Dillashaw's Win Proves...

See the thing with the UFC is fights are so crazy anyone can win on a given night. Take Hendricks for example. He is the champ, and rightly so. I am a huge fan. If Hendricks' next 7 fights were starting from bottom tier welterweight all the way through top tier like a newcomer, he has a pretty big chance of losing to one guy or another along the way, even though he's champ.

Think of a fighter that was just debuting in the UFC. They have those 6-7 wins before earning a title shot. The odds of beating that many fighters in a row are very slim for most people because the ball doesn't always bounce your way, but in fact I bet there are people at bottom-mid tier of welterweight who could beat the champion in their weight class by style matchup if thrown into a title fight but may never win enough fights in a row to earn it.

What I'm trying to say is the ranking system in mma can be ineffective. You could have a champ who murders the top 10 but would lose to a #15 guy purely based on style. The guys who win consistently enough to get a title shot aren't always the most dangerous fights for the champ.
 
So for years now people have been saying that TUF doesn't produce quality fighters anymore. Now that TJ Dillashaw has beaten Renan Barao (in dominant fashion) does that prove that notion wrong?

No TUF castmate since season 5 had fought for a title until Dodson fought Mighty Mouse and now Dillashaw has become only the fourth TUF member (and the first non-winner) to capture the belt. Does this have more to do with Dodson and Dillashaw being head and shoulders above the other castmates from seasons 6-now? Or is it just about the lower weightclasses being shallow? Or do you consider TJ's win a fluke thanks to the big shot he landed in the first round?

So does it prove that TUF is still worth it? Or does it not prove anything in relation to TUF?



1401153706000-TJ-Dillshaw-and-UFC-Belt.jpg

Here's a pretty picture since I know we all have short attention spans.

What this proves is that TUF is the starting ground. You never know what each fighter will become. Great fighters, I mean like top 5, is like winning the lottery. It has allot to do with being gifted, something innate, or inborn.

I will be honest, I never thought much about T.J. What I remember, is that he had wrestling and when watching him, didn't think much. However, this fight now makes me think...what did I miss? Has he always fought like this? How did I not see his potential before? .....thats the thing though, T.J. kept getting better because he is gifted. Now everyone will know who T.J. is from here on out. Think of Chris Weidman, he couldn't finish Demian Mia, after that fight, I thought Chris would be top 8 maybe 5...if he gets the belt it will be a boring fight. Boy was I wrong....

Thats it, TUF, just produces fighters that generally the same, however, the gifted ones go unnoticed and under the radar until...boom, they do what T.J. did...now, I am thinking, this guy is only going to get better. Sky is the limit.

So IMO, TUF, is just an avenue, a great avenue, in producing possible amazing fighters. However, don't be fooled if they are great in TUF, that it translates to UFC...this is one lesson I have learned that never transcends. Its really just a test of will power, to see, if these guys want to become UFC fighters...like the boot camp is to the military. Once in the UFC, that is where things flower out and we really know who is who though. However, a good start in TUF is always a plus.
 
Plenty of great fighters have come out of the TUF shows

Listen, not every figher on TUF will become successful but the show has produced plenty of relevant fighters across many divisions.

T.J Dillashaw (BW champ)
Griffen (LHW champ),
Bonner,
Diego,
Koschek,
Florian
Rashad (LHW champ)
Matt serra (WW Champ and yea he was a UFC fighter b4 he went on the come back fighters season)
Bisping
Ryan Bader
Nate Diaz
Maynard
Joe Lauzon,
Chris Leben,
Melvin Guillard,
Chris Lytle,
Roy Nelson,
John Dodson,
George Sotiropoulos,
Keith Jardine,
Matt hamil
Matt brown
Krzysztof Soszynski
Brendan Schaub
Nam Phan
Uriah Hall


I am sure I am missing some more.
 
So IMO, TUF, is just an avenue, a great avenue, in producing possible amazing fighters. However, don't be fooled if they are great in TUF, that it translates to UFC...this is one lesson I have learned that never transcends.

Lol Uriah Hall ftl
 
I have to admit TJ Dillashaw really surprised me. During his time on TUF I saw him as mediocre. But I think that is part of it. TUF is just getting your foot in the door. From there fighters can grow and evolve.

I think TUF is great for producing champions. It just takes some time and no it's not always going to work every time. But think about it. It also gives up and coming fighters exposure and helps them have the resources to excel. Not to mention networking. You usually have world class coaches and many times your teammates end up going places within the organization so you have future contacts and training partners.
 
Let's be real, here, a 12 week "training camp" isn't turning a can into a contender. Especially when the focus is on personalities and fake drama instead of actual training.

All the fighters on TUF worth anything were already solid prospects before they walked through the door. If anything, it's an indictment of the UFC scouting system in that most of these guys weren't already in the UFC to begin with.
 
It's unrealistic to judge TUF by the # of champions it produces. Only 2% of the fighters on the entire roster are the champion, so judging it by how many champions it produces is an unreasonably high measuring stick. Even still, 4 champions coming out of TUF, IMO is impressive, considering how few people ever hold a belt.
A better metric would how many successful careers does it launch, i.e. guys with plus winning %'s, longevity, etc. To that end, I'd think it TUF is acutally doing very well.
 
It's unrealistic to judge TUF by the # of champions it produces. Only 2% of the fighters on the entire roster are the champion, so judging it by how many champions it produces is an unreasonably high measuring stick. Even still, 4 champions coming out of TUF, IMO is impressive, considering how few people ever hold a belt.
A better metric would how many successful careers does it launch, i.e. guys with plus winning %'s, longevity, etc. To that end, I'd think it TUF is acutally doing very well.

Well this is definitely part of it too, although I didn't draw attention to it in the OP. Most people have judged recent seasons of TUF on the fact that they haven't produced any "top" talent (champions, title challengers) in a long time except for Dodson and TJ. However, recent seasons have produced a lot of mid-top tier fighters, unlike some of the middle seasons which gave us a lot of fighters (even TUF winners) who were, in all reality, quite bad (Escudero, Wilks, etc.).


A lot of people were saying that it was because of a dried up talent pool or bad scouting or whatever, but since recent seasons have seen some really solid fighters coming out of the house I'm wondering how people would try to argue that TUF is useless and produces nothing but shit.
 
Am I the only one that thinks that TAM+Bang made TJ not TUF?

Imo TUF is just a reality show it isnt supposed to create champions, its job is to get audiences ( and it fails )

Bascically this. Promote fighters, create fans, sell more PPV's.
 
All it proves to me is that GSP and Silva's title defense records are way more impressive than people give them credit for.
 
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