Michael Bisping talks about the fan backlash from US fans following his stint as a coach on TUF. Also, addresses allegations from Rashad Evans that he didn’t take the Dan Henderson fight seriously and a bit about Quinton Rampage Jackson.

Bisping takes on Dennis Kang at UFC 105 on Nov. 14th in Manchester England.

Bad day for fans. First Thiago Alves withdraws from his fight with Jon Fitch and now Kurt Pellegrino injuries his back, forcing him out of his TUF 10 Finale fight with Frankie Edgar.

Edgar first broke the news on his twitter account,

Pelligrino pulled. Stay tuned to see replacement

The injury has been confirmed, apparently Pellegrino suffered three herniated discs in his back.

More information on a possible replacement for Pellegrino soon…

TUF 10 Finale Rumored Main Card

Matt Hamill vs. Jon Jones
TUF Finalist 1 vs. TUF Finalist 2
Frankie Edgar vs. Matt Veach
Houston Alexander vs. Kimbo Slice

UPDATE
The UFC promotes Matt Veach from the undercard to take on Edgar. Veach was scheduled to take on Mark Bocek on the undercard, before being called up.

Rumors have been running wild for weeks that Kimbo Slice will be fighting Houston Alexander sometime in December, possibility at the TUF 10 Finale on Dec. 5 from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, NV. Here’s some more proof that this fight is not a myth.

• Houston Alexander announced on his Nebraska Radio show (Power 106, Sunday Night Raw), the that a fight between the two is in the works, but has since kept tight lipped.
• Kimbo Tweeted,
  His first mistake was saying “I Accept”
• Houston Alexander is on the schedule for re-license by Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) at the Nov. 4th meeting.
• No “Will Kimbo get a second chance” commercials on Wednesdays TUF.

Does Kimbo Slice take on Houston Alexander at the TUF 10 Finale on Dec. 4th? I think theirs a high probability that these two fighter will meet by the end of the year.

Then the big question is at what weight: light heavyweight, heavyweight or a catch weight? I know Kimbo is not the biggest heavyweight, but will he be able to cut down to 205lbs?

Many unique characters already start to surface at the TUF 11 tryouts in LA.

In previous episodes, Matt Mitrione was found out to be a rat and later tested Rashad’s patience. Also, Darrill gets in Rampage’s face and the heat between Rampage and Rashad escalates.

From the start of tonight’s show, Rashad is mocking Rampage (mimicking how stupid he looked when he fought Wanderlei), but Rampage gives it right back. But the bottom line is that Rashad has 6 wins in a row to Rampage’s none.

At the fight announcement, they trade more barbs, but in between are still able to announce that Matt “Meathead” Mitrione will fight Scott Junk (who has fought in the UFC before). Dana puts his money on Junk simply because of his experience. That leaves Mike Wessel to fight Marcus Jones. Dana dubs it a “David vs. Goliath” and really doesn’t know what to make of it.

As soon as the announcements are over, Rampage and Rashad get in each others’ faces. Scott tries to break it up, but as soon as he turns away, they’re back at it. The tension between the two is unbelievable. I’d write about what the two are saying, but they’re talking so fast, I can’t! I just know it was an I’m-a-better-fighter-than-you or I’m-a-better-coach-than-you kind of fight. In the thick of it, their faces were literally inches from each other. Rampage keeps trying to egg Rashad to hit him, but Rashad wisely turns and walks away.

Back at the house, Matt is shown looking at a piece of paper that he later slips in his pants. Later, Scott reveals that it said that Mike was afraid to fight Scott and that’s why Matt is fighting him. However, Scott knew Mike before the show and tells him about the note. Apparently, the note was not true. So Matt’s a bigger rat than everyone thought.

At Team Rashad training, Matt discusses how he played football, but then found himself getting into MMA because of the athletic and training aspects of it. James gives the fight to Junk just based on his experience and Matt’s lack of training. James also tells Rashad about the issue with the note. Rashad’s theory is that Matt is projecting because he’s the one afraid of Scott, as this is the second fight he’s trying to get out of. Rashad confronts him, but he says he knows what he’s doing. Yeah. Sure.

Matt is later boring the hell out of Brendan talking about the peace in his head and how he feels when he’s fighting or doing something athletic. Basically, he’s just making himself sound like a crazy man.

Scott and Rampage train next, and they discuss strategy. Seems like they want to keep it fast and standing. According to Scott, he has come to the realization that Matt is a scumbag. It seems like no one really likes him, and everyone is picking Scott to win.

No surprise, the dislike is not limited to the opposition. Matt goes into the fridge and proceeds to drink Jon’s OJ (the one with his name on it). When Jon confronts him about it, Matt feels like he did nothing wrong. After some few choice words, Matt leaves the room and Jon threatens to slap him, but Matt didn’t hear it. Of course, James had to run and tell him. The big baby didn’t take it very well.

Lo and behold, Matt and Jon are paired together to spar at practice. Both start going at 100% and the anger is evident. Jon decides he’s done, causing Matt explode at him and begin screaming. Rashad gets him in the back room to straighten him out. Though his speech is nearly entirely bleeped, the gist of it is that Matt shouldn’t care what anyone says and that he should save his aggression for his opponent. But with Matt it goes in one ear and out the other. Rashad finds the truth of it though – his focus is all messed up.

And so a new pool develops in the house. When is Matt going to snap? Inspired, Sims sees Matt playing basketball alone and decides to sneak up on him “ninja-style.” Hiding in the trees, he waits for Matt to walk off and pounces on him trying to scare him. But it doesn’t quite phase him. Soon after, they are in the house playing pool and Sims stays nice and close to Matt, despite his pleas for Sims to not touch him. Matt keeps his composure. For now.

FIGHT DAY

In the morning, Scott seems pretty stoked to shut Matt up for everyone. Even Marcus makes a good point: there’s an issue if people on your own team don’t like you! In talking to Matt, Matt reveals that he has talked to his wife. But this can’t be, because they’re not allowed to receive phone calls! And then he points to his head…. Ooooooookkkaaaaaayyyyy….

ROUND 1

(P.S. What’s with the 8” reach difference? Does Mitrione have monkey arms or what??)

Both feel each other out, but Junk swings first with a kick. Both seem tentative. Junk kicks and it’s caught, so he falls back but Mitrione doesn’t know what to do. Junk gets up and they have some weak exchanges. Junk is slightly rocked and falls, but Mitrione again does nothing with it. Junk kicks again, gets caught and Mitrione connects, but can do nothing with it. Junk gets up and Mitrione rocks him with another punch. Partially down, he’s not really fighting back. He lays down and the ref directs Mitrione to let him up. Again, Mitrione connects with another solid shot and rattles him. Mitrione keeps landing several combos. Junks falls and grabs Mitrione’s leg, but can do nothing. They continue to exchange, but Mitrione looks tired and Junk is looking beat up. They both land a few good jabs and overhands. Junk rushes Mitrione into the cage and they clinch. Neither makes progress, so they go back to stand up. Mitrione is winded and has dropped his guard allowing SJ to connect a few. SJ backs him up against the cage and is relentless with several unanswered shots. As the round ends, their punches look like slow motion.

(Dana is awfully excited! True, this is the best fight yet, but that’s not saying much…)

ROUND 2

The round starts the way the first ended – both are exhausted and throwing shots my grandmother could throw. They connect with a couple, but not enough to knock anyone out. Mitrione decides to throw a leg kick, followed by another which is checked. Mitrione keeps throwing backhands that Junk fends off. The only good thing is that Mitrione keeps backing up. Finally, Junk charges and takes Mitrione down. Holding Mitrione down with one hand, he lands a couple jabs to the face. In full guard, he tries to punch Mitrione’s body and head. Both are SO tired this is comical. Eventually the ref stands them up and Mitrione lands a great straight kick. But then Junk lands a weak superman punch. Mitrione keeps connecting with weak shots, but at least they’re connecting. They continue walking and swinging around the cage, but at one point, they’re even on opposite sides of the cage. The round FINALLY ends.

Winner: Matt Mitrione by Majority decision (one judge called it a draw)

Rampage is thoroughly pissed, as Junk was supposed to be guy to get him a win and get the team on track. He responds by going into the back and literally tearing the door to shreds. Wow. Nutjob.

Next week: Marcus Jones begins to lose it. Darrill stands up to Rampage. And the final preliminary fight: can Marcus Jones defeat Mike Wessell and prevent a Rashad sweep? These days, I’m not counting anyone out!

Kimbo Slice,

“Here I am, a guy with just one dimension, one-dimensional, who out of respect for the nature of the game tried to learn. I’m trying to learn this mixed martial arts (expletive). This (expletive) ain’t easy. It’s hard …. It’s hard to become multi-dimensional after being so used to being one-dimensional all your life. Now you have to become versatile and learn all these different things and be prepared for all kinds of different things that’s coming at you and still try to fight your game. That’s just the ultimate sport right there, and I’m part of it. [MMAWeekly]”

“They’re going to make the matches and match them up well where the crowd is pleased that came to be entertained. I leave it up to those guys, but one thing the matchmakers do know is Kimbo Slice is coming to fight. I’m coming to get knocked the (expletive) out or knock someone out, and that’s what it’s about to me.”

Slice talks what he learned on The Ultimate Fighter reality show. Kimbo Slice has a lot to learn about MMA, but can he overcome the technical aspects of the sport to become a successful MMA fighter.

Their is a lot of talk about, is Kimbo a real mixed martial artist, of course he is. They guy has the skills of a fighter with a few (very short) fights under his belt. I guess the real question is Kimbo a legitimate UFC fighter who’s skills make him worthy of a slot on the UFC roster?

I haven’t seen Dana White this pissed at a fighter, since the peak of the Tito Ortiz feud. TUF 10 Heavyweight Roy “Big Country” Nelson knows found the key to get under Dana’s skin.

Dana also denies that Kimbo Slice received any preferential treatment on the TUF 10 show, except that if he makes it in the UFC he will make more money on his UFC contract.

The Ultimate Fighter 10 Episode 7 “Heavyweights” Rashad Evens and Rampage Jackson throw down in a war of words in this preview of next Wednesdays show. Rashad calls Rampage a quitter and makes it known that he will also quit in the cage.

Last week, there was a lot drama and Team Rashad won their fifth straight. Will their winning streak continue?

At the house, Darrill is drinking at 8am, and not just a little bit with breakfast. In a very short time, he’s had probably a couple beers and several shots of whiskey. And somehow he still makes it to practice.

Come practice time, Rashad brings in Phil Nurse to help the guys train. Rashad is still enjoying the high of 5 wins, but it doesn’t last long. He’s watching Darrill spar, and sees that he’s hit a wall. Wondering what’s wrong, he asks James and is told that he’s drunk! This does not make Rashad happy. He pulls Darrill aside, reprimanding him, as the drinking is affecting his conditioning (which he denies doing that day). He is told to keep his drinking to a minimum (or none) until the show’s over or until after he fights. Rashad is still hopeful for him, referring to him as the diamond in the rough who gets no respect from Rampage. This is proven as Rampage continually refers to him as “Titties.” This spurs Darrill to come back at Rampage with a challenge – he promises to win the show, then drop to 205 and knock out Rampage….Wooo!!! It sure was fun to see him gettin’ ol’ Rampage all riled up!

Later, at the fight announcement, it is determined that Darrill Schoonover will fight Zak Jensen. And then the s**t hits the fan! The “Titties” start flying which causes Darrill to get in Rampage’s face and they start exchanging some FU’s. Rampage threatens serious bodily injury on Darrill if he ever “walks up on” him again. Thankfully, Justin helps to keep Darrill back. But Rashad feels the need to defend Darrill and threaten to call Rampage “dick face” everyday. Priceless…

In the van home, Kimbo decides that if Shrek had a little brother, it’d be Zak, and he’d be called Linderman. Sims continues the analogy, calling him the little dog you kick, and then kick some more. The apparently literate Abe dubs him Piggy from Lord of the Flies. Wes even goes so far as to start a pool, betting on when Zak is going to flip out on everyone. They plan on continuing to push on him. With all this crap, I’m actually starting to feel bad for the guy. Can’t they just believe that there’s someone in the house that wants to stay out of the drama?

The next discussion at the house is Darrill’s tattoo choices, and the reasons behind them. Shocker, all his stories seem to start with “I was drunk and…” Rashad calls him serial-killer weird. Can’t say I disagree! But at training, Rashad says he sees a fire in him, like he can’t wait to fight. The strategy for Darrill is to keep the fighting on their feet and to stand and bang. Darrill has heavy hands, and hopes to wear Zak out with power and dirty boxing. He’s definitely hungry for it.

At Rampage training, the coaches unveil a present for the guys: a collage of “Team Cocky” featuring caricatures of Rashad’s team. In talking about the upcoming fight, Rampage realizes that Zak was a last pick, but he feels like this fight is winnable for him. The problem is Zak doesn’t have a lot of confidence (I love how Rampage offers to call his momma for him…). What Zak needs is more mental coaching than physical. Then the big uh oh…. as Zak is rolling around, Zak gets cut. BAD. Blood is all running down his face. And all we see is Kimbo’s face light up like a Christmas tree. *sigh*

After the commercial, Kimbo is told to keep training, but Zak’s status is unknown yet. He might be fine. The coaches discuss the potential of him getting hit on the cut during the fight, and slap him to see how he and the cut react. Both are all good and Zak still wants to fight. (Now I’m sighing…in relief!) During Zak’s sparring session, he looks like a new man, doing really well. Zak just might give Darrill a run for his money.

Uh oh. Rashad and Phil show up at the gym early to get in a workout. Suddenly, they look up and see the “Team Cocky” collage. While Rashad actually finds it funny, he decides it’s best to take it down before Darrill can see it. God only knows how Darrill would flip out if he saw it, and he just needs to focus on his fight. He tells the team about the drawings, but tells them to not let it get to them, because they’d win. He reminds them to keep focused, and they may end up on the wall like him.

(I like the clip during the commercials where Wes Sims says that Zak isn’t “all there”…well isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black!)

Back at the house, the guys are all discussing the fight. It basically comes down to which one of them is just going to flip and go nuts in the cage. Regardless, it’s gonna be a good fight.

*Insert eye roll* Next we see Rampage, et al, sneaking over to Schoonover’s room, defacing his sign, filling in the O’s with dots and scribbling “titties” underneath. Seriously, how old are these guys? It is quickly covered up with tape.

The best advice from Rashad – the best way to get back at Rampage is for Darrill to whoop Zak’s ass and help him to quit. Rampage’s advice? “The guy has titties. That’s enough.” And that helps Zak to win how?

(New Rampage-ism “I couldn’t fight no guy with titties.” Does this guy have an edit button in his head? Guess not…and it’s getting really hard to write out these Rampage-isms. My spell check is getting annoyed.)

FIGHT DAY

(P.S. It’s 10:50EST and the fight hasn’t started yet. Good. I love short fights.)

ROUND 1

Schoonover strikes first and they exchange several head shots. Then they clinch and Schoonover has Jensen against the cage. Jensen tries to get in around Schoonover’s neck but can’t. Their positions are then reversed and they separate. Schoonover starts raining serious punches on Z’s head as well as some serious knees. After many painful shots, Jensen finally goes for the takedown and gets Schoonover on his back. Soon after, Schoonover swings his legs up, wrapping them around Jensen’s neck for the triangle. From the top, Jensen nails Schoonover with some solid punches to the face, but Schoonover is finally able to wrap his legs tighter, crossing them. Jensen tries punching more but his shots are getting weaker as Schoonover pulls tighter and tighter. Eventually Jensen’s face turns purple and the ref stops it just as he passes out.

Winner: Darrill Schoonover via Submission (triangle)

The general consensus from Dana and everyone else is that Darrill looked really good, but Zak showed he can fight too. Just when it looked like Zak was gonna get knocked out, he was up and going. The kid can take a hit, that’s for sure. Personally, I feel like this has been the best fight of the season thus far.

To end the show, Team Rampage then decides to bestow their gift to Team Rashad – the lovely caricature poster. But they didn’t quite get the rise out of them that they expected. Ha!

Next week: Team Rashad finally turns on Matt Mitrione, but Mitrione snaps. The final two prelim fights are announced. Will the coaches finally come to blows? And we have the penultimate preliminary fight. This looks like it might be the best episode yet.

Quinton Rampage Jackson’s appearance as coach of TUF 10 has come under scrutiny as the show portrays him as a bad coach. TUF 10 heavyweight Mike Wessel is the first to throws some blows at Rampage’s coaching ability via Heavy.com,

“I was talked to and told that I wasn’t allowed to have a confrontation with Rampage. The reason I get pissed off at Rampage is because he’s supposed to be a coach, and I used to be a coach as well. When Demico lost the way he did, Rampage started feeling sorry for himself. You could hear him saying things like, “Do I have bad luck?”, and, “I can’t believe he tapped out to that bullshit”. I remember he said something like, “I would never lose like that”. Really Rampage? Really? You’re going to act like that big of a douche because one of your guys lost, even though he fought good? Demico went in there and surprised a lot of people, and lost, but who cares. Everybody loses. What did you do after your last loss Rampage? You went on a fucking cocaine rage and stayed up all damn night before you were driving your monster truck with a big logo on it through white fucking suburbia. Running from the cops where they had to shoot out your fucking tires. Then Dana had to come down and bail your ass out and send you to England so the media wouldn’t eat your ass apart, so you would still have a fucking career. So I think Demico is handling his loss perfectly.”

We all know, Kimbo and the UFC came to some sort of agreement with “Special” privileges in order for the Slice to appear on The Ultimate Fighter season 10 reality show. Wissel talks about Kimbo’s wife and crew being present at his fight with Roy Nelson and the casts reaction to the special treatment.

“Yeah, we walked out, and we were like, “Who the fuck is that?”, because I didn’t know who these guys were. There was like three big black guys, and what I was told was his wife. There was a female there and a little kid. They were like, “Yeah, that’s his wife and one of his sons, along with his posse. That’s Icy Mike, his promoter and manager. Other people knew who they were. Justin Wren was telling me who all of these guys were. I was like, ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’. I was furious! Not at Kimbo, but at the Spike team for letting that happen, because ‘You’re not going to let me talk to my wife who is having surgery for cancer, but you’re going to let Kimbo, because of who he is, you’re going to let Kimbo’s posse come watch him fight? Are you fucking kidding me!’.I don’t care if anyone is mad at me for saying that, because its bullshit. Everyone has their own things going on, but because it’s Kimbo, everyone wants to kiss his ass. I don’t know if it was in his contract or what. I really don’t know who to blame, but I just don’t think that it was right. Here we’re told we can’t do anything, and then Kimbo comes out, and there’s his posse. It was awkward when those guys walked past us because they were pissed off that Kimbo lost. It was just a really awkward moment. It was an awkward passing that they were even there, for one, and for two, that they were pissed off that Kimbo lost. It’s like, ‘Look, you can be behind your boy all you want, but you’re fighting a guy by the name of Roy Nelson. They all may have thought he was a big piece of shit or whatever, when truly he’s one of the most highly regarded mixed martial artists in the business.”