The Ultimate Fatso

I've become a big fan of MMA. For the uninitiated, that's mixed martial arts. It takes various forms on television as Pride Fighting, BoDog MMA, or the more visible version that's fought in an octagon cage, Ultimate Fighting.

Ultimate Fighting has been helped into prominence by a reality show run continuously on Spike TV called, aptly, The Ultimate Fighter. They take a handful of fighters, have them live together, train them, and them fight an elimination tournament. It's all fairly intriguing.

Like other reality shows, the people forced to live together don't always get along. But what differentiates itself from those shows is that you don't have a bunch of whining melodramatic drama queens screaming at each other. When people on this show don't get along then just go to the ring and beat the piss out of each other. That really eliminates a good portion of the smack talk.

In season 3 there was a guy who was being too rough during sparing. He was also being a douche around the house. People tried talking to him. People tried pointing out the error of his ways. People tried accommodating him. The guy just wouldn't budge. So one day at practice his first sparring partner kicked him in the head. The next guy gave him an uppercut. Sore jaw... Concussion... Problem solved.

The only thing about the show that I don't like...but provides great insight...is how a number of the guys who lose try and blame their failure on luck or chance. Other guys accept defeat by looking at what they did wrong and what the other guy did right in an attempt to improve their standing. In an arena where nothing is dependent upon chance, and where success and failure is stripped down to the basics, where you have two guys standing alone on their own abilities and preparation...the differences between the whiner and the non-whiner are glaring.

To me it shows that while victory might show who the better athlete was on that day, defeat is often the true test of a man's character.

Yeah, yeah, I know you didn't come here for a Tony Robbins infomercial but I'm out of fart jokes and poop stories this morning so deal with it.

I've come to the realization that I've become one of 'those guys'. What I mean is that for 15 years I was fit. At times very fit. And when I'd hear guys talk about how they had to 'get into shape' but they 'couldn't find the time' I'd roll my eyes and think that they were full of shit...which they were.

But I caught myself once again sitting on the couch lamenting the fact that I've gained, no joking, 30 lbs in the last two years. I was saying to my buddy, " I have to get into shape, I gotta get myself together."

I almost sounded like I meant it.

Then he looked at me and asked, " You mean you're not going to eat that ice cream or that you're not going to drink that beer ?" pointing at the two items sitting in front of me on the TV tray.

"I'm going to start tomorrow."

That time I sounded a little less convincing.