Spike TV’s hit show, “The Ultimate Fighter,” is a strange phenomenon. Loved by some, hated by many, the birth of TUF was an interesting dichotomy of ideas. Take a mostly underground sport with a bevy of diehard über-fans supporting it, and toss it headfirst into the public eye through the most pop-culture of mediums: the reality show. Almost single handedly the reason for the UFC’s mainstream success, TUF was originally a beacon of hope for the folks at Zuffa. In the most recent seasons, that shining ray of light has dimmed somewhat. Gone were the ridiculous drunken antics of Chris Leben, and explosive finales akin to Forrest Griffin versus Stephan Bonnar I. Hardcore MMA fans have been spearing the show with harsh criticism, some wishing that the show had never been birthed in the first place. Thankfully for Zuffa, Spike TV, and UFC fans young and old, The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 is poised to reclaim its former title of the best reality show on television.

Let’s get one thing straight about this season of the Ultimate Fighter: its fucking nuts. The vast majority of fighters in the house seem certifiably insane. A montage of clips in the beginning shows people setting things on fire, random acts of violence (outside of the cage that is), and general scenes of anarchy and disarray within the house. From the very beginning fighters from both teams are stirring things up, making enemies instead of friends, and most importantly adding that ever important reality show ingredient: Drama. More on that later. This season we’ve got former UFC Welterweight Champ BJ Penn and former UFC Lightweight Champ Jens “Lil’ Evil” Pulver as the coaches. BJ is trying to get inside Pulver’s head from the very beginning, and it looks like Penn is going to be the star of the show. Rivalry is a word that is thrown around a lot in fight sports, but you can tell that these two really dislike each other. That’s great for the UFC, because for the first time ever the two TUF coaches will fight each other on the season finale.

The premier episode starts off simply enough, with this season’s new crop of talent arriving at a new and improved house. Within (what we at home perceive as) seconds of entering the house, words are exchanged between fighters and the proverbial shit is already being slung. Immediately Gabe Ruediger emerges as one of the stronger personalities, as well as 6’4” high tower Corey Hill. Nate Diaz also looks like he’ll be adding some fuel to the fire, as his demeanor looks to be just as rough as that of his brother. The guys get to the gym for evaluation, and Jens gets to work over the fighters first. The mind games begin as Pulver works the fighters hard. So intense, in fact, that when BJ arrives for his evaluation the fighters are already too tired to train hard. This confuses BJ as he tries to figure out if Pulver did this purposefully so that it would be hard to tell which fighters were the best picks.

Later on at “the draft,” Pulver wins the coin toss. Jens gains the option to choose the first fighter, or to choose who fights first. He opts for the latter, granting BJ Penn the pick of the Pit-bull litter. Now here’s where things get weird. Instead of picking a fighter for his team, BJ asks the guys to raise their hand if they want to be on his team. Ten of the sixteen fighters raise their hands and Lil’ Evil is visibly annoyed. Penn and Pulver agree that all ten of those fighters whom raised their hands should just go to Penn’s team. Dana White has other plans, and demands that each man choose one guy, back and forth like any other season. After a little “discussion” involving Dana’s typical overuse of the F-bomb, the teams are picked and lines are drawn. The van ride home is punctuated by a lot of trash talking, mostly from the giant Corey Hill. The situation is exacerbated at the house when Hill gets in Ruediger’s face, expounding his general dislike for his fellow competitor. Corey is really pumped up, but Gabe just thinks its silly.

Apparently Gabe “Godzilla” Ruediger has been rampaging through the refrigerator, because he is “severely” overweight at 175lbs. It’s funny that a guy who’s “overweight” at 175lbs can still beat the seven shades of shit out of you. Pulver’s fighters mull over Gabe’s little problem, trying to decide whether to exploit the weakness. This begins to get under Ruediger’s skin, and he has an emotional breakdown at practice. Gabe increases his weight by two pounds in two days despite his efforts at training and dieting. After practice Gabe cries in the van, and his teammates make fun of him. Robert Emmerson evens goes as far as calling Gabe a bitch, and remarking that he thought “Gabe was cooler than that.” Well good thing for Gabe that Pulver’s team decided on a different fighter: the “Monstah” Alan Berube (Penn), who will take on Cole Miller (Pulver). Preparations are made, and Miller comments that he wants to send home the guys who aren’t serious about fighting. He couldn’t have chosen a better opponent, because Berube self admittedly doesn’t view himself as a professional fighter. He says that the reason he started fighting locally was to get some advertising for his restaurant. Whatever the motivation, these two are about to step into the cage, and we get a little taste of what this season’s combat will be like.

Round one begins and both men tentatively circle for a good while. BJ screams for Monstah to “be first,” and Alan responds by tagging Miller with some good jabs. Alan shoots for a takedown, but gets caught in a guillotine choke by Miller. Berube manages to escape, but Miller works his guard and delivers some light strikes and sub attempts. Berube’s inexperience on the ground shows, and Miller locks in a tight triangle choke. The Monstah tries to escape, but Miller hooks the leg and squeezes tight, forcing the tap 2:33 into round 1. Post fight BJ seems oddly content with Berube’s performance, despite the loss. Maybe the Hawaiian is too laid back? Only time will tell. Even though the fight was a bit of a let down, this season of the Ultimate Fighter definitely has a lot going for it. Once again, we’ll just have to wait and see how things turn out, because it’s far too early to tell exactly how good this season will be.