International Fight Week typically kicks off with a finale of The Ultimate Fighter, but this Friday’s could be the final iteration. The 27th season -- 27! -- has come to a close, and “Ultimate Fighters” will be crowned at featherweight and lightweight. With the Ultimate Fighting Championship moving to ESPN in 2019, the future of the show is in doubt. No formal announcement has been made about whether the new network will pick it up. Let us hope not.
The consensus among most fans and pundits has long been that the show is outdated and outmoded, a relic of a different time in both entertainment consumption and MMA, the UFC in particular.