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Former Buccaneer Marcus Jones TUFs it out on Spike TV

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The reality show will showcase 16 of the best unsigned heavyweight mixed martial arts fighters in the world.

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By EDDIE DANIELS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 15, 2009

When you stand 6-feet-6-inches, weight about 265 pounds and you've made a six-year living in the National Football League as a defensive end, intimidation doesn't come easy.

When former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Marcus Jones entered the Las Vegas house of The Ultimate Fighter earlier this year, intimidation was alive and well.

Jones, who will be featured on Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike TV beginning tonight (Wednesday, Sept. 16) at 10 p.m., joins the show's first ever cast of heavyweights. There are 16 competitors in all.

That list includes YouTube star and former Elite XC fighter Kimbo Slice; James McSweeney, a former international kickboxing and Muay Thai champion; former IFL heavyweight champion Roy Nelson; and John Madsen, who beat UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesner during a high school wrestling match. There are also former UFC fighters Scott Junk, Wes Sims and Mike Wessel.

"It was really intimidating, first of all, going into that house knowing the potential of everybody," Jones said. "Everybody carried a background going in there from something. There were two or three guys who really didn't have background in any specific fight or combat spot. A lot of guys had high school or college wrestling and all that stuff adds up. Me, I didn't have a background of anything.

"Literally, the day I went to Gracie Tampa (March 2007) was the day I started training in MMA. So it's really intimidating when you go into the room and you see a kickboxing champ, an IFL champ, Greco-Roman national champ, Division II wrestling champ, Victory Fighting champ. When you see all of these guys who have belts, and you walk into a room like that, you instantly say to yourself, 'Man, do I deserve to be here?' 'What am I doing when some of these guys are decorated already?'"

At the same time, he said, it will make name recognition a lot easier.

The group will be trained by "Sugar" Rashad Evans and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. The 16 will be split into two groups, one trained Evans and the other trained by Jackson. The final two heavyweights will square of live on December 5 on Spike TV on the show's finale. The winner will earn the title of "The Ultimate Fighter" and more importantly, gain a six-figure fight contract with the UFC.

Jones joins a growing list of Gracie Tampa fighters who have spent time on previous seasons of The Ultimate Fighter. Matt Arroyo (Season 6), Allen Berube (Season 5), Shane Primm (Season 8) and Brandon Sene (Season 7) are all alumni of the show.

Since making his debut in October 2007, Jones has tallied a 4-1 record. His participation in TUF has revealed several things he has taken to heart. The first is the training aspect.

"I think the training aspect of it was really great and just being able and willing to fight at any given moment," he said. "I mean, you have 16 heavyweights and anything could happen at any given moment. So you have to be ready to fight at that moment."

So was he foreshadowing the goings-on inside a house of 16 heavyweight competitors?

"Any time you have 16 guys or 16 people in general, there's going to be guys you don't get along with," Jones admitted. "That's a given. So it was biding your time, trying to make the most out of whatever opportunity you had."

The opportunity for the public to see what took place begins at 10 tonight on Spike TV.

Throughout Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter, Marcus Jones will blog about his experiences on TBO.com.

Reporter Eddie Daniels can be reached at (813) 259-7066.

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