For the Ultimate Fighter season 2, I have an idea that would garner ridiculous raitings, media coverage, and shoot the pay-per-view buys for an UFC through the roof:
Have Season 2 be 10-12 women fighters. Eliminate (as it appears to be for week 3 for the current season) one woman a week with a fight.
Once you get down to the final two... they move on into the UFC for the first-ever UFC women's match for the first UFC Women's title!
Advantages:
1) Media would be all over women fighting
2) It would be ok because of the sport's legitimacy and the fact it's on a cable channel - Spike TV
3) Ratings would be higher because of the chick factor - athletic chicks sweaty and in tight clothes every week = huge hit with ALL Spike TV's regular fans
4) Mainstream media coverage would write tons of articles on this event, gaining a massive amount of viewers who don't even know what MMA is bu8t want to see what the fuss is all about
5) Because the final two women fight in the UFC PPV it acts like the big-ass finale every reality show has, and needless to say, a huge increase in PPV buyers as they want to see the conclusion of TUF!
In conclusion this is a great idea, and the time is right. The sport is sanctioned now, it is much more widely understood and accepted... there is no way any anit-fighting lobbyists could stop this from happening. In fact, I think anti-UFC whining could only increase the publicity of the show.
The Ultimate Fighter Season 2 - Women fighting for a spot in the first-ever UFC PPV women's fight, with the Women's title on the line!
Zuffa, make it happen!