"As real as it gets." Often used as the tag line for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, it refers to the fact that the event's bouts are as close to a real fight as the law and the fighters' safety permit.
Starting in January 2005, that catchphrase will also refer to Spike TV's newest reality show, The Ultimate Fighter. It stars current UFC light-heavyweight champ Randy Couture and No. 1 light-heavyweight contender Chuck Liddell as the team captains.
In the program, 16 aspiring mixed martial artists will meet one another, then train for three grueling days under the watchful eyes of Couture and Liddell. After the testing period, the captains will take turns picking fighters to form their teams.
The two groups will then begin training under their respective leaders, and the fighters will meet each other in real MMA fights every week, with the loser leaving the show. The final episode will be a two-hour live event featuring a middleweight and light-heavyweight bout between the four surviving fighters to determine which team prevails. The two victors will be seeded into a future UFC.
Following the formula of other reality shows, The Ultimate Fighter will have periodic physical challenges for the contestants. The winners will receive a prize, such as being able to select the next match-up between the teams.
All 16 athletes will live in a huge Las Vegas home, which they won't be allowed to leave except for training purposes. They'll have virtually no contact with the outside world: no television, radio, phone or newspapers. A battery of cameras will record all the interactions that fill the gaps between bouts and workouts.
Although none of the 16 fighters is a pro, each has amateur MMA experience and dreams of a career in the budding sport. They were recruited after invitations were shown at the end of UFC broadcasts and mailed to smaller MMA organizations, said UFC President Dana White.
Several hundred applications poured in from excellent prospects. A few, however, came from people who were somewhat less qualified. "We have videos from people who have no experience in fighting or even martial arts," White said. "Guys who say they've trained themselves from books, videos and street fights sent videos of themselves in the basement breaking boards or demonstrating their moves on training dummies.
"One of my favorites is a guy who says he's a pool-hustling fighter who challenges bar patrons to play pool. If they lose, they have to fight him. He says he's currently undefeated, though I'm not sure if he's talking about playing pool or fighting."
White, who's not a fan of reality television, made it his mission to ensure The Ultimate Fighter would be several notches above the standard fare. "I tuned in to one episode of The Contender because I'm a longtime boxing fan and wanted to see a match," he said. "I suffered through most of a very boring hour just to see the match and came away vastly disappointed. The actual boxing portion of the show was short and obviously cut. At the conclusion when they interviewed the fighters, both looked just fine. Any martial artist knows you can't trade full-contact techniques without some trace of injury unless both fighters are taking it pretty easy on each other.
"In our show, just during the initial three-day training/testing period, our guys had sprains, bruises and even stitches-all before they were even chosen for a team. They really want to win, and they bang hard. These are real fights, and we show all of it."

COUTURE'S CRASH COURSE
Interview by Robert W. Young
Black Belt: How do you start training someone who's new to the mixed martial arts?
Randy Couture: The first thing you need to find out is if he has a background in wrestling or judo or some other combative sport. You can play off that and develop other skills. The person's basic fitness level is also important. You have to teach the kind of fitness needed for MMA competition through cardiovascular training, anaerobic training and inner-strength training.

BB: What kind of athletic background besides combat sports would be an advantage? Football, sprinting, long-distance running?
Couture: All those sports bring a particular foundation, at least at a fitness level, that you can play off, but I'm not sure any of them offers a distinct advantage in MMA. However, it's important that the person has competed in something and has a competitive spirit.

BB: Is competitive spirit something a person either has or doesn't have? Or can it be taught?
Couture: You can certainly test it. There are so many innate qualities that a person either has or doesn't have, but you can still educate him, push him and see how far he can go. And you can constantly push that wall back until he can go further and further. Most people can go a lot further than they think.

BB: Once you evaluate the person and learn about his background, where do you go from there?
Couture: Being at the top level in this sport, I've developed some tools and techniques for conditioning a fighter's body the way it needs to be conditioned and for developing the skill sets he needs to be well-rounded. So the next step is to set a training regimen that builds conditioning through sprinting, running, biking, weightlifting and circuit training. It also includes time on the mat, light sparring, mitt work, ground training and wrestling. The goal is to develop skills and tools he can rely on when he needs to.

BB: Do you agree with those martial artists who insist you can get all the strength and endurance you need from doing your art, as long as you do it enough?
Couture: To some extent that can be true. There are plenty of examples of people who don't do any of that extra stuff. But when you get to the higher levels and want be the top dog, you have to do the extra stuff that will distinguish you from the others. You have to do those extras like increasing your foot speed and improving your dynamic, explosive power.

BB: What comes next for the budding fighter?
Couture: Light sparring and putting him in different situations. You have to ensure he has an open mind and checks his ego at the door. He has to believe that he's always going to learn something, and he has to put himself out there. He has to risk being tapped out, risk losing-not only in training but also in fights that will challenge him.

BB: Say you're training a grappler who's got some decent skills. Do you try to perfect his ability on the ground, or do you focus on striking because it's his weakness?
Couture: I would spend more time-and this is the perspective I have as a wrestler who'd never been in a striking sport-on striking. Weaknesses have to be made into strengths. But the second you neglect one area of his training, somebody will point it out to him in competition. With a grappler, I would spend a lot of time on his hands and his ability to stop takedowns.

BB: For the grappling portion of his training, which arts would you draw from?
Couture: Certainly wrestling and jujutsu would be big components. I've also learned some things from judo players that I've found applicable. Wrestling is great because of the mat sense and intensity it brings, as well as the ability to take opponents down and control them from the top position. Jujutsu will teach him how to be on the bottom, how to fight on his butt and back, and how to find ways to not only submit his opponent but also to sweep and change positions.
I would couple that with Greco-Roman wrestling, especially the clinch position, because in mixed martial arts, a fighter's posture is so much more upright than in most grappling sports. It applies very well for infighting and being able to take an opponent down while controlling him.

BB: What about for striking?
Couture: Western boxing and kickboxing are the most effective striking arts for this combative sport.

BB: Why not Thai boxing?
Couture: I think Thai boxing fits with what Greco-Roman and clinch fighting do best: infighting. The elbows and knees are very effective tools at close range.

BB: What are the essential skills and techniques you would cover?
Couture: The fighter needs good balance and footwork. He has to be able to defend himself, use his hands and elbows to cover his head, parry punches, and slip punches, kicks and knees. He also needs to be able to throw a proper punch and execute good combinations of kicks and knees.
From there, he should move into clinch range, where he works inside control, neck wrestling, trapping and ways to not only strike but also take his opponent off his feet. He has to meld wrestling with striking, especially from the open position. He can't just go out with the intention of setting up his opponent and taking him down. It's too obvious to work, too easy to counter.

BB: Is that because fighters these days are too smart to fall into the traps that might have worked during the early days of the UFC?
Couture: Yeah. Everybody's cross-training, learning wrestling skills, learning to counter takedowns. A fighter's got to be prepared and understand that his opponent is going to know what's coming.
And then he's got to work at being adept on the ground-whether he's on the top or bottom. He's got to be able to scramble, sweep and get back to a neutral position-and find in those transitions opportunities to submit his opponent. Or if he gets his opponent down, he's got to be able to keep him at a disadvantage so he can chip away at him.

BB: Would you also teach him how to use the environment-the fence and the mats of the octagon?
Couture: There are definitely tactics for fighting in a ring and a cage. There are things he has to watch out for and things he can take advantage of.

BB: How do you approach strategy? Is there one you always teach, or are there four or five ways you would introduce?
Couture: It varies from opponent to opponent. Obviously it's more difficult training younger fighters because you don't have a lot of experience with them and their capabilities, and you generally don't know much about their opponents. But as a fighter moves into the higher ranks, you get the opportunity to see a lot of tape of his opponents. You notice their tendencies and how their strengths and weaknesses will match up with your fighter's strengths and weaknesses, then you figure out ways to win. They have to be willing to break themselves down and be honest about [their abilities]-and then go to the gym and do what it takes to execute that game plan.

BB: Did you encounter any special challenges while filming The Ultimate Fighter?
Couture: There were a lot of challenges for the athletes that created some challenges for me. Guys came in with different levels of conditioning. Some were really prepared and ready to go, and others had no idea what they were getting themselves into and consequently suffered physically, which made it difficult for me to push them.
Some guys had better skill sets in some areas versus others. If I tried to focus on their weaknesses without singling out individuals, I couldn't spend the proper amount of time with others who didn't need that extra training.
In general, I put them through a peaking phase as if, at the end of this, they were going to have a big fight. I tried to get them physically in the same kind of shape I get in for a fight.

BB: What have I left out?
Couture: The biggest piece that guys miss is the mental skill it takes not only to get through a training camp, but also to deal with the adversity of competition. They have to deal with the negative self-talk, and the jitters and the pressures of going out and performing in front of a bunch of people. They have to relax enough to do what they're trained to do.

BB: At the beginning of the UFC, it seemed like it was average guy against average guy, art against art. But now it's Superman against Superman, and everybody knows every relevant art. Seeing how much the whole sport has progressed, are you limited with respect to how good you can make an average person who might weigh 170 pounds and have done 10 years of karate?
Couture: It depends on the individual. We're all blessed with certain gifts and abilities, and that average guy has those things, too. Maybe he just hasn't tapped into them yet, and for some people, it's going to take longer than others. There are so many variables that play into making a good fighter; mind-set is probably the most important. What does he think his limitations are? Is he willing to do the work to get where he wants to go? It's almost more important than any physical gift he has.

BB: What's the optimal age to attend a training camp like the one shown in The Ultimate Fighter? If you're a champ when you're 40, that's one thing. But if you start when you're 40, that might be totally different.
Couture: Again, it depends on your background: What did you do in that 40 years? I'm 41, but I've spent my entire life since I was 10 competing in sports. To take a 40-year-old guy who's never competed in anything and get him up to speed physically and mentally for this combative sport is a big challenge, but it could be done. Will he be a world champion in a year? Probably not. Will he be able to compete within a year? He probably could.

BB: What advice would you give to people who will read this article and aspire to compete in the UFC?
Couture: The environment is a huge factor, so they should find a place where they're comfortable and where they're going to be exposed to all the pieces of the mixed-martial arts fight game. They should find a group of guys they can trust, guys who are going to teach them things and help them progress as a person and a fighter. You're only as good as your workout partners.

BB: What about advice for people who aren't quite ready to move into a training camp? What about that 16-year-old in Kansas who thinks, "When I'm 20, I really want to be a fighter; but now I'm living at home and training three days a week"?
Couture: It's not too early at 16; he still has to find that right place, and hopefully it'll be fairly close to home. It'll be a little more accessible when he turns 18 because he can go his own way. If he has a wrestling program in his school, that's a good place to start because it's an organized sport, and most programs are pretty good at developing at least one piece of the game.

BB: What about other options like going to the YMCA and doing boxing two days a week? Or lifting weights at home?
Couture: Those are all pieces of the puzzle. If all he can work on where he's at now is striking, then he should go to town on that and look for a different situation to add the other skills down the road.

LIDDELL'S LEADERSHIP LESSON
Interview by Edward Pollard

Black Belt: How do you take an athlete who's had some training but is still fairly inexperienced to a place where he can compete in the octagon?
Chuck Liddell: The first thing you've got to do is check where he's at, what he's good at and where his strengths lie. A lot of times, he doesn't even know. He may think his strength is in one thing when actually he's better at something else.

BB: If a guy comes to the gym and says he wants to compete, how do you assess his skill?
Liddell: Usually, I take what he says he knows and check him out on that. This is for guys who come to me and want to fight. I don't ask them to fight. You can't teach someone to want to fight. He has to like fighting.

BB: Let's say someone arrives with grappling skills and proves he knows a few things.
Liddell: If he's got good submission skills or takedowns and he's a good wrestler, that will be the thing we work on the least. We'll try to keep it sharp because that's the main part of his game, but I don't need to work with him on that too much. I'll probably need to change a few things to make his skills good for submission fighting. The first thing I'd teach him is counter-submissions and how to strike.
It's the same with a striker. The big thing is teaching him counter-wrestling-how to counter submissions so he's not going out there, throwing a couple of punches, getting taken down and getting squashed. That happens a lot with good strikers because they're not comfortable on the ground. They get so afraid to throw punches that their timing is off-they don't land their punches.
Another big thing is seeing what kind of shape he's in. Once we get a guy to the point where he's technically good enough with submission, wrestling and striking skills, I'll put him in a straight kickboxing smoker.

BB: Can you define a "smoker"?
Liddell: Basically, it's slang for glorified sparring. It's like a real competition with shin pads, headgear, sparring gloves. …

BB: But it's not an official fight.
Liddell: It's not official, but it's against another gym. They do the walk-in, and there's usually a small crowd. It simulates the atmosphere of a fight. A lot of guys find out whether or not they want to be out there. Even though it's three two-minute rounds, I guarantee you every guy who goes out there for the first time is going to be pretty damn tired.

BB: Does that help prepare him for five-minute rounds?
Liddell: Yes, especially when you take a wrestler out of his element. Wrestlers are not very comfortable when they can't take a guy down. It forces them to strike. But it's no big deal because a loss doesn't count against their record.

BB: How would you improve his conditioning?
Liddell: I'd do a lot of sport-specific stuff and circuit training, hit the weights and hit the bags with running in-between. I'd do plyometrics-explosive training with a lot of jumping drills. I'd do sprints and interval work. I don't believe in long-distance running, what old boxers used to do. This isn't a marathon. I'm trying to get explosive power over a period of 15 to 25 minutes. I'm trying to develop his ability to have that explosive power for five minutes, [then] have it again after a one-minute break. I'm not trying to build a powerlifter, a guy who can push a bunch of weight one time. I want him to push a decent amount of weight over a long period of time. So I'd do a lot of explosive stuff with the legs, core-body exercises, jump squats, walking lunges and pilates-type stuff.

BB: Do you have a way of rooting out bad habits in the people you train?
Liddell: It's easier to start with a guy who's never struck before than it is with someone who's been fighting a lot. What happens is you get him all cleaned up in the gym and as soon as the fight starts, it's back to what he knew because the adrenaline's going. A lot of that comes down to keeping an eye on him when he's training. You try to change things over a period of time.

BB: Do you find that fighters learn from their mistakes better when they experience a loss?
Liddell: That's the worst way, but they should learn from every fight they're in. The best ones are the close wins, where they know they didn't fight that well and they made a lot of mistakes, but they got out of it with a win. They do learn a lot from losses because that's when they have to look back and say, What did I do wrong? Usually I wait a week or so after a fight to talk to my guys about it. I give them a little time-if they won to celebrate, and if they lost to get over it a little bit-before we watch the tape.

BB: What methods do you use to get a fighter to stay on track when he's facing an aggressive opponent?
Liddell: We do a lot of situational stuff, but basically good sparring is where he'll get that. That's why I [mentioned] the smokers-getting a guy who is a wrestler to learn how to strike. If he's doing just mixed-martial arts stuff, a lot of times as soon as [his opponent] comes in, he's going to take him down, and he'll never learn to strike like that.

BB: How do you prepare a striker to function on the ground?
Liddell: Sometimes it's tougher to teach them the ground stuff, but a lot of guys from boxing have good athletic ability, and it doesn't take long to teach them counter-submissions. They have to be willing to put the time in. They're not going to like it at first because really good boxers are used to winning. They get to [an MMA] gym and there are guys they probably won't be able to beat for two or three months. It's frustrating, but they have to do it.

BB: How do you prepare wrestlers for getting hit?
Liddell: That's one of the hardest things. A lot of wrestlers are gun-shy. Nobody likes getting hit, but it affects wrestlers in a negative way when they're not taking shots well. The only real solution for that is sparring-getting them in there enough so they feel comfortable moving around. There are other things we do: We have a glove on the end of a stick that we use to get them used to being hit and moving out of the way. Sometimes I hit them hard with that glove.

BB: In the education of a fighter, how important is the ability to live with pain?
Liddell: Guys that make it to the top of the sport have gone through a lot of injuries and have been able to push themselves through being hurt in practice. This is one of the hardest sports in the world to train for and not get hurt. I don't think I've gone into a fight at 100 percent in a long, long time. I tell people there are no magic moves that will make them better at this sport. They need to be born with some athletic ability and be able to take a punch. It's hard work.

BB: What importance do you place on image as a factor in a fighter's success?
Liddell: Image plays a bigger role than I would like it to, but promoters want to sell tickets. People have to want to watch the fight. Whether they want to see you lose or win, as long as they want to see you, promoters don't care. It brings in more money.
Don't get me wrong: In this sport, if you're the best in the world, you can still make it as long as you're not losing. But you need to be exciting in the ring and somewhat exciting outside the ring.

BB: What general advice would you give an up-and-coming fighter?
Liddell: Try to finish your fights. When it comes down to it, fans and promoters want guys who try to finish their fights. Even if you win every fight you ever have by decision, as long as you're trying to finish the fight, no one will have a problem with that.

BB: Does finishing a fight include fighting hard even though you're losing?
Liddell: Right. Don't give up in any way and always be trying to win. In some fights, a guy gets a lead and just sits there and holds his opponent. Or in boxing, a guy gets a lead and just dances around for the last two rounds without trying to finish. People don't want to see that.

BB: What can you do to keep a fighter from freezing or losing focus when the lights are bright and the crowd is noisy?
Liddell: The biggest thing is experience. What I try to do the first time they're in a bigger show is get someone they should be able to beat pretty easily. That way, if they do freeze up a little bit, it's not going to cost them the fight. Even guys who freeze up usually settle down after a round. If they lose one round, they have two more to win, so there's time. But if they go out there against an equal and freeze, most likely they're not going to make it out of that first round.

BB: In a fighter's training, how important is sleep?
Liddell: When he's training hard, he needs his sleep because his body needs to recover. I don't worry about sleep when I'm not training, but when I have a fight coming up, I need my sleep.

BB: How does a person's diet change when he's in and out of training?
Liddell: After a fight when I have a little break, I don't worry about what I eat. When I start training again, I start a diet with broader guidelines, but it's a lot cleaner than what I was eating. When I get down to the last eight to 10 weeks and I have to cut my weight, what I eat is very specific.

BB: It's tough enough to monitor yourself, but how do you control the diet of your fighters?
Liddell: It's not easy to eat right. I try to tell them what they should do and try to get them to do it. A lot of them make a good effort, and that's all you need. A few slips here and there aren't going to make a big difference.

BB: Do you have any final advice for aspiring fighters?
Liddell: Find a place that lets you train in everything. Some [coaches] don't want you training with other people and don't want you learning other things. I think you should get with somebody who's not afraid to have you learn from everyone.