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The Ultimate Fighter: Season 13 Episode 6: “Mean Streak”

May 4, 2011 By

Previously on TUF, Len Bentley had a solid performance in his loss to McGillivray, so when Brock gave his team a tongue-lashing, Bentley refused to sit and listen to it. Then Coach Lew’s tough-love tactics rubbed Junior the wrong way, causing some team tension. Then Clay Harvison wins a tough decision, but his broken pinky makes the win bitter sweet. Coming up tonight, 2 fights that are absolute wars; plus the wildcard is announced. (Ooohh….)

After Mick’s loss, Junior is trying to make him feel better by telling him that losses happen. But right away Lew contradicts him, telling Mick that it is their job to fight and to win. JDS turns to him with a WTF look and is like, hey, who asked you??

At Lesnar’s team practicing, we find that Clay is likely to be out, which hurts their team’s shot at winning. And then to dump a bucket of salt on that wound, Len begins rolling around on the mat, grasping at his knee and yelping in pain. Lesnar’s ready to just roll over and give up.

In the hospital, Clay learns that he has not actually broken his pinky, but merely dislocated it. That gives him hope. After learning this, he looks up to see Len rolling up in his wheelchair. Len describes what he felt to the doctor, who upon inspection of his knee, alleviates his fears and assures him that his ACL is intact. Broken bones? Torn ACL? Show ending. A couple dislocations? No problem :)

Trouble in paradise is brewing on Team Dos Santos. JDS learns that Lew has gone to visit the guys at the house, without telling him. JDS approaches the other coach, asking about what else he doesn’t know and learns that, more or less, Lew has been undermining him and has had this bad attitude from day one. This is very upsetting to JDS who walks off toward Lew.

Junior pulls Lew aside to speak to him alone. Lew claims that he told Junior that he wanted to go to the house, but Junior claims there must have been some confusion. With a mix of anger, frustration and sadness, he tells Lew he’s no longer needed and to go home. You tell ‘em, Junior!

Clay and Len return from the hospital and fill Lesnar in with their great news. Lesnar is relieved and hopeful that his 2 best still have a shot. Later, with control regained by Team Lesnar, Brock chooses Tony Ferguson to fight Justin Edwards, which pits wrestler versus wrestler. And in the final preliminary fight, that leaves Chuck O’Neil to fight Zach Davis.

To Lesnar, Tony is the likely winner. Not only has he been working and training with Lesnar and his coaches, but he has also been working out on his own. He describes his footwork as all over the place, which will make him hard to catch. A self-described gym rat, Ferguson says that this is his passion. Winning is the only option.

Justin, however, realizes that he shouldn’t even be here. Being that he was brought in as an alternate, he understands that the coaches didn’t get to see him in the evals and don’t kow what to expect from him. He has a helluva lot to prove. But to him, he’s a monster in the cage with a a huge heart.

At the house, the guys talk about missing Coach Lew, but they also get that it is Team Dos Santos, not Team Lew. Just hope it doesn’t affect their shot at winning.

FIGHT DAY

(Tony shows up for the fight in a shirt and tie. Hmmm. Very original. I think I like it.)

ROUND 1
Immediately, Edwards comes out swinging in a flurry, not allowing Ferguson to defend or gather himself. He finally lets up, but it’s not long before Edwards is peppering him again. Ferguson keeps trying to get away while going in for the occasional shot. Finally the pace slows and the 2 begin some more even exchanges. Ferguson lands a couple straight arms to Edwards’s face. After a left/right combo from Ferguson, Edwards shoots and stumbles for a takedown but fails to get Ferguson down. They continue the standup fight, but both are being more selective. Ferguson lands a nice right that connects with Edwards’s ear. Edwards lands a leg kick, but Ferguson returns the favor. Both are eating shots to the face and head. Edwards finally shoots at Ferguson’s waist and gets Ferguson down with a slam. In his guard, he can’t do much. Instead Ferguson is landing elbows. He backs off, and with the opening, Ferguson lands a hell kick to the chin that drops Edwards like a sack of rocks. As soon as he hits the mat, Ferguson pounces to finish but he’s stopped.

Winner: Tony Ferguson via Knock-Out

FINALLY! It’s nice to see two guys lay it all on the line and go out there with the confidence to win it.

At the house, goofy Chuck enjoys making everyone laugh, but once he’s training or fighting, he’s cold steel; all business baby. Lesnar says he’s well-rounded, but in particular, he’s great on the ground. He can certainly hold his own on the mat.

Zach seems to also be Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky, but he’s also more competitive. He promises that his desire to win is greater than anyone else’s. And Junior backs this up, saying that he just loves to fight. You would never guess that by looking at him!

FIGHT DAY

ROUND 1
Almost immediately Davis shoots for and gets the takedown, but just as fast O’Neill’s arms around his neck looking for a choke. They both scramble for control, but it doesn’t last and they are quickly back on their feet. In the clinch, Davis sneaks up some knees. O’Neill reverses control and latches onto Davis knee looking to pull him down. It’s a failed attempt. Within seconds, Davis manages to get O’Neill down and is in his guard. Davis can’t do much, but O’Neill lands a few elbows. Davis backs up off him and O’Neill looks to replay T’s big up-kick, but doesn’t make it happen. Davis allows O’Neill to get up, but in a blink O’Neill has Davis on his back. While peppering him with elbows, Davis pulls O’Neill’s head down, looking for a potential triangle. After some struggling to position it, he gets the leg over and locked down and O’Neill taps.

Winner: Zach Davis via Submission (Triangle)

Dana makes a good point – a war doesn’t have to be fought on their feet, these two fought a war on the ground and made it entertaining. Despite Dana telling Chuck how impressive he was, Chuck is mad at himself

Now that the prelims are over, Dana asks the coaches (JDS-4; Lesnar-3) to pick the wildcards. All 3 unanimously agree that Justin Edwards deserves the shot, and they tell him so…unfortunately, with a 90-day suspension (which we can only assume was due to being knocked out) from the commission, he will not be allowed to fight. Wow, that sucks.

So then they call in every single asking why they should pick them for the wildcard. They are not wowed by anyone’s answers. No one lays it out saying that no one wants the fight more than them. Bummer.

What’s weirdest is that, unlike ANY previous season, neither Brock nor Junior are blindly pushing for their guys. And not only that, they actually have a conversation calmly, really discussing who is the best pick! Wow, go figure! This should be the precedent by which all future seasons are set!

So when Dana makes the announcement, they have decided that Javier Torres of Team Dos Santos will take on Team Lesnar’s Chuck O’Neil.

Next week: Len expresses his discontent with not being picked for the wildcard, and confronts Brock. Then Brock and Junior hit the grid iron for the Coaches’ Challenge. And both wildcard picks try to avenge their losses to prove they were not flukes. Finally, the first quarterfinal matchups are announced.

Filed Under: News, Opinion, The Ultimate Fighter, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Ultimate Fighter: Season 13 Episode 5: “Wow Me”

April 27, 2011 By

Previously on The Ultimate Fighter, Assistant Coach Lew overstepped his bounds, forcing Junior to put him in his place. Team Lesnar suspected Chris Cope of spying for the other team. Team Dos Santos earned their third win when Ramsey Nijem pulled off a rear naked choke over Charlie Rader. And after the fight, Brock lashed out at his team for their lackluster performances. Will someone rise above and become the Ultimate?

As Chris is getting treated for his post-fight injuries, Brock lashes out at the boys for looking like chicken shit (again). Len storms out, proclaiming that he fought his heart out making a good point that Brock wasn’t even there for his fight (though he did lose). However, Brock couldn’t care less. He’s just being honest – using his own loss to Cain Velasquez as a prime example. He blamed no one but himself. Clay commends Brock for trying to light a fire under them, trying to get them take the damn bull by the horns and just TAKE IT. All the man wants is someone to “Wow” him. Len just feels like he got robbed by the judges – doesn’t he realize that he shouldn’t have left it in their hands? Back at the house, Len is STILL going on and on about Brock’s name-calling, whining that Brock needs to grow up (so says the one who is still whining…).

At the fight announcement JDS picks his own Mick Bowman to take on Team Lesnar’s Clay Harvison. This is a big fight for Team Lesnar as they need it to regain control and for a morale boost.

At training, Junior is getting frustrated with Coach Lew. Lew, brought in for his wrestling, is trying to teach Mick a little of everything…boxing, BJJ, etc. Junior’s like, “Um, hey, this is my team.” There’s a good reason that Junior’s the coach and Lew’s not.

On Clay’s side, he’s not going underestimate Mick’s toughness. He knows he’s a brawler, but he’s not afraid to step in with him and throw down. At training, they work his jabbing and his combos to counter whatever Mick has. As they’re strategizing, Clay looks over and sees Cope staring them down. Immediately he thinks Chris is a narc and discusses with theory with Charlie. Mr. Toughguy then starts ranting about how he’ll drag Chris into the street and kick his ass right there in Vegas and how he’s been known to break the law. Sorry, kid, but chances are if you have to brag about it, you’re so full of it that your eyes are brown.

The show returns showing someone writing in the sand “Chris Cope Double Agent.” The perpetrator isn’t shown, but Chris and friends discover it. Chris denies it and brings it up to everyone ‘round the fire. He puts it out there and wants to know who thinks he’s playing both sides. No one really fesses up, but some admit to their doubts. Chris promises that his word is good and that he’s a man of integrity. The guys claim to believe him and thank him for his honesty.

But no sooner do they “believe” him that they’re back upstairs trashing him. They all think that it must’ve been someone on Team Dos Santos that wrote in the sand, and if that’s the case, Chris must be a double agent. So much for giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Moments later, Chris comes up all smiles and flat out accuses Tony of being the writer. Tony denies it, despite Chris’s claim that #1 – Tony has written in the sand before and #2 – The handwriting matches up. Chris pushes and pushes, causing Tony to take huge offense to being called a liar. The Team starts to wonder if this is Chris’s guilty conscience talking. Chris and Tony eventually kiss and make up and move on.

The sand bit becomes the topic of conversation for Team Dos Santos also. Apparently, it was the handiwork of Mick – not because Chris is feeding them his team’s info, but because Chris is always lurking around them, seemingly trying to collect info not dispense it. Duh…

FIGHT DAY

ROUND 1
Right out of the gate both are swinging big. Harvison is more offensive and lands a couple combos. They start being pickier with their offense and choose what they throw more hesitantly. Harvison lands a solid right and left. Bowman shoots for a takedown, but Harvison reverses it and gets Bowman on his back. From his feet, Harvison lands a couple solid bombs, but Bowman counters with some big up-kicks. Harvison falls onto Bowman, allowing Bowman to grab onto Harvison’s arm looking for an armbar. Harvison wiggles out and they are both up on their feet. Back to standing, they exchange several combos, and Harvison sneaks in a couple big knees. Harvison charges Bowman and pins him against the fence where he alternates between knees and body shots. They separate but Harvison is still on the offensive pelting Bowman with combo after combo. Back against the cage, Harvison retains control but Bowman spins out and lands a nasty elbow to Harvison’s temple. Harvison then spins into control and attempts but misses the very same elbow. In the center, they’re throwing bombs again, and Bowman connects a straight jab that snaps Harvison’s neck back but he takes it. They exchange a few knees, but the round ends with a failed double from Bowman.
(Definitely giving that round to Harvison – he controlled the round, landed more shots and was the aggressor)

ROUND 2
Bowman charges first with a leg kick but doesn’t connect. Harvison retaliates with a jab/kick combo that sends Bowman flying backwards. Harvison charges at him, peppering him with jabs and they clinch. They alternate control but neither does much. Back at center, they go tit for tat – combo for combo, kick for kick, but Harvison lands more shots than Bowman does. Harvison slips as a goes for a takedown, but Bowman doesn’t take advantage. The exchanges continue but both are slowing down. Finally, Bowman lands a leg kick and a jab that surprise Harvison. But Harvison returns the favor. However, Harvison seems to be less offensive than previously. Harvison is backing up more and allowing Bowman to take shots. Bowman looks for the takedown but settles for the clinch. He sneaks in some head shots and some knees as the round ends.
(I would’ve given the round to Bowman, but apparently the judges saw differently).

Winner: Clay Harvison via Decision

Clay was completely dominant in the first round, but a kick that hurt his right hand threw him off in the second round. It was like a switch went off and allowed Mick to take over Round 2.

After the fight, Mick is beside himself with disappointment, no matter how many times Junior tells him to keep his head up.

In Clay’s corner, he’s proud of his win, but the joy is cut short when the gloves come off and he discovers that his pinky is not only broken, but the bone has come through the skin! Off to the hospital he goes to get it reset and casted. Sorry, buddy, you’re out. And despite this ending Clay’s tenure on TUF, Brock is proud. *insert eye roll*

Next week: Injuries plague Brock’s fighters. The conflict between JDS and Lew comes to a head. And we get the last to preliminary fights. Plus, the wildcard is announced.

Filed Under: News, Opinion, The Ultimate Fighter, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Ultimate Fighter: Season 13 Episode 4: “A Bad Dream”

April 20, 2011 By

Previously on The Ultimate Fighter, Team Lesnar questioned Chris Cope’s loyalty. Brock Lesnar’s number one pick fell to Ryan McGillivray in a close decision. Now Team Dos Santos regains control of the fight picks.

Tonight, as Team Dos Santos arrives for training, Junior is still riding high from Ryan’s win and the fact that they managed to get control back. Coach Lew criticizes Team Lesnar’s training and their lack of heart, claiming that they are not working hard and that Brock doesn’t really care about the outcome of all this. Is it just me or is Coach Lew awfully critical in EVERY episode?

A still disappointed Len shows up at the gym, because even though he lost he still needs to fulfill his obligation to help out his teammates. However, seeing as Lesnar was an absentee-coach for the fight, he is really not looking forward to telling Lesnar that he lost the team’s control. Brock even admits that the when he got the post-fight text message, the news took the wind out of his sails. But, he’s not giving up yet, “We lost the battle, but we can still win the war.” Unfortunately, during training, Brock is all over his guys, noticing that their heads just aren’t in it. This could spell problems.

Back at the house, Hurricane Chuck is wreaking havoc, trying to toss a mattress from the balcony (and then trying to throw Charlie). Apparently, Chuck and Charlie were friends before the house, and now they’re being very buddy-buddy again. Hmmm…could this mean future house drama?

And then comes the next fight pick. Junior chooses Ramsey Nijem to fight Team Lesnar’s Charlie Rader. Wrestler vs. Wrestler. This better be good!

Ramsey’s painted toenails seem to attract a bit of attention in the house, but apparently that’s not the only place where he’s the butt of jokes. He watches Glee, proposes playing strip pool…and apparently the stripping is an all-the-time thing. Whatever line there was for decorum, Ramsey passed it a long time ago. His poor roommate, Shamar, grows more uncomfortable by the day with his jokes and awkward sense of humor. But Ramsey says he has to have some fun or else he’d miserable. He gets punched for a living, so laughing is necessary! However, this seems to be part of his master plan, as Team Lesnar seems to seriously underestimate him, implying that he’s only there for TV. Let them think that…his fight will tell the truth.

A treat for Team Lesnar is the arrival of Matt Hughes to help out with their wrestling. He gathers the “4 Horsemen” (Team Lesnar’s remaining fighters) for a bit of mat practice. Charlie spends a lot of time rolling with him and in the end, Matt is particularly impressed with both his attitude and his skills on the ground.

The gameplan in place for Ramsey is to throw some punches and then look for takedowns. If he’s going to win, it’s going to be on the ground. He has to keep the pressure on and keep working it down to the mat. In Ramsey’s head, he’s the best and what everyone else means nothing. For his sake, I sure hope he’s right!

As for Charlie, he plans to stuff Ramsey’s takedowns (being that he is known to be a good wrestler), but he warns that Ramsey should not underestimate his wrestling either. In the end, though, he’s calling for a 2nd round KO. Lesnar’s bottom-line advice is fight smart and not to force anything. In talking to Chuck, he talks about his last loss and how he underestimated his opponent’s wrestling, asserting that his own would be good enough to stop it. As a result, he lost after 3 rounds. He does not want a repeat of that. After the weigh-ins, Brock tells Charlie that if he loses, it’ll be a disgrace. “Did you know he paints his toenails?” Hmmm, what are you implying Brock?!?

FIGHT DAY

ROUND 1
(You’d think that after 3 years of doing this, I’d learn to stop looking at how much time is left in the show to judge how long the fight is going to go!! Knowing there’s only 17 minutes left in the show sucks some of the fun out of it!)

Rader starts with a leg kick but Nijem immediately charges at him looking for the take down. Nijem has Rader pinned against the cage where they exchange knees. Nijem is in control but can’t make much of it. He shifts his weight continually in hopes of a takedown but Rader is defending well. The both get in a few good knees. As Rader is fending off a takedown, Nijem accidentally knees him in the groin. They restart in the center, but they quickly get back to where they were. For every knee Nijem lands, Rader lands a hammerfist to his head. FINALLY Nijem is able to pick Rader up and slam him. But his time on top of Rader is short-lived as Rader scrambles back to his feet. Nijem continues to control the clinch and is able to slam Rader again. In his guard, he lands a few solid punches to the body and head. He slides around to side control as the round ends. (I’d give it to Nijem, if only for the control and for the takedowns, but that was far from impressive.)

ROUND 2
Rader starts with a swing and a miss, giving Nijem the opportunity to counter with a combo. Getting Rader backpedaling, Nijem looks for and momentarily gets the takedown. But Rader gets back up. Nijem stumbles and somehow Rader ends up on top, but it doesn’t last. Nijem gets Rader down and gets hits his back. He gets the legs hooked around and after a few moments of pounding, gets his forearms down and in to look for the choke. And in the blink of an eye, Rader is tapping.

Winner: Ramsey Nijem via Submission (Rear Naked Choke)

After the fight, Brock says the he knew before the fight even started that Ramsey was going to win. He saw a fire in his eyes that he didn’t see in Charlie’s. And he says that even Charlie saw that fire and knew that Ramsey was going to come at him to kill him. Brock’s and Dana’s assessments of the fight are dead-on: Charlie allowed Ramsey to control the fight and in the end knew he couldn’t win, so he quit. He didn’t even try to defend the choke. He gave up as soon as he could.

Rightfully so, Brock is pissed. He throws a stool saying that these guys don’t even want to be here – Dana points out that Brock is doing this on his own time; he doesn’t need the money, he doesn’t need the fame. He just wants these guys to win. He yells at them all in the team room, calling them chicken shit, once again. For all their hometown pride and their bravado, they’re not bringing anything into the ring. Len can’t stand the bashing anymore and walks out of the room claiming he fought with all his heart. No one stops him.

Next week: Len vents his frustration over the team bashing. Team Lesnar is convinced that Chris Cope is a spy. And Junior looks to maintain his domination with their fight pick, but an injury could sideline their hopes.

Filed Under: News, Opinion, The Ultimate Fighter, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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