With the Ultimate Fighter ramping up for at least one more season, TUF 28 contestant Marciea Allen stopped by UFC Lincoln to discuss the show.
Lincoln, NB — Marciea Allen is about to get an introduction to the UFC audience when she appears on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter. TUF 28, when it was announced, was thought to be a springboard for the UFC to finally, properly launch its women’s featherweight division.
Then, the cast was revealed, and as it turned out, many of the fighters were bantamweights. While some of the best true featherweights out there had been passed over. Allen appeared back stage at UFC Lincoln to discuss the show, and tackled the roster controversy as well.
First, however, she addressed the overall experience of TUF, which she called a “once in a lifetime opportunity.”
“It’s a blessing to be able to do such a thing,” she said. And while she couldn’t give away too much for obvious reasons, she promised some great fights to come during the season. Of course, being on a reality show also comes with “a lot of drama.” There’s not only the physical side, as a result, but the mental side as well. “So it’s going to be interesting to see how everything pans out on national TV,” Allen said. “But for the most part, I don’t think anyone will be disappointed this season. This is the last season, however, so I think we finished on a good bang.”
Well, maybe the last season. UFC President Dana White has said the show might stick around after all.
As for Allen (7-2), essentially a veteran of the sport, joining the show, “I think this was a good opportunity for more exposure.”
“I’m going on ten years of being in the MMA industry, and I think this is probably a better way to be able to be introduced to the UFC,” she explained, “versus going straight in. Not only do people get to know me, but like me and also trust me.”
And so her advice to other fighters is that “if they were to do this again, I would highly recommend that they would take this route instead. I don’t see it as a quote-unquote demotion. You would be foolish not to do it.” Because the show really does mean something.
As for featherweight, well Allen admitted that “it is the thinnest division.” And when it comes to criticism over who made the cut, “I think the most frustrating part going in is seeing a lot of the women that didn’t make the show, and a lot of the criticism that you’ll hear that we’re not true featherweights. When in fact that going into the TUF, there hasn’t been one season that you’ve seen where they’re truly at their weight class.”
“So yes there are bantamweights, including me being one of them,” Allen said, “but in fact I can do either-or, essentially, and in fact I was probably one of the bigger girls coming into the house, [even] being a bantamweight.”
In fact, being a bantamweight had its advantages when it came time to make weight, Allen suggested. But ultimately, “if you were to ask me which division would you prefer, in all honesty, it wouldn’t matter to me. If they had a fight at 145, I’ll take it, if they had a fight at 135, I’ll take it as well.”
The women’s featherweights share the house on TUF 28 with men’s heavyweights, which Allen also touched on, joking that “that’s frustrating. Living in a house with a bunch of men that can just eat whatever the f*ck they want, was completely frustrating.”
