Latest news with #UFCEmbedded
USA Today
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Patchy Mix oozing confidence before UFC debut vs. Mario Bautista: 'I will f*ck him up'
Patchy Mix oozing confidence before UFC debut vs. Mario Bautista: 'I will f*ck him up' Patchy Mix is ready to prove he is UFC championship material. Mix (20-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his octagon debut against ranked 135-pounder Mario Bautista (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) on Saturday's UFC 316 main card (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The former Bellator champion has long declared himself the No. 1 bantamweight in the world, and he will get the opportunity to prove it. He watched footage of Bautista fighting Jay Perrin in February 2022 and liked what he saw. "Right here, where he rests, he won't be able to rest against me," Mix said on "UFC Embedded." "If that kid (Perrin) can push him up against the fence, I think I can. I'm a f*cking three-time world champion, this guy is a journeyman fighter. I will f*ck him up, bro. I'm going to f*ck him up. Look at his holes. I'll submit him, and I'll submit whoever is teaching him jiu-jitsu. I'll submit the whole f*cking crew." Mix is ready to live up to his full potential. "Two years ago, that was our first world title," Mix said when pointing at his Bellator belt. "We knocked the dude (Stots) out in a minute, and I'm a submission guy. So, it was my first knockout, and that's how I won my million dollars and my first world title. Since then, we've won two more belts, and now we're over here, so we're coming for this belt. We really want to win that UFC strap, bring a new dynamic to the division."
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'The Ultimate Fighter' can no longer intelligently defend itself
'In 2005, a groundbreaking new competition changed the landscape of television and combat sports,' a husky voice declares as soon as I hit play on the first episode of the 33rd season of "The Ultimate Fighter." 'Sixteen fighters, living together under one roof, coached by UFC superstars, all battling through a pressure cooker to earn the ultimate prize — UFC glory.' Advertisement Cue Dana White's legendary 'Do you wanna be fighter?' inquisition. Then a montage of the contestants from season one — Diego Sanchez, Chris Leben, Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonner, Josh Koscheck and Bobby Southworth. Then it's the classic finale bout from that very season, the fight that changed everything for the world's flagship MMA promotion. The rasping speech returns while Griffin and Bonner batter each other to a pulp: 'Two fighters leaving it all on the line … a fight that catapulted UFC into an era of massive popularity.' A new montage fills the screen. Conor McGregor pushes Michael Chandler in the middle of the Octagon. Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson tears a wooden door into smithereens as though it were a piece of paper. Rose Namajunas is in tears. Uriah Hall wheel kicks someone into oblivion. Advertisement The voice of the presumed combat deity returns and underlines the great conveyor belt of talent that has been forged by the franchise. 'Sixteen world champions and four Hall of Famers,' have been produced by the UFC's preeminent reality offering, it tells us. 'Get ready for a special 20th anniversary season of 'The Ultimate Fighter,'' it warns. But, after 20 years and 32 seasons, how special can the latest season of "TUF" be? 'It's a big deal, man. You can feel the importance of the 20-year anniversary,' says former two-division UFC champion, Daniel Cormier. Cormier has been pitted against another icon of the sport, Chael Sonnen, in their roles as coaches for the latest season, which kicked off Tuesday and will focus on flyweights and welterweights. Advertisement They're all assembled at the UFC APEX, a building which has undoubtedly won the ire of many UFC fans over the years but has also proved to be one of the best investments the company has made. White is there flanked by Cormier and Sonnen — and perhaps one of the greatest legends of the format, "TUF" champion and former UFC light heavyweight champion, the aforementioned Griffin is also present. What becomes obvious very quickly is that there doesn't seem to be anything particularly special or important about the latest season of "TUF." Similar to how trips to the barber and packing suitcases have become predictable elements of "UFC Embedded," the 33rd season of "TUF" offers the same ports of call as always. The fighters are evaluated. The teams are selected. The fighters sprint into the "TUF" house in an effort to get the best room. Tensions emerge between the competitors. A fight is announced. We take a deeper look at the stories of the competitors. The fighters face off. The fight happens. Another fight is announced. Lather, rinse, armbar. There is no denying the magic of the early seasons of "TUF," but the format has been in its death throes for some time. Advertisement When it first appeared on our screens, we had never seen anything like it. There had never been such unprecedented access to the combatants nor such easily accessible in-depth looks at training processes in the lead up to fights. It was new and exciting. Being a fan of MMA still felt like you were part of some kind of fringe community, like being in on the early stages of punk rock among the unwashed at New York City's fabled CBGB venue or London's 100 Club. Mixed martial arts has never been this mainstream. The same preparations and personalities are available on a multitude of social media platforms and are followed by millions upon millions. Far from its anti-establishment roots, UFC events are now attended by U.S. presidents, Oscar-winning actors, and the sport is the subject of Hollywood blockbusters. In the age of Contender Series, "TUF" doesn't even seem to be the best path to the big dance for aspiring prizefighters. The Ultimate Fighter Finale events used to nearly guarantee all contestants a second opportunity to impress the brass, but since 2018 they've essentially been done away with. Of course the format still makes business sense for the organization. As media and industry insiders continue to point to the next UFC broadcast deal potentially being spread across a multitude of platforms, "TUF" is important real estate in what many predict will be a multi-billion dollar deal. Advertisement However, if we narrow our glance and just consider "TUF" as a television show, it's gone the distance and well beyond that point. Imagine if "The Sopranos" had 33 seasons. Imagine if we were still watching Avon and Stringer fight for corners in Season 28 of "The Wire." Sometimes shows end not because they've failed — but because they've said everything they needed to say. Sometimes, the toughest fight is knowing when to hang it up. For "TUF," the final bell has long since rung.
