Can The Ultimate Fighter 21: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians save TUF francise?

The UFC flagship reality TV show The Ultimate Fighter, aka TUF, comes back on air on FOX Sports 1 on Wed April 22.

Following a steady decline in interest from fans in the past seasons the UFC has revamped the format. Last season the UFC introduced a new women's division through the reality TV show with a championship bout for the finalists. That attempt at revitalizing the show fell short. Was it too soon to have a show exclusively with women fighters? Maybe. The lack of drama between the coaches for sure didn't help either.

This season will feature 2 rival gyms, American Top Team (ATT) and the Blackzilians, both are based in Florida. The winning gym will be awarded $500,000 based on wins from their respective fighters. It's no secret in the MMA world that these two gyms hate each other. The Blackzilians Team was created from defectors from ATT and is located only 10 miles away. So drama will surely be abundant. Especially with Rashad Evans being in the middle of mix, it's hard to forget his epic vocal battles with Rampage on the TUF Heavyweights season.

My biggest problem with the show has been the lack of talent with many of the contestants. We can play "Where are they now?" with most of them and have no idea what happened to them, finalists included. Many of the guys fight at a weight class that they're not used to fighting in just to make the show.

With that said, I am excited for this season of TUF. The 2 main reasons are because of the drama between the teams and the high level of training these fighters get on a daily basis. The contestants train with high level fighters such as UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler (ATT), Tyron Woodley (ATT), Vitor Belfor (Blackzilians), Anthony Johnson (Blackzilians) & Rashad Evans (Blackzilians).

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