If you watched the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter you might have formed a negative impression of UFC champ Ronda Rousey and alternatively you may have found yourself more of a Miesha Tate fan.
That’s TV folks and producers and directors can be a sneaky bunch and even more so in reality TV. They recognise that you need a villain and a good guy to make viewing more enticing and to help get more people talk about the show.
Having talked to a number of former TUF competitors about what happens in the house a number have told me that sometimes things get twisted in order to make viewing more compelling and to make some things controversial. It’s all understandable, how fun would TV be when you have a nice guy complementing another guy and then being friends and having friendly conversations….not much fun I can tell you that!
In a recent interview, with MMA Heat’s Karyn Bryant, Rousey addressed the issue that she was made the ‘bad guy’ and used a very clever analogy (spoilers for The Dark Night follow).
Rousey said,”If you saw the Batman where he had to make Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent/Two Face) look the good guy and then himself look like the bad guy because that is what Gotham City needed. Ya know, the women’s division is Gotham City and I am Batman and Miesha is Scarface (but means Two Face).”
Apart from the obvious blunder that Rousey got Tony Montana (Scarface) mixed-up with Harvey Dent (Two Face), this is quite a good and fun analogy that describes the whole TUF situation that Rousey has found herself in. In the movie The Dark Night, Harvey Dent is Gotham’s District Attorney and has proven himself as one of the top defences against law breakers. However, he turns into Two Face and goes on a killing rampage getting revenge later in the movie. Batman eventually kills him but decides to take on the burden of Two Face’s killing spree in order to keep the perception of Harvey Dent’s character in place to give Gotham City hope of a bright future.
Descriping herself as Batman and saying that she took on the burden of being the villain during the show in order for Miesha Tate to become the good guy for people to cheer for. All this means that had you seen the full picture and if all had been included in the broadcast, Rousey might not have been viewed the villain. But what fun would that have been?
Rousey v Tate II takes place this Saturday, December 28th at UFC 168 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Who will you cheer for, Batman or Two Face?