UFC Fighters Get "Blind Dates" By Loretta Hunt Tim Sylvia Get ready for a deluge of fighter-friendly programming coming to a small screen near you. Not only will the UFC debut their own reality series on Spike TV next January with The Ultimate Fighter, audiences will get to gaze through the looking glass as early as this fall when five Ultimate fighters turn up the charm on separate episodes of the popular reality-based show Blind Date. Going into its sixth season, Blind Date introduces the scenario in which strangers are paired up and followed through various engaging activities in the course of one day, in the hopes of sprouting a relationship. Some make "love connections" along the way, but the truly entertaining moments come when the couples just don't seem to click. Relocating to Las Vegas for the week, Date's cameras captured the fighters and their new companions in a host of locations. UFC 47 veteran Tiki Ghosn toured Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum before rustling up this date for some mechanical bull-riding, while lightweight standout Josh Thomson tried his hand at some indoor skydiving. Former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia led his date through magician/comedian Amazing Jonathan's Funhouse, which hosts a collection of gadgets and optical illusions. Welterweight striker Pete Spratt and company were given a generous stipend to gamble at the Green Valley Ranch, one of eleven casinos owned by UFC proprietors Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, and on his date's own suggestion, heavyweight ham Wes Sims partied away with his gal at a Vegas strip club. All of the dates culminated with dinner and drinks, as well as the familiar dip in the hot tub for some, although Date reps were tight-lipped as to just who took the plunge. In total, each fighter spent 10 to 12 hours with his date. Says Blind Date field segment producer John Pepper, a longtime mixed martial arts fan and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu brown belt under Marcus Vinicius, "I thought if we could get some of their [the UFC's] bigger names, it would be a chance to introduce them to people who may not know them and to also put them in a position where people could really get a kick out of seeing these guys who are really tough and just animals in the cage in an environment we've all been in, which is on a date." Wes Sims According to Pepper, none of the five lucky ladies selected knew they would be matched up with an Ultimate fighter, while each athlete was left to his own devices to reveal his unique occupation. The fighters were also challenged to get each of their respective dates into a skimpy UFC top with matching thongs somewhere along the way, of which Pepper remarks the men performed commendably. "All the guys were very good on camera," he explains, "very loose and open and had a good time with it, but Wes was exceptionally funny. 6'10", 270-pound Wes decided to take it upon himself to kinda outshine the other guys. He actually met his date for the first time wearing the pink UFC baby doll tank top that he was obviously busting out of because it was size 0." Although Sims opted not to don the matching thongs, Pepper admits his date was not enthused. "I know that Wes had the most fireworks of any of the dates. There was no love lost at the end of their date, that's for sure." Along with Sims' antics, Blind Date crews literally ran into fellow Playboy Playmate and E! Television personality Anna Nicole Smith while filming Pete Spratt's date, and the bodacious TV star gushed over the fit UFC specimens and their chosen profession. Pepper is confident this unexpected footage will escape the cutting room floor with ease. Aiming to air the Ultimate Fighter-themed week of episodes in coincidence with a future UFC event, Pepper and his team are also trying to coordinate shooting their hosting segments at a live show as well. With UFC 49 a month away and UFC 50 to follow on October 22nd in Atlantic City, New Jersey, look for these fighter-infused vignettes to premiere as early as mid-October. © All materials contained in the Full Contact Fighter web site are protected by copyright and to be used only for personal and noncommercial uses. Public display or copying for sale or public distribution of any of these materials is strictly prohibited.