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Ex-Buccaneer Marcus Jones makes the TUF 10 cast

Photo by ASTRID BIDANEC

Marcus Jones defeats Eddie Boza at the RFC event Bad Blood in November 2007.

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By ASTRID BIDANEC

Student correspondent

Published: July 18, 2009

The next season of "The Ultimate Fighter" on Spike TV holds a special treat for mixed martial arts fans in Tampa: former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Marcus Jones.

Jones will compete with 15 other MMA fighters in the octagon for a much-coveted UFC contract. The show will premiere Sept. 16.

"I love MMA and don't miss playing football at all," Jones said at the recent UFC Fan Expo in Las Vegas. "Being on TUF is an exciting opportunity and I am very grateful for it,"

After six years of playing professional football for the Bucs, Jones retired in 2006. He then made his successful debut as a professional MMA fighter with an impressive technical knockout win over Will Mora in the very first round at Cage Wars 5 hosted by Tampa's World Fighting Championship, at the Florida State Fairgrounds.

In five fights, all in Tampa, Jones has a 4-1 record. Being on "TUF" will rob Jones of his home turf advantage which he has enjoyed in his MMA career so far, but his fighting experience should serve him well on the popular reality show that made former UFC fighter Matt Arroyo famous. Arroyo now owns the quickly growing MMA school, Gracie Tampa South, on Howard Ave.

"Everyone knows who I am ever since I was on TUF 6 in 2007. Then I started fighting for the UFC after the show ended," Arroyo said. "The exposure has helped me build a successful school and help other fighters go pro."

At the UFC Fan Expo, MMA fans also got to meet UFC and World Extreme Cagefighting fighters such as Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Cheik Kongo, Urijah Faber, Miguel Torres, Jens Pulver, and many others. The expo was swarming with people who had travelled from all over the United State to celebrate the 100th UFC event and 15 years of MMA in America.

The next crop of female and male MMA fighters tested their skills at the first-ever UFC amateur grappling tournament. Professional fighters like Faber, Wanderlei Silva, Kru Mark DellaGrotte, Rumina Sato, and Eddie Bravo held seminars on fighting techniques.

As final round up of the expo's amateur component, fighters competed in the Grappler's Quest Superfights.

Clearly, though MMA is big business.

Dedicated MMA fans endured long lines for picture opportunities with their favorite fighters and a signed piece of memorabilia. They also tried every trick in the book to get into the packed Mandalay Bay Events Center during the weigh-in for the UFC 100.

The UFC 100 fight card at Mandalay Bay sold out in less than 24 hours, with ticket prices ranging from $100-$1,000. Even tickets for a closed circuit broadcast at The Mandalay Beach cost $50 per person. That's in addition to the $44.95 cost for pay-per-view and an online stream going for the "bargain rate of $42.

As much as the UFC Fan Expo was a celebration of MMA -- including the UFC Hall of Fame inductions of MMA legend Chuck Liddell and late TapOut founder Charles Lewis -- the UFC 100 fight card was far from spectacular. With six out of eleven fights going to the judges' score cards, the audience didn't get all the action, knockouts and submissions fans hoped for.

Only Dan Henderson scored an impressive knockout, taking down Michael Bisping midway through the second round.

Former pro wrestler Brock Lesnar brought some of his wrestling antics into the UFC octagon, refusing to touch gloves with Frank Mir at the beginning of their fight and then unleashing a load of verbal abuse at Mir after scoring a second-round TKO.

Flipping off the audience repeatedly at the end of the match did not help Lesnar in the popularity department, either, and evoked the sort of WWE theatrics MMA typically tries to distance itself from.

Even UFC president Dana White, himself a little rough around the edges, said he was shocked and repulsed by Lesnar's behavior.

If Jones wins a UFC contract during TUF 10, perhaps he will one day teach Lesnar the respect and manners usually associated with the martial arts.

The TUF 10 cast also includes:
1. Zak Jensen – standout wrestler at Augsburg College
2. Scott Junk – Division II All-American football player at Southwest Oklahoma State and fought in UFC 76.
3. James McSweeney – former international kickboxing and Muay Thai champion
4. John Madsen – defeated Brock Lesnar in a high school wrestling match
5. Matt Mitrione - played for New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings
6. Roy Nelson – former IFL Heavyweight Champion
7. Demico Rogers – high school football and wrestling star
8. Brendan Schaub – played for Buffalo Bills and Arena Football's Utah Blaze
9. Darrill Schoonover – decorated Army veteran
10. Wes Shivers – former member of the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons
11. Wes Sims - fought two heated battles with former UFC champ Frank Mir at UFC 43 and UFC 46
12. Kimbo Slice – former EliteXC heavyweight contender and YouTube sensation
13. Abe Wagner – played linebacker at Michigan Tech and has a degree in mechanical engineering
14. Mike Wessel – UFC veteran and former strength and conditioning coach at University of Arkansas
15. Justin Wren – All-American high school wrestler

Editor's note: Astrid is a graduate student in the multimedia journalism program at the University of South Florida. Working in conjunction with members of TBO.com and The Tampa Tribune, this collection of multimedia elements and articles represents the final project associated with her master's thesis.

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