TUF 16: Boring Season Comes to a Boring End
Saturday night in Las Vegas, Colton Smith was crowned The Ultimate Fighter 16 winner with a slow, grinding unanimous decision win over Mike Ricci in the TUF 16 Finale co-main event. Smith dominated the fight with his wrestling to win the six figure contract but the bout pretty much summed up the 16th season of The Ultimate Fighter in just 15 minutes.
TUF 16 stated out quickly as the elimination round to get into the house saw exciting finishes in 11 of the 16 bouts, many of which were in the first round. Despite UFC President Dana White telling the 16 welterweights about to enter the house to leave it all in the Octagon, the remaining 14 fights that brought us to the finals only produced two finishes.
The lackluster season and unhappiness by Dana White was crystal clear when only the two finalists appeared on the TUF 16 Finale fight card. Traditionally the finales of The Ultimate Fighter have been reserved for those fighters from the show who impressed but with exciting moments few and far between no one got the call back. Yesterday the UFC reportedly released 12 of the 16 fighters from this season, leaving finalist Colton Smith and Mike Ricci, along with semifinalist Jon Manley and Neil Magney as the only survivors. Manley and Magney will fight each other early next year at UFC 157.
TUF 16 produced more mind twisting majority decision then it did finishes and was a season that will easily be forgotten. Congratulation to Team Nelson fighter Colton Smith for winning and the three other’s for surviving the axe. Take what you’ve learned during your time on the show to become a better fighter moving forward and make everyone remember who you are.
Following TUF 16 the Ultimate Fighter reality show will be back in January with The Ultimate Fighter 17: Team Jones vs Team Sonnen.
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Category: Featured, MMA, Opinion, UFC, Ultimate Fighter
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