TUF 14 Diary: Episode 5 Recap and Analysis

If you haven’t seen the second episode of TUF 14 yet beware of spoilers below. Click here to watch the full episode for free from the official Ultimate Fighter website.

Yesterday was another episode in the bag and today is the hangover. The show was probably the most heated and controversial in recent memory that had many in the Twitter world buzzing. If you’re a TUF fan, this wasn’t an episode to miss. If you’re a purist of the sport you swore that this episode was everything that was wrong with the world’s view of Mixed Marital Arts. Below I have provided a short recap of last night’s episode, but again beware of spoilers if you haven’t caught the episode last night.

TUF 14 – Episode 4 notes:

-After the previous fight, Diego Brandao calls out Steven Siler, wanting to fight him next.

-Miller devises a plan to throw off Team Bisping by postponing the predetermined matches to one week.

-Josh Ferguson is upset that Mayhem gives Dustin Neace a cowboy hat with the letter “B” for Dustin’s nickname, “Beast” on it. Thinking this was to mock the “B” on his cowboy hat, calling Dustin a “Swagger Jacker”, Josh takes the hat and hides it.

-The prank rivalry between Dustin Neace and Akira Corassani turns ugly when Dustin accuses Arkira of taking his cowboy hat, making Neace trash Team Bisping’s room in retaliation.

-The featherweight match up was announced: Dustin Neace vs. Akira Corassani.

-During the fight announcement things heat up even more between Neace and Corassani when they get to close in their pose down, causing a scuffle on the mat with both coaching teams coming to break it up. Bisping and Miller also share some choice words with each other in the exchange.

-Akira Corassani defeated Dustin Neace via majority decision at 5:00 of round 2.

-Although referee Herb Dean didn’t stop the fight, Team Miller questions the outcome when Corassani is clearly seen tapping out while caught in Neace’s heel hook in the first round.

-Mayhem confronts team snitch John Dodson, telling him his actions caused all the drama at the fight announcements.

-Bisping is relieved that his team finally has a win over Team Miller and enjoys the victory by watching Mayhem’s car get towed from accidentally parking in a handicap space.

My two cents:

My biggest complaint about last night’s episode is it’s the exact same formula that never changes within the show. If I wasn’t covering this show for Lowkick.com, I’d probably fast forward all the drama and just watch the fights. The Ultimate Fighter is fueled off controversy and fueled off drama. This will be the show’s final season on SPIKE and then the format will be changed when it airs on FOX / FX.

I’m looking forward to seeing these upcoming changes to the show because the TUF formula in my personal opinion has been stale since 2006. The first season was ground breaking and eye opening. Prior to that we haven’t seen many inside looks inside the training of a professional Mixed Martial Artist. The show now just doesn’t seem organic anymore and it feels like Big Brother or Survivor but with up and coming fighters trying to make it on the biggest stage.

There are times when I feel like episodes like this are a part of the reason why MMA is not treated as a legitimate sport in some parts of the world. They think of MMA, they thing of hot headed jocks with no honor or respect. I know The Ultimate Fighter is not a true representation of fighters everywhere, but to the average person who doesn’t know any better it is what they think fighters are like.  

I’m not going to fully place the blame on Dustin Neace and Akira Corassani for last night’s dramatic meltdown. These fighters are placed in an environment where they are encouraged to put on a show for the camera and its viewers. Controversy sells and I’m sure this will be a big selling point for people to tune in next week.

My question to you Lowkick’ers and readers out there is would you tune into The Ultimate Fighter if there wasn’t reality show dramatics? In your own personal opinion what kind of reality show would you prefer to see related to the sport of MMA? Drop your two cents in the comment box.