The UFC’s popular reality series The Ultimate Fighter will put an end to its live format after just one season, UFC president Dana White told Yahoo! Sports Tuesday.
This past season the episodes featured a mix of taped footage and live fights, but the live format led to some episodes running long and there was a perceived inability to develop storylines as well as in past seasons.
Instead, the show will go back to a pre-taped version just like the 14 seasons prior to TUF Live.
Ratings were down compared to previous seasons too, but the show still put up impressive numbers considering it aired on Friday nights, which is historically a tough night for TV ratings.
The show was also on a new channel in the U.S., moving from Spike TV to FX under the multi-year deal with the FOX network. (North of the border, it aired live on FX Canada and taped delayed on Sportsnet). White said that if the next season isn’t up to the standards he expects, FOX television executives promised him the show could move to a Tuesday or Wednesday timeslot.
The next season of TUF is scheduled to air in the fall and will feature welterweights (170-pound fighters). The coaches — who will fight one another at a later date, barring injury, like in past seasons — have yet to be determined.
