‘TUF’ ordeal alters Marunde’s perspective

Most contestants on “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show leave their families and move to Las Vegas for six weeks to be sequestered in a house, in hopes of winning the competition and the lucrative Ultimate Fighting Championship contract that goes to the champion.

Bristol Marunde only had to travel across the city, but he might as well have been a world away.

The 30-year-old welterweight from Las Vegas is one of the 16 competitors who won a spot in the house by winning a preliminary round fight on the season premiere that aired Friday.

Those fighters just finished taping the season on Wednesday, and Marunde was thankful to move out of the house and reunite with his family.

“The first thing I did was call my girlfriend to come get me ASAP,” Marunde said. “It was (very emotional). We’re fighters and we’ve got to put on a tough act, but it’s not easy, man. I don’t care how tough you are. Even the strongest guy can break down. Six, seven weeks without seeing your family, it’s tough.

“My little 2-year-old boy (Kale) grew so much since the last time I saw him. I just broke down in tears as soon as I saw him. It was such a good feeling just to hug my girlfriend and hug my little boy. It was amazing.”

Marunde said actually being in the city where he lives made the process even tougher.

“It was torture,” he said. “Your mind plays crazy tricks on you, like ‘Maybe my family is driving by right now. Maybe I can see them if I look out the window.’ Always looking out and knowing exactly where I am. But you just have to stay focused on the goal, which is to be a UFC fighter. It’s work for me, and I want to show up and do my best.”

Marunde trains in the southwest part of the Valley at Throwdown Training Center. He can’t discuss how his fights went while he was in the house, but he won his preliminary fight with a first-round submission, and he enters the house as perhaps the most accomplished fighter, having competed in Strikeforce and the International Fight League.

He said being holed up in the house and cut off from the outside world was “way worse” than he expected. It has, however, helped him gain a new perspective on life, sounding almost like a prisoner who has finished serving his time.

“You don’t know how much you love freedom until you have it taken away. I just wanted to go out and get a pizza and go to the restaurants I enjoy. You miss the little things in the city and watching your boy play in the back yard,” he said. “You gain such appreciation for every little thing in life. You come out of there hugging your family members that much tighter, and you come out as a different person for sure.”

Season 16 of “The Ultimate Fighter” airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on FX (Cable 24).

■ ’TUF’ INDIA – UFC officials announced last week a third international version of the reality show will debut in 2013. Details are still being finalized for “The Ultimate Fighter: India,” but the show likely will feature Indian fighters and those of Indian descent.

UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta was in India last week and said the market is completely untapped.

“It’s a market we think has a lot of potential, but we are literally starting from ground zero,” he said. “The people really don’t know anything about this sport or the UFC.”

■ MACHIDA-HENDERSON FIGHT – Dan Henderson was forced to pull out of a fight against UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, triggering the series of events that led to the cancellation of UFC 151. Lyoto Machida followed that by rejecting a matchup with Jones at UFC 152, which is scheduled for Saturday at Toronto.

Now, one of them will fall well out of title contention as UFC president Dana White announced plans for Machida and Henderson to fight each other. No date has been set for the matchup, White indicated it will take place this year.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.