AyaK, do you know how long it took to film the show?

According to a couple of sources, 40 days. Then the ark landed on Mount Ararat....

http://www.dailybreeze.com/today/articles/1454847.html

Twenty camera crews followed the boxers as they lived and trained together for 40 days at "The Contender" gym in Pasadena.
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"Once those 40 days are over, you've either got it or you don't," he said. "You've got to be planning the whole time while being flexible to adapt to what happens."

http://contender.tv.yahoo.com/01/fighters/jesse_qa2.html

If I asked you: Sly, Ray or Tommy? What is your first response? Why?
Jesse: Tommy...lived with him for 40 days...great guy.

http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/cda/article_print/0,1983,VCS_230_3640012_ARTICLE-DETAIL-PRINT,00.html

"The Contender" was shot last August and September at an old industrial building in Pasadena that was converted into a training center and loft where the 16 boxers from across the country lived, worked out and fought for 40 days.

Yes, it should have taken 42 days if they fought every fight except the finale (24 days first round, 12 days quarterfinals, 6 days semifinals). I had first thought that the difference was just a rounding error -- but now it seems to be evidence that they didn't fight one fight and added an extra day for the second challenge.