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<h3><a href="/go=news.detail&gid=278413" target="_blank">
Spike exac says 'TUF seeking fighters over fueds'
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<a href="/go=news.detail&gid=278413" ><img class="photo" src="http://img.mixedmartialarts.com/method=get&rs=100&q=75&x=0&y=0&w=310&h=165&ro=0&s=the-ultiamte-fighter-tuf.jpg" /></a>
<strong class="ArticleSource">[mmajunkie.com]</strong>
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"There's a couple of things that are just taking place naturally in society and pop culture," Diamond told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "Anybody who's between the ages 21 and 34 – most of the guys are probably in their 20s that come here – they're living in a society where reality television is around them all the time. They're vlogging. They're blogging. They're on websites and Tweeting. The idea of having a sense of personality and being visual, it's something that's part of their normal lives.
"We're finding it, I wouldn't say easier, but less of a challenge for guys to come in with some level of personality."
Each season, hundreds of hopefuls show up to open tryouts around the globe hoping to get picked for the show based on their grappling and striking prowess. But the final stage of approval is an interview process where television executives try to determine who will provide a personality suitable for Spike TV airwaves.
But Diamond insists the company isn't actively seeking potential train wrecks.
"The reality is, with Junie, he came to us," Diamond said. "It wasn't like we said, 'Let's go find us a Junie Browning.' That guy was in casting two other times before he actually got cast on the show.
"The tough part with him is like anything else. You see a guy who's got raw talent and abilities, it's just his demons got in the way. You really wanted to give him an opportunity to see if he could weed those demons out. Unfortunately, it didn't necessarily happen, but it's like an MMA fight: you don't know how it's going to end until it ends because anything can happen in the last five seconds of the third round."
Diamond points to a particular member of the current 12th season of "The Ultimate Fighter," featuring UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and challenger Josh Koscheck in coaching roles, as the perfect example of how personalities can prove interesting without being destructive.
"[Fighters] know; they see the show," Diamond said. "They know that they have to be interesting. They don't have to be crazy, necessarily, but they just have to be interesting personalities.
"You watch Jonathan Brookins this season, and compared to 'Bruce Leeroy' (Alex Caceres), he's more low-key, but he's just as interesting. People want to get in his head and know who he is. There's almost an aura and a mystery around him. He's not boring. That's the difference."
