If you watch a ridiculous amount of television, like I do, then you have no doubt seen one of a thousand commercials for Bodog.net, a “play-for-free gaming site.” Bodog founder Calvin Ayre has been doing everything he can the last few years to make himself a celebrity. Despite being an attention whore, Ayre does have one redeeming quality: he’s a mixed martial arts fan.
Calvin Ayre and Bodog launched a new mixed martial arts reality show this week called, what else, BodogFight. I know what you’re thinking, and yes, it is a rip-off of UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter. However, the premise is slightly different.
These fighters aren’t here for a six-figure contract or a title shot; they’re all fighting for the right to represent Team America in a tournament battle against the Russian Red Devil Sports Club (featuring Pride’s Fedor Emelianenko and a host of other nasty bastards) in a pay-per-view event, USA vs. Russia. Hang on…USA vs. Russia? What f*cking decade is this?
The fourteen fighters vying for a spot on Team America are Amanda Buckner, Tara Larosa, Nick Agallar, Nardu Debrah, Tim Credeur, Chael Sonnen, Jorge Masvidal, Keith Wisniewski, Mike Patt, Kaream Ellington, Nick Thompson, Davion Peterson, Mario Rinaldi, and Mark Burch.
Some of these names might be familiar to you if you’re a UFC fan. Chael Sonnen fought his last three fights for UFC (he’s 1 for 3 in UFC). I wonder how he finds time to train, what with the booming real estate business and all (special thanks to our own lovely Shelly). Nick “The Goat” Thompson, Nick Agallar, and Keith Wisniewski have all fought (and lost) in UFC as well. The rest of the names you might not recognize, but BodogFight is hoping to change that.
The show was filmed in Costa Rica, which is no surprise since it plays home to Ayre’s online gambling empire. BodogFight skips the big house with everyone living together and opts to focus on two fighters per episode. Each week the two opponents facing each other in the ring will have their own fight career profile, complete with interviews and training footage, prior to the fight.
Overall it’s a decent premise and a good show for MMA fans that hate reality television. It’s a simpler structure than The Ultimate Fighter, and there’s no drama. There is, however, some horribly cheesy acting from non-fighting personnel. Ayre is trying to be more Donald Trump than Dana White, and Team America liaison/singer/songwriter Bif Naked just comes across as completely clueless as to why she’s there (but she’s still better than Willa Ford).
BodogFight airs Tuesday nights on The Men’s Outdoors & Recreation Network. Yeah, I’ve never heard of it either. The network is currently available only on Dish Network. Bodog must’ve been as hard up for a network as the network was for programming. Luckily the show is being made available online (both for streaming and downloading), so you won’t miss a minute of the action.
