Wednesday night, the first episode of The Ultimate Fighter Season 20 hit the air. After the end of the nineteenth season, it was abundantly clear that the show had hit a low point. The format was tired. The fights were some of the worst ever. The show had lot all meaning. It was a situation that had been brewing as early as the fifteenth season or so; arguably even the twelfth. Season sixteen was perhaps the lowest point, featuring the first Ultimate Fighter champion (Colton Smith) to wash out of the UFC without picking up a single win outside of winning the reality series. While his is an extreme case, recent champion (with the exception of T.J. Dillashaw) haven't fared much better. The solution? The UFC, aware that women's MMA is surging thanks to the popularity of Ronda Rousey, opted to create a strawweight division for the ladies, and bought the contracts of 11 Invicta fighters (plus associated fight footage). Eight of those will appear on TUF 20, as well as eight fighters who auditioned for the show (the other three Invicta alums have gone/will go direct to the UFC and not take part in the TUF tournament). That's cool and all, but the big news is that a champion will be crowned at the end of the season - making The Ultimate Fighter mean something for the first time in ages. The awarding of a belt is a huge feather in the show's cap, even if it's in the a new, unproven division. Women's bouts often steal the show at MMA events, and Dana White has long since admitted how wrong he was when he said women would never fight in the UFC several years ago. With the first episode having aired, lets take a look at nine things we learned from it.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
