Top 5 Reasons Why I'm Already Looking Forward To "The Ultimate Fighter" Season 13

The story is only a few hours old and already it’s swept the internet: Junior dos Santos and Brock Lesnar will coach opposite one another on the thirteenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”. Many fans are looking past the season entirely and focusing on the inevitable clash of the two coaches. But me? While I definitely have a lot to say regarding Lesnar/JDS (read all about it here), I’m also really looking forward to the next season of TUF. And why is that, exactly? Here are five reasons why I’m already looking forward to “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 13.

5. I always look forward to another season of TUF.

This one is the most simplest and applies to basically every season of TUF I’ve ever watched, so it definitely makes this list but it does rank the lowest. In general, I’m always excited for another season of TUF. I really can’t remember a season I outright hated, some of the seasons weren’t as good as others, some had stupid drama or bad fight quality, but all in all, I’ve enjoyed TUF for a long, long time now. Unless some utterly drastic and incredibly negative changes are implemented, I just don’t see myself wavering from that stance.

4. It’ll certainly be interesting to see how “Cigano” and company overcome the language barrier.

Please don’t mistake this for some xenophobic statement. But I do honestly wonder how JDS is going to coach a team considering that he can barely speak English. There’s a chance that something will inevitably get lost in translation, there’s even a chance that JDS will only play a small role as a coach and rely mostly on his training staff and translator. Will his team be able to win and win consistently given that unique hurdle? It certainly sounds like it could make for some interesting television.

3. We’ll get a chance to see a side of Brock Lesnar none of us have ever really seen before.

A vast majority of us, including myself, only know Brock Lesnar as the former pro wrestler that became a huge UFC star. We only know the Lesnar that snarls, spits out his mouth piece, and pounds people’s faces in. In his more-recent fights, we’ve also gotten to know a different side of Lesnar, a more humble, soft-spoken side. One of the best things about reality TV is that we’ll be able to get a real, honest look into a person’s life, and when it comes to Brock Lesnar, we’ve really never been given that kind of all-inclusive peek behind the curtain. And that’s a huge reason to tune in.

2. It’s a welterweight-only season.

Do lighter-weight fighters put on more entertaining fights? They do if they’re on “The Ultimate Fighter”. I hate to keep bringing this up, but time and time again I’m forced to recall the atrocious all-Heavyweight tenth season of TUF, which gave us some of the worst fights in TUF history. I’m glad that TUF continues to focus on the smaller weight classes, because I think a cast of hopefuls shine brightest when they have the right mix of strength, speed, agility, punching power, and cardio. As a fan of lighter-weight fighters, an all-welterweight season is a big reason for me to tune in.

And the #1 reason I’m looking forward to the thirteenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter” is…

1. There’s probably going to be a whole lot of drama this season.

When I think of the UFC putting Brock Lesnar into a prominent role on a show like TUF, I think of somebody tossing a live grenade into a pile of other live grenades. In short: Lesnar’s going to add fuel to a lot of fires, and there should be some great drama this season. How will Lesnar react to this season’s bad boy? Will any TUF hopeful try to make a name for themselves by calling out Lesnar now that he’s coming off of a loss? It’s inevitable that the coaches will engage in a bit of a rivalry, so that should be well worth watching as well. As a whole, there just seems to be too much potential drama to pass up this season of TUF.

So, that’s what I think, fans and friends. What about you? Are you already excited for TUF Season 13?