(According to the press release, the season will feature 15 talented female MMA prospects, and “one drunken asshole who’s basically like a chick-version of Junie Browning.” / Ronda photo via Getty Images)

By Oliver Chan

When Dana White tweeted that a big announcement will be made at the end of the UFC 158 FX prelims, fans started buzzing with theories ranging from New York MMA legalization to Nick Diaz no-showing the event (although based on his performance, he might as well have). Instead, looking to continue riding the Ronda Rousey Women’s MMA Train, White announced that the two head coaches for the 18th season of The Ultimate Fighter will be Ronda Rousey and the winner of the Meisha Tate/Cat Zingano fight on April 13. TUF 18 will debut sometime this fall, and to add to the intrigue, the season will feature both male and female fighters in the 135 weight class competing for contracts in their respective divisions.

While ratings for this season have seen a slight uptick on FX, the series has failed to match the previous numbers it once enjoyed while on Spike. Now with the rival network preparing to launch two new reality shows featuring a now ousted UFC Hall-of-Famer, the UFC has the added pressure to step up their game in order to keep their MMA/Reality TV market share in point. While to some die-hard MMA fans, this may not seem like a big deal, for the UFC and Bellator, the ratings for their reality TV programs do have a significant impact on how the networks will present their brands to potential television partners in the future.

This current season of TUF has seen a change of direction in terms of how the competition has been portrayed. There is significantly less drunken buffonary, bodily fluid pranks, and even a limited instances of a-holes being a-holes (*Cough*Bubba*Cough*). Hell, even Chael Sonnen has been on his best behavior! (Which I’m kind of disappointed with, but you can’t win them all.) Instead, as Joe Rogan pointed out during last night’s Mike Ricci/Colin Fletcher fight, TUF 17 highlights the challenges faced by contestants being a struggling MMA fighter as well as the added pressure of being on a reality show. Throw in some exciting finishes and we have MMA at its purest with no gimmicks needed. But a fundamental problem remains: Do we really feel that any contestant on this show could have a significant career in the UFC?

Back in August, Bodog — one of the world’s largest online gambling companies and owner of the BodogFights series — was ordered to pay $49 million in damages and forfeit its domain name after failing to respond to claims that their downloadable software infringes on a patent held by 1st Technology LLC. (I know, pretty boring so far.) Bodog CEO Calvin Ayre called the suit an “extortion attempt,” partly due to the fact that he isn’t able to personally respond to the charges in Las Vegas. (Bodog is based in Antigua, and the U.S. Department of Justice has a habit of arresting online gambling executives; 1st Technology may be counting on Ayre to settle out of court rather than risk arrest by traveling to Nevada. I know, still kind of boring.)

Anyway, it was reported today that Ayre has challenged 1st Technology CEO Scott Lewis to a three-round BodogFight rules MMA bout, with Ayre offering $1 million in prize money to get Lewis in the ring. If you’re wondering what kind of man would respond to a lawsuit by challenging the plaintiff to a fight, or if you’re wondering whether Ayre deserves to lose $49 million over a simple patent infringement claim that’s yet to be proven, the answer to both questions can be answered by this picture of Calvin Ayre:

[hint: a jerkoff, and yes]

What’s really troublesome about Calvin’s sad publicity stunt is that Scott Lewis would have to defeat Ayre 49 times to collect the total judgment. It should also be mentioned that one of the features currently on Bodog’s new site is Bif Naked Bride, an “8-Webisode Bodog TV Exclusive” that follows the pop-punk artist Bif Naked — remember that song “Moment of Weakness” from like 1998? No? — as she gets married to some dork. Wow. It’s not exactly subject matter I would normally associate with poker, or MMA, or the Internet for that matter. But if this is what it takes to get tattooed 30-something lesbians interested in gambling, maybe Calvin Ayre is smarter than we think. You don’t see George Maloof going after that market!