his entrance was handled well. I’m not thrilled with the promotion of the show touting him as “the most talked about name in the sport.” I can think of at least Three or four other guys who are probably just as well known by casual fans if not more so. Anyway, the entrance established what we all expected early on: Kimbo has a bullseye on his back. I doubt he’ll be a major player in the house drama, but anything’s possible.

• Kimbo's ground case is more than just "lacking."

• Alright, we’ve found our Junie. Wes Sims may not throw glasses at anybody, but he’s clearly gonna be the guy to stir the pot. You know when a dude refers to himself in the third person, it’s going to be entertaining.

• Oh, for the uninitiated, that whole story about him beating Frank Mir twice is BS. Check his record here.

• OK, I gotta share this story about Sims because it perfectly crystallizes what a character he is. I had the opportunity to train with Daniel Gracie this summer. Between drills, he was shooting the shit with the class and somebody mentioned Sims on this season’s show. Daniel’s eyes got wide as saucers and he shook his head. Daniel fought Wes at a GFC event in 2006 which ended in a draw. They’d meet a few months later in the IFL where Daniel choked him out in the first round. Sims went on all the messages boards and claimed the night before the fight, Daniel sent up a bunch of girls to his hotel room, and explained his performance by saying he was too tired as a result of the “distraction.” Daniel told us this story and then said, “Motherfucker, if I got a bunch of women, I’m not sending them to your room!” We almost died. So yeah, that’s Wes Sims for ya.

• Maybe it’s the sophomore in me, but I was dying during Rampage’s off-camera interview about Darrill Schoonover. The look on his face when he said “titties” for about the fourth time was priceless. Also, picking the cameraman? Absolutely classic.

• Rampage is the funniest TUF coach, and possibly the worst. I had a gut feeling in he’d be the guy to pick Kimbo, but the rest of his team looks atrocious compared to Rashad’s crew. Cosmetically, they look awesome. But they sorely lack experience. Even if you remove Slice from the equation, you still have Marcus Jones, Demico Rogers and Zak Jensen. Big Country claimed he didn’t think Rampage knew talent when he saw it, and I unfortunately have to agree. I remember his last stint on TUF, and he doesn’t know how to pick fights, either. I love Rampage, but he’s just not a good coach. He’s nowhere near as articulate as Rashad or Forrest Griffin, and that hurts his team in the long run.

• Man, does Rashad’s team look stacked. Guys like Roy Nelson and Darrill Schoonover may not be as cut up as a Marcus Jones, but then again, Marcus Jones almost passed out during a basic training exercise. With two guys from Greg Jackson’s camp and the last IFL heavyweight champion, I think Team Rashad is going to win the lion’s share of fights this season.

• That said, I hope their wins aren’t like the first one. That fight was about as exciting as C-SPAN. I gotta say, Rampage picked one of the shorter straws, as even Abe said earlier in the show that he needed help on his wrestling. Going out there for the first fight against a skilled wrestler probably isn’t the best strategy. Jon Madsen looked good here, but it was a dirty move to feign touching gloves in the second to set up a takedown. I doubt Abe would’ve won regardless, but still, low class.

• I love the effect of the in-fight windows that feature the coaches. I’m surprised they hadn’t done this sooner. Seeing their facial reactions is a nice touch. You can really see the difference in coaching styles here, too. While Rashad is yelling instructions, Rampage is simply telling Abe to “do something” and “he keeps doing the same thing.” Yeesh. I don’t blame him for being upset at Abe’s performance, but he could’ve done more to help the guy.

• That gash was Marvin Eastman-esque. Damn.

• I stand by my pre-show pick of Roy Nelson. He’s one of the more experienced castmembers, has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Renzo Gracie, and will be training under the tutelage of Rashad Evans and more importantly, Greg Jackson. That guy is a serious game changer, and probably the best trainer in MMA today.

• However, when they actually fight, I’m going to go with Rampage. Save Machida, I don’t think Rashad has come close to his caliber yet.

All in all, a very entertaining show (except for the fight, of course), and I’m looking forward to where the season takes us.