The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 Premiere Recap
By Chris Leslie on January 22, 2013
The seventeenth season of The Ultimate Fighter began tonight on FX with a special two-hour episode. The revamped show looked notably different than the previous seasons, with clear production value increases and many format changes. MMAFrenzy will have full coverage of The Ultimate Fighter 17 as UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen coach fourteen middleweights vying for the title of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Tonight’s episode did not look or feel much like the shows previous iterations. Tonight’s episode often felt more like a fighter documentary, with much better editing and focus that mostly remained on the fighters. With many of the fighters families watching in attendance, one of the many changes, an explosive opening round took place that featured finishes in eight of the fourteen opening round fights.
Fight Results:
- Adam Cella def. Jake Heun via submission (armbar) Round 1
- Zak Cummings def. Nik Fekete via TKO (punches) Round 1
- Kevin Casey def. Eldon Sproat via submission (rear-naked choke) Round 1
- Tor Troeng def. Scott Rosa via submission (rear-naked choke)
- Clint Hester def. Fraser Opie via decision
- Robert “Bubba” McDaniel def. Ryan Bigler via TKO (punches) Round 2
- Josh Samman def. Lou Bercier via TKO (punches) Round 1
- Jimmy Quinlan def. Mike Persons via TKO (punches) Round 1
- Uriah Hall def. Andy Enz via decision
- Luke Barnatt def. Nicholas Kohring via decision
- Dylan Andrews def. Tim Williams via decision
- Collin Hart def. Mike Jasper via submission (rear-naked choke) Round 1
After the bouts wrapped, it was time to decide who would pick the first fighter and the first fight. Coach Chael Sonnen secured the right to pick after winning the coin toss and chose to pick the first fighter. UFC president Dana White told the fighters that they would be receiving $5,000 for each finish, with $25,000 going to the season’s best knockout, submission and fight. White also announced that the wildcard would be brought back into the mix, meaning that two fighters who lose in the next round would get a second shot at the tournament.
TUF 17 Teams:
Team Sonnen
Luke Barnatt
Uriah Hall
Zak Cummings
Tor Troeng
Jimmy Quinlan
Kevin Casey
Kelvin Gastelum
Team Jones
Clint Hester
Josh Samman
Robert “Bubba” McDaniel
Gilbert Smith
Collin Hart
Adam Cella
Dylan Andrews
Fight Selection
After the picks were settled, Team Jones was shown laying out who they felt they matched up best with. Fighter Josh Samman seemed to be taking charge of the team, and stated that he wanted to fight first. Coach Jones decided that while he liked the idea, that he wanted to knock off Team Sonnen’s first pick, Englishman Luke Barnatt, with the smaller but powerful Gilbert Smith. With that, the first fight was set and will air next week on The Ultimate Fighter 17.
Latest
Best Ultimate Fighter opener EVER!! The way they were up close and personal with the fighters…camera work….quick glimps of certain fights. Loved it! Not to mention the guys this year look hungry and ready to handle business.
This looks like it can be a great season but I wasn’t a fan of them getting personal it just took time away from the fights. Idk what it was also with the camera work it just didn’t seem right to me. I am happy the wild card is back.
What was the deal with everyone’s eyes being black & white? Looked really weird.
I agree this was the best season opener in a long time if not the best! As for the camera work, I liked this as well it made the show different and it was something fresh/unique. The in depth look on the fighters were great!
So who is the fighter Dana White was saying everyone in the house is terrified of? I thought he put four people in a row in hospital?
I’m thinking either Hester or Urijah Hall.
Id rule out Uriah, he came across as a nice guy speaking to his opponents family. Gotta be Hester for my money.
some dude that looked like a axe murderer. some dude from nz gave him a whack and ended up beating him in a decision
the weird camera angles kept throwing me off and I couldn’t really concentrate on the fights that well. They switched cameras and camera angles wayyyy too much for me. Also they kept focusing in way too much, almost every shot. Maybe they’re trying to be different or funky, but when they’re fighting, the camera work should be kept real simple to make it easier for the viewer to follow the action…
As for the coaches, I can’t really stand either guy’s personalities and both I see as “snaky”. Sonnen obviously more then Jones, they just seem more like used car salesman types rather then sincere down to earth people…
As for the fighters all look good and should be some great fights, I thought Clint Hester looked real promising.
I’ve heard that the camera angles in the fights is only for the debut. One of the number one issues of the past TUFs is that no one could remember the fighters and that audiences couldn’t connect with fighters enough to tune in unless there was some stupid drama. So FX was trying to put the fighters themselves front and center.
I did like them showing the fighters’ stories before they fought and having their families there was pretty cool. It probably added alot of emotions and desperation for the fighters to perform well infront of their supporters but probably alot of pressure as well. And I do already find myself rooting for certain guys based on their stories. I’m looking forward to this season only cause of the fighters not the coaches.