The Ultimate Fighter 16 continues tonight, but the cast who made it onto the show have given quotes about their first week in the fighter house. Some competitors in the past have crumbled at the weight of the situation, some have enjoyed it too much, some have squandered the opportunity by acting like idiots, and some have surpassed expectations and walked out of the house with a UFC contract. While this season isn?t live, here is the first peek into the minds of the fighters in the house, and how they are adapting…
TEAM CARWIN
Sam Alvey, 26, Murrieta, Calif. �(19-4)
?Week one of the TUF house was a lot like when Luke first met Yoda; excited to learn but really looking past that to becoming the TUF Fridays champ.?
Bristol Marunde, 30, Las Vegas, Nev. (12-7)
?I went from owning my own business, a big house, a king size bed to a bunk-bed and a house full of crazy fighters. I’m back in college!!!!”
Mike Ricci, 26, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (7-2)
?The first week was ?tuf? adjusting to the new location and schedule but things got easier from then on.?
Neil Magny, 24, Chicago, Ill. (7-1)
?The first week living in the TUF house was great. I was so happy that I was able to make it this far, after being turned away so many times before. Making it into the house was the biggest accomplishment I had in my MMA career yet. I also thought the house was amazing. For the first time in my life I had a hot tub/pool in my backyard and everything I could possibly want in the kitchen.?
James Chaney, 25, Klamath Falls, Ore. (7-2)
?When initially going into the TUF house everybody was overjoyed. Flying high on our fresh victories, it was a rush picking the beds and raiding the massive fridge and pantry, the reality setting in that we had really made it, we were really there! The house itself was so massive! I constantly found myself discovering bizarre new things: Greek statues, koi ponds, samurai statues, and all sorts of bizarre locked rooms. I’m reasonably sure somewhere within that property is a path to Narnia or Hogwarts or something. For most, the joy of victory and the luster of the house was dulled within the week as fight picks loomed and the seriousness of our circumstances was realized.?
Eddy Ellis, 29, Olympia, Wash. (17-15)
?My feelings about the first week of The Ultimate Fighter house were mixed, the first part of the week I was just excited to be there. By the end of the first week I thought WHAT DID I GET MYSELF INTO? Five and half more weeks in that place was a LONG-time away!?
Igor Araujo, 31, Albuquerque, N.M. via Patos De Minas, Brazil (22-6)
?The war has started, amazing room, amazing house, 15 more crazy guys who want to see my head on the ground. I am sleeping in the same room as James Chaney and Julian Lane, will I survive in this adventure??
Matt Secor, 25, South Glens Falls, N.Y. (1-1)
?I figured I wasn’t going to make any friends in the house and stay to myself, until our first Team Carwin practice. Then I knew I was going to be on a team that would stick together throughout the whole season.?
TEAM NELSON
Dom Waters, 23, Santa Rosa, Calif. (5-1)
?My first week in the TUF house I felt like I was on cloud nine it was just the highest of highs to be walking around that house, just wow.?
Michael Hill, 25, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada (4-0)
?I made it, I’m finally here, and now it’s time to get to work. Mooooortal Kooooombat!!! This house is huge, bed’s are very unpleasant, is this jail? I could get used to this grocery list thing, might start using this back home. Cameras are even in the washroom??? Holy shit this is going to be serious.”
Cameron Diffley, 27, Las Vegas, Nev. (3-0)
?The first week was pretty tame in the house compared to the rest of the season. Everyone was getting to know each other, getting used to their teams training schedule and getting used to living in the TUF house.?
Colton Smith, 25, Fort Hood, Texas via Ankeny, Iowa (3-1)
?Being Active Duty Army for the past seven years has ingrained my mind into a certain schedule and habit. That was all shook up when I was put in the TUF house and that was the first of many obstacles I had to overcome being in the house with 15 other warriors.?
Jon Manley, 26, Ludlow, Mass (7-1)
?The first week in the house seemed crazy. We had to win a fight to get in the house. Pick teams, train and then we were right back into fighting. It was a high stress situation, not knowing who or when you are going to fight. The house was sick and plenty of free food.?
Nic Herron-Webb, 22, Anchorage, Alaska (14-4)
?It was such a crazy experience. I’m stuck in a house with 15 other guys that I don’t know, and we are all out for the same thing. There is bound to be heartbreak, and lots of trouble. Bring it on!!”
Joey Rivera, 32, Tucson, Ariz. (5-1)
?The first week at the house was tough being away from my friends and family, but I had fun meeting the guys and ?experiencing? all the different personalities. I knew then it was going to be a wild six weeks.?
Julian Lane, 25, Mansfield, Ohio (4-0)
?I really didn’t know what to think, but just go with it. I was ecstatic by the mansion, and knowing I had to live there for six weeks with 15 other fighters made my adrenaline pumped. All I could think about was how crazy everyone will be after the first week when we all get comfortable.?
The series resumes Friday, September 21, on FX at 10:00 PM EST with the second episode of its twelve-week run.
PHOTO CREDIT – UFC
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