An in-depth look at The Contender Asia Season 2

For fight fans with an interest in Muay Thai, The Contender Asia has been a source of both excitement and frustration. By taking the tried and true reality show format and applying it to Muay Thai, season 1 of the show introduced a lot of new fans to the sport, and gave names like John Wayne Parr and Yodsaenklai Fairtex a much deserved boost in name recognition. Yet the show was never easy to watch for US audiences, and with no official DVD ever released, there are still plenty of fans who would be interested, but have not had the opportunity to watch. Despite these problems, the first season has to be viewed as a success, and so it came as no surprise when season 2 was announced. That announcement would prove to be the last straight-forward, clear moment in the history of The Contender Asia season 2.

With rumors now flying of the show potentially being scraped, we wanted to dig into season 2 and try to answer the big question - just what the hell is going on with this thing? Of course, getting straight answers and information is not easy. As with any reality show, there is a limit to what those involved can or will say publicly until the show airs. But a look at the often confusing history helps reveal quite a bit:

Aug. 2008 - The first news of season 2 appears, as contestants begin earning spots on the show by winning local tournaments. These tournaments would continue through the spring, and would bring the show's first taste of controversy, when during the Canadian qualifying tournament, promoters were accused of using questionable officiating to favor a fighter with connections to the World Muay Thai Council, one of the main supporters of The Contender Asia.

Feb. 2009 - The World Muay Thai Council (WMC) makes their first official statement on season 2, offering a number of details: filming will begin April 1; the finale will be held in September at Stadium Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur; and the show is budgeted at $10 million, 30% of which will be covered by reality show impresario Mark Burnett.

April - The first delay. Executive Producer Riaz Mehta states that the show is scheduled in begin filming in June, with the finals to be held in January 2010. Not only is no reason for the delay given, there is no acknowledgment that there is any delay or that the show was scheduled to begin any earlier.

May - The show is officially announced as taking place in Malaysia, and will start filming at the end of June. This start date is soon pushed back to July 31.

June - At the WMC sponsored Champion of Champions 2 event in Jamaica, Stephen Fox publicly announces more of the fighters involved, as well as names the two coaches - Clifton Brown and Ray Sefo. The inclusion of Sefo in particular raises some eyebrows, as although he has some Muay Thai experience, he is primarily a K-1 style kickboxer, and so considered by some to be an odd choice to coach.

July - The fighters move to Malaysia and move into the house where they will be living. The show is announced to be airing on AXN network starting in October. Things appear to be progressing on schedule, until...

August - Fighters are sent home. The official reason is that shooting can not take place during Ramadan (August 21 - September 19).

September - The official season 2 promo video is released. Filmed while fighters were in Malaysia before being sent home for Ramadan, the video is fantastic and energizing, generating great interest for the upcoming season. This remains, to date, the only footage of season 2.

October - Duane "Bang" Ludwig announces on his website that he has dropped out of the show: "After multiple postponments, I've decided to pull off the Contender Asia 2 to refocus on MMA. I want to fight, and was forced to pull off the show while they sort out some things." Kit Cope also mentions on Tapout Radio that he is unsure what the status of the show is, leading to rumors of the cancellation. The new filming start date is early February, pushed back so as not to film over the holidays.

Which brings us to today. While rumors of cancellation seem a bit premature (Cope's comment was very offhanded, and by no means was a statement that the show would not happen), the fact remains that the show has been delayed on five separate occasions now. As the actions of Ludwig and Cope show, the fighters remain in the dark on the status of the show as well, which has obviously led to frustration. And justifiably so.

What sets The Contender Asia apart from a typical reality show such as Burnett's flagship Survivor, is that this is a show where the "contestants" are professional fighters. These are men who do this for a living, and have chosen to temporarily sacrifice that living to be on the show. And they have indeed made sacrifices - Ludwig mentions his inability to fight while committed to the show, and Marcus Oberg turned down a K-1 MAX fight in the spring when he thought filming was imminent. Of course, they are not making this sacrifice for nothing. They are trading off fights now for the potential of bigger exposure and more high profile fights down the road. It's a gamble they have all decided to take, but as the time off grows from a few months, to a year, to a year and a half, they have to begin questioning if it is worth it. Obviously for Ludwig it was not, and I would not be surprised if other contestants followed his lead.

So where does this leave the show for now? Hard to say. In theory they will begin filming in February, but that's hard to believe after so many delays. Plus, should they encounter more fighters leaving, those are more spots that will have to be filled, potentially causing more delays.

There is no denying that fans want to see this show, and that there are still a lot of people who expect it to happen. But while it is too early to say it is dead, the reality of the show happening has to be questioned at this point. Let's hope they can get it together.