Source: MMA Junkie

Yesterday Dana White revealed the TUF coaches for UK vs Australia after the UFC on Fuel TV 4 card. Ross Pearson and George Sotiropoulos were named as the coaches and will fight at the end of the season. I was ok with the choices because they will put on a good fight and represent their countries well. The problem is Pearson is coming off of a loss and Sotiropoulos just lost two in row so the showdown between them means nothing.

Additionally, they don’t have much name recognition in the US. Besides hardcore MMA fans, no one would even recognize them. Still, I was ok with the selection. But today’s announcement by White that Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin will be coaching TUF 16 blew me away–in a bad way. When White said he wouldn’t be choosing Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin because their season ending fight wouldn’t matter, I had high expectations for who White would be picking.

Nelson and Carwin? Those guys are irrelevant in the heavyweight division. Nelson was recently beat down by Fabricio Werdum, Frank Mir, and JDS. Carwin hasn’t done that well either losing to Lesnar and JDS. How are these guys better picks than Bonnar and Griffin? At least Bonnar and Griffin have good personalities and could make the show entertaining. Alright, alright, Nelson is decent. Sometimes he is funny. But Carwin is totally boring. The guy is an engineer!

I don’t know what the deciding factor was for choosing Nelson and Carwin over Bonnar and Griffin but I think its a mistake. TUF is at such a crucial turning point in its history right now. The show is tanking, plain and simple. Its boring. I blame the Friday time slot for the lower ratings this past season more than anything. Having Bonnar and Griffin could revitalize the show while they are in the twilight of their MMA careers. What better place for them to make an impact than the place where they both started?

Time will tell if the decision was a colossal failure. I am leaning towards the death of TUF if it is. White seems to be optimistic. I will reserve my judgement for now and give Nelson and Carwin a chance. But I know one thing is for sure, no matter how successful TUF 16 will be, it wouldn’t have been nearly as entertaining than if Bonnar and Griffin were the coaches.