Season 7 features middleweights (185 pounders), and instead of 16 fighters, they are doubling it with 32. The April 2 and April 9 shows will feature highlights of 16 first-round fights, with the winners going into the fighters house. “I was blown away by the level of professionalism,” said Griffin, about the series which just ended filming last week. “They knew they were there to fight and learn. Nobody had problems making weight.” The four semifinalists on the show ended up fighting four times in six weeks, so the idea was not just to win, but win with minimal damage. “It was real tough,” said Griffin, who like Jackson, had never been a coach of fighters before, let alone fighters he didn’t personally know.
“You had to end the fight the first chance you got. I’d tell them, ‘Just go out and knock the other guy out and we’ll put your hand in ice and you’ll be fine in a few days.’”
“The new format will give us two incredibly intense episodes to launch the season and will weed out some of the guys who might not have the heart and desire that it takes to become a UFC fighter,” said White.
More than any season to date, the 32 names are largely unknowns, with nobody even at Danzig’s experience level. “A lot of guys came from good camps and were at a good level,” said Griffin, who estimated five or six of the 16 who made the house would survive on the UFC roster. “There wasn’t anybody I would call a standout. The show did a good job of evenly matching the fighters but there’s nobody who is going to upset Anderson Silva.”
Paul Bradley (5-0 in small shows) is known to only the most ardent fans. Steve Byrnes fought once in UFC, losing to Logan Clark on December 13, 2006. Mike Dolce went 0-3 last season with the International Fight League. Gerald Harris, 6-2, with both losses last season in the IFL, is a genuine prospect with real wrestling ability. Dante Rivera, 10-2, also fought last year with the IFL.
Before the final week of the season, White said there was one fighter whom he thought was going to come out as a genuine star from the season, but he still had to win one more match to get into the finals.
The other 27 names starting out are David Baggett (4-2), Matt Brown (4-2), Erik Charles (0-0), John Clarke (5-2), Daniel Cramer (0-0), Tim Credeur (9-2), Clarence Dollaway (0-0), John Hall (3-3), Nick Klein (3-0), David Mewborn (0-0), Mike Marrello (7-1-1), Jeremy May (5-5), Prince LaDonas Mclean (4-5), Aaron Meisner (2-0), Reggie Orr (4-5-1), Matthew Riddle (0-0), Jeremiah Riggs (1-0), David Roberts (5-7), Nick Rossborough (0-0), Amir Sadollah (0-0), Patrick Schultz (0-3), Brandon Sene (2-0), Dan Simmler (0-0), Jesse Taylor (6-2), Cale Yarbrough (0-0), John Wood (6-3) and Luke Zachrich (7-1). Records are courtesy Sherdog.com’s Fight Finder.
Dave Metzler
