HBO spikes...well...Spike

A big time fight should be every TV stations' dream. The nature of a fight already has all the drama one could ask for. A fight is a battle of wills, a measurement of a person's heart and willingness to overcome adversity. 

But it can be hard to master the art of translating all the emotion and drama of a big fight through a television screen to someone sitting on a couch. HBO, however, did master it with its tremendous show, "24/7."

The show has previewed some of the biggest fights in recent years and does a spectacular job not only hyping the fight, but showing the human side to athletes commonly seen as  ultra warriors. The best of the series was the Oscar De La Hoya vs Floyd Mayweather fight. But other great boxers such as Joe Calzaghe. Manny Pacquiao, Ricky Hatton and Roy Jones Jr., have been profiled as well. 

HBO raised the bar on how to cover a big fight, so with the biggest fight in mixed martial arts history set to happen Jan. 24th, the UFC was willing to give its best shot at mimicking "24/7."

On Jan. 14, the UFC debuted the first episode of a three-part series called UFC: Primetime, a show created to build up the mega fight between Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn. There was a lot of things to like about the first episode, especially the way it was able to show just how hard it is to be a top-level mixed martial artist.

Whether it was GSP going from training with the national wrestling team to hitting the mat with jujitsu masters, or GSP going from the weight room to the boxing ring, it became clear that it takes a tremendous amount of work and dedication to be the UFC Welterweight Champion. 

But what about being the UFC Lightweight Champion? This is where the show goes off the rails and becomes significantly inferior to HBO's "24/7."

BJ Penn, who is known for his uncanny natural ability as much as he is known for his lack of training, is shown as a fighter with all the riches of being a naturally gifted champion that has nothing better to do but hang out on the beaches of his native Hawaii. The trouble is, he is much more than that.

While Penn is criticized for his dedication to training, there is no doubting he is taking this fight very seriously. In his fight against Joe Stevenson, he slept in a high-altitude bubble just to increase his stamina. That level of dedication will only grow for a fight he has been waiting years for.

So while Penn is hitting the gym and training, we only get to see the laid-back personality of the lightweight champion. Meanwhile, the show portrays St. Pierre working harder than anyone else at his craft until he becomes the best, much like a modern day Rocky.

That would be fine if it was true, but it is obvious to see UFC is forcing this good guy vs bad guy story. Penn is the champion that is too confident, while St. Pierre is the champion that has never lost sight of where he came from. Great drama, but it comes across phony and forced. 

UFC should stop trying to create storylines and portray the fighters for who they really are, just like "24/7" showed how Roy Jones Jr. had to struggle with his age or Manny Pacquiao struggled with media attention he had never seen before. 

Penn brings some of it on himself as he always was a charismatic individual. Saying things like "I am going to kill you," in reference to his fight with St. Pierre, will bring attention to more than his training ethic. I have no problem with them showing that side of Penn, but they also need to show the side of him that works and trains like a champion fighter. 

The first episode portrayed Penn in such a negative light, that the lightweight champion actually cut off the taping and interview session for future Primetime episodes and no longer wants to participate in the show.

Primetime can do for UFC what "24/7" did for HBO, but it will have to get away from the Rocky III theme and start letting the fighters true personalities fully shine. There is nothing more dramatic and powerful than a big fight and I hope the UFC just lets that natural drama come through.