The Ultimate Fighter turns 20: UFC's signature show's new season stars coaches Cormier, Sonnen
FILE - Chael Sonnen answers a question at the 30th anniversary Q&A before the UFC 292 mixed martial arts weigh in, Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan, File)
FILE - UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier is seen in the ring at UFC on ABC 3, Saturday, July 16, 2022, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan, File)
FILE - UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier is seen in the ring at UFC on ABC 3, Saturday, July 16, 2022, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan, File)
FILE - Chael Sonnen answers a question at the 30th anniversary Q&A before the UFC 292 mixed martial arts weigh in, Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan, File)
FILE - UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier is seen in the ring at UFC on ABC 3, Saturday, July 16, 2022, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan, File)
The fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar has been mythologized for 20 years as the one that saved UFC. The spectacular, bloody brawl so masterful — the main event on the first season of a new reality show, aired live on Spike TV — that UFC soon skyrocketed from a weakened MMA promotion potentially on the brink of new ownership into a sports and pop culture phenomenon.
(And yes, a billion-dollar empire.)
Advertisement
It's billed as the fight that forever changed UFC.
Right?
'The whole thing is complete BS but I'm happy to play along,' retired UFC fighter and noted trash-talker Chael Sonnen said. 'It does get too much credit. It didn't change the world just because it was on Spike TV.'
Hold up, former UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier would like a word.
'I don't think it gets enough credit for what it did to the sport,' Cormier said. 'I watched that as a wrestler and I knew that I was watching something happen. I didn't know what it was. But it was something.'
The two can debate the fight's spot in MMA history all they want — Griffin won the decision, but the viral attention gained by the highly entertaining bout is widely credited with exposing the little-known sport to a larger worldwide audience — since the verbal sparring is part of each fighter's appeal.
Advertisement
What neither can deny is how the show responsible for the fight — 'The Ultimate Fighter' — has become a UFC staple and is widely regarded as one essential in the survival and eventual expansion of UFC.
'I don't know why they ever let this be called a reality show,' Sonnen said. 'I really do feel it's a miss. This is a documentation of the toughest tournament in all of sport. You will not find a harder sports process anywhere, aside from possibly the Olympic Games."
Cormier and Sonnen returned as coaches in the show more commonly known as TUF's 20th anniversary year. Though the show debuted on Jan. 17, 2005, UFC counts 31 seasons of the show that has launched prospects such as Griffin and Rose Namajunas into future champions.
"The Ultimate Fighter" — which airs Tuesday nights on ESPN and ESPN-plus — features Cormier and Sonnen coaching 16 men's flyweight and welterweight prospects that live and train together in Las Vegas with the winner (and sometimes the losers) earning a UFC contract.
Advertisement
While the coaches often fight at the end of each season, Cormier and Sonnen are both retired and have shifted into broadcasting and their 'Good Guy/Bad Guy' podcast.
'The show is about the guys,' Cormier said. 'Chael and I not fighting doesn't take away from that because I think ultimately the experience for the athlete is going to be better. We aren't fighting. We can compete against each other and make them do the fighting. They ultimately do take the spotlight and it's on them, as it's supposed to be.'
Sonnen coached against Wanderlei Silva and again against UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones in 2013 and was soundly defeated by the champ. Cormier was the UFC light heavyweight champion when he agreed to coach against heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in 2017. Cormier would go on to defeat Miocic at UFC 226 and became only the second fighter to be champion in two divisions simultaneously.
The move worked out for Cormier. Not so much for his students.
Advertisement
'They either had to do what I was doing to keep up in most instances or it felt like a failure,' Cormier said. 'They were getting hurt. They were overtraining them. When you're an athlete, you've got to be selfish. While I was still in the show, I was worried about fighting Stipe Miocic and winning the heavyweight championship. This time, I don't have that. I can literally just coach and give them my all as a coach.'
Cormier wins the coin flip
Cormier won a coin flip and drafted first last week in the first episode and picked Brazilian fighter Eduardo Henrique. Sonnen would draft Diego Bianchini — a fighter appropriately known as 'The Brazilian Bad Boy.'
'Once you get inside here,' UFC President Dana White told the fight prospects, 'this competition is an absolute pressure cooker. But don't forget why you came here and what the prize is at the end of this.'
Advertisement
Cormier was surely glad more fights and episodes are ahead — Henrique was choked out by Sonnen's Joseph Morales.
The days of having to save UFC are long over. The thrill of winning TUF and earning that contract continue into the show's next decade.
'That ending still feels special,' Cormier said. 'You win the tournament, you get a contract. That's what makes 'The Ultimate Fighter' work. That's why it's worked for 20 years.'
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
11 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Stokes backs Pope as England's No. 3 batter for India series and hints at tweak to ‘Bazball'
LEEDS, England (AP) — Who to pick at No. 3 out of Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell was widely regarded as England's biggest selection poser heading into the highly anticipated, five-match test series against India. Turns out, it wasn't much of a headache for Ben Stokes. 'It would be remarkable to choose someone else if their last knock was 170,' the England captain said Thursday of the decision to keep faith with Pope after his big hundred in the one-off test against Zimbabwe last month. The 21-year-old Bethell is the next big thing in English cricket, a rising star in all formats who made a strong start to his test career — in the No. 3 position — by scoring a half-century in each test of the three-match series against New Zealand over the winter. However, Bethell didn't play against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge because he was finishing off a stint in the Indian Premier League. Pope did play and, batting at No. 3, made 171 for his third biggest test knock. Pope is the team's vice captain and remains a trusted ally of Stokes, despite continued speculation over his place in the team. 'Having him at No. 3 and, since I've been captain over three years, averaging over 40. It speaks for itself, I think,' said Stokes, speaking on the eve of the first test at Headingley starting Friday. 'In this day and age, it's very tough to not see all the speculation and stuff around it, just because of how easily accessible things are. You don't even have to go hunt for it to see it these days. But I think scoring 170 in his last test match shows how well he's handled the extra scrutiny. It comes with the territory when you are an international player.' Under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, whose nickname is 'Baz,' England has played an entertaining, aggressive, attack-at-all-costs brand of cricket that earned the label 'Bazball.' It has helped turn around the fortunes of England's test team, even if some see the approach as naive at times, especially when up against the world's top sides. Stokes hinted at a possible tweak in strategy in the series against India, which comes before England heads to Australia for the Ashes. 'India always bring excitement with them, wherever they go in the world,' Stokes said. 'We still want to be known as a team that plays an exciting style of cricket. But now, not that we never wanted to win every game that we played, it's about changing what we say, how we say it. 'We want to be playing an exciting game of cricket because we know that brings the best out of individuals, and us as a team. But it's about winning.' ___ AP cricket:
Fox Sports
14 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Stokes backs Pope as England's No. 3 batter for India series and hints at tweak to 'Bazball'
Associated Press LEEDS, England (AP) — Who to pick at No. 3 out of Ollie Pope and Jacob Bethell was widely regarded as England's biggest selection poser heading into the highly anticipated, five-match test series against India. Turns out, it wasn't much of a headache for Ben Stokes. 'It would be remarkable to choose someone else if their last knock was 170,' the England captain said Thursday of the decision to keep faith with Pope after his big hundred in the one-off test against Zimbabwe last month. The 21-year-old Bethell is the next big thing in English cricket, a rising star in all formats who made a strong start to his test career — in the No. 3 position — by scoring a half-century in each test of the three-match series against New Zealand over the winter. However, Bethell didn't play against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge because he was finishing off a stint in the Indian Premier League. Pope did play and, batting at No. 3, made 171 for his third biggest test knock. Pope is the team's vice captain and remains a trusted ally of Stokes, despite continued speculation over his place in the team. 'Having him at No. 3 and, since I've been captain over three years, averaging over 40. It speaks for itself, I think,' said Stokes, speaking on the eve of the first test at Headingley starting Friday. 'In this day and age, it's very tough to not see all the speculation and stuff around it, just because of how easily accessible things are. You don't even have to go hunt for it to see it these days. But I think scoring 170 in his last test match shows how well he's handled the extra scrutiny. It comes with the territory when you are an international player.' Under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, whose nickname is 'Baz,' England has played an entertaining, aggressive, attack-at-all-costs brand of cricket that earned the label 'Bazball.' It has helped turn around the fortunes of England's test team, even if some see the approach as naive at times, especially when up against the world's top sides. Stokes hinted at a possible tweak in strategy in the series against India, which comes before England heads to Australia for the Ashes. 'India always bring excitement with them, wherever they go in the world,' Stokes said. "We still want to be known as a team that plays an exciting style of cricket. But now, not that we never wanted to win every game that we played, it's about changing what we say, how we say it. 'We want to be playing an exciting game of cricket because we know that brings the best out of individuals, and us as a team. But it's about winning.' ___ AP cricket:
The Hill
18 minutes ago
- The Hill
Greenpeace warns of potential environmental disaster as oil tankers collide near Strait of Hormuz
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A collision between two oil tankers just east of the world's most critical oil choke point, the Strait of Hormuz, could bring about a potential environmental disaster, Greenpeace said on Thursday. The two giant tankers, ADALYNN and Front Eagle, crashed Tuesday in the Gulf of Oman and caught fire before the Emirati national guard intervened to evacuate crew members. No injuries were reported, according to Emirati authorities. Satellite data from NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System showed heat signatures in the area early Tuesday morning. Greenpeace said it had reviewed satellite imagery that showed a plume of oil stretching up to about 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) from the crash site. The 23-year-old tanker ADALYNN belonged to a so-called Russian 'shadow fleet' – known to operate older ships below basic security standards – and may have been carrying around 70,000 tons of crude oil, the group said. 'This is just one of many dangerous incidents to take place in the past years,' said Farah Al Hattab of Greenpeace's Middle East and North Africa division, adding that such oil spills 'endanger marine life.' The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure did not respond to a request for comment. It was not immediately clear what caused Tuesday's incident. British maritime security firm Ambrey said it was unrelated to fighting between Israel and nearby Iran. The Strait of Hormuz, near where the collision took place, is the strategic maritime entryway to the Persian Gulf and sees about a fifth of the world's oil pass through it, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In 2024, an average of 20 million barrels of oil traveled through it daily. After Israel launched airstrikes against Iran on June 13, oil prices surged as worry mounted over whether the Islamic Republic might block the waterway. Maritime ship experts say shipowners are increasingly wary of using the waterway, with some ships having tightened security and others canceling routes there. As the Israel-Iran conflict intensified over the weekend, hundreds of ships in the strait saw spotty navigation signals and had to rely more on radar. The Financial Times reported on June 13 that the world's largest publicly listed oil tanker company, Frontline – which owns the Front Eagle oil tanker involved in Tuesday's crash – said it would turn down new contracts to sail into the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz.
