TUF 17 Finale: Boy Wonder Wins Split Decision

TUF season 17 reached its conclusion on Saturday night with a card punctuated by spectacular fights and surprising results as the season champion was crowned in Las Vegas.

The TUF Finale Fight
Kelvin Gastelum was eager to throw blows with Uriah Hall, who seemed content to allow the smaller fighter chase him around the ring.   Kelvin began scoring with takedowns, but Hall turned the corner in the second round when he started reversing position on Kelvin and scoring on the smaller fighter -- including a stunning suplex late in the five-minute period.   Hall started pushing the pace more in the third round, but Kelvin secured a few takedowns and avoided any significant damage.

Despite being heavily favored, Kelvin appeared to win the fight -- and two judges acted in kind by scoring the bout 29-28 for Kelvin.  Surprisingly, one judge gave the fight to Uriah by the same score.

With his victory, Kelvin became the youngest winner in TUF history and did so as the last pick by his Coach, Chael Sonnen.  Harley-Davidsons are in order for the champs!

The Best of the Rest

Uriah Faber (28-6) def. Scott Jorgensen (21-7)
'The California Kid' won a fight that featured a blistering pace by securing a rear naked choke in the fourth round.  The bout was an entertaining fight between two friends and Jorgenson appeared to rebound and control the fight in the third, but Faber regained momentum in the fourth and secured the win by submission, his 16th-career win by tapout.

Faber likely deserves another bantamweight title shot following the win, but he will have many detractors gunning his direction that still have ammunition -- including five loses in title fights dating back to 2008 -- that will argue others are more deserving, including Michael McDonald and Bibiano Fernandes, among others.

Cat Zingano (8-0) def. Miesha Tate (13-4)
Tate controlled the majority of the fight from the opening bell when she surged at her opponent.  But Zinagno survived multiple takedowns and submission attempts through two rounds and won with a flurry of knees in the third period.

With the win, Zingano will join UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey -- Kelvin’s favorite training partner -- as a coach on the next season of TUF ( and we have a TUF-related surprise below!).

Travis Browne (16-1-1) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (14-7)
The pre-fight talk seemed to side with Gonzaga and then Browne claimed the first round knockout in spectacular fashion.  While defending a single-leg takedown against the cage, the towering heavyweight fighter dropped a series of elbows to the side of Gonzaga’s head that collapsed his opponent to the mat.

Bubba McDaniel (21-6) def. Gilbert Smith (5-2)
Bubba and McDaniel delivered a solid bout between two TUF contenders, but Bubba’s experience began to show as the bout advanced.  Bubba showed a number of skills against Smith, including a technical sweep from his back, and ended the contest with a triangle armbar in the third round.

And In addition to the aforementioned fights, a number of other TUF 17 contenders fought on the undercard, including:

Josh Samman (10-2) def. Kevin Casey (8-3) (TKO, round two)
Luke Barnatt (6-0) def. Collin Hart (4-2)(unanimous decision)
Dylan Andrews (16-4) def. Jimmy Quinlan (3-1) (TKO, round one)
Clint Hester (8-3) def. Bristol Marunde (12-8) (TKO, round three)

Final Thoughts
Where the hell was the Uriah Hall from the regular season?  Was this a body double?  Uriah looked content gliding and dancing, almost in a rope-a-dope-type manner.  He consistently retreated in an attempt to draw Kelvin in, but never showed his killer instincts that allowed him to dominate his early fights.  But, the runner-up certainly deserves a UFC contract and should be a future force in the middleweight division.

And who was this Bubba?  The training partner of Coach Jon Jones in Albuquerque, N.M. showed why he was favored entering the TUF season and was impressive in his fight with Gilbert Smith.   Apparently, the TUF season was difficult for Bubba, a rather large middleweight, as he had to maintain a low fighting weight during the filming because of the short period between fights.   He showed up at full strength on Saturday.

As impressive as the Cat Zingano and Miesha Tate bout was -- and it was my favorite fight of the evening, a non-stop battle between two driven competitors -- I couldn’t help but think that neither can match up with Ronda Rousey.  Zingano seemed overwhelmed by Tate’s early pace and exploded in the third with superior cardio, but Rousey will likely have the advantage in both pace and cardio in their anticipated matchup.

‘Bones’ Jones was awkward in an interview with Sonnen, who may seriously cut better promos than Ric Flair.  Jones was aloof and detached as talked distantly over Sonnen and the reporter, a fact the reporter pointed out.  Meanwhile, Sonnen just did his thing:  “My name is on the marquee and I'm a bigger draw than Rocky.  I'm soon to be champ and they call me Chael P.”

Oh, by the way, in a surprise announcement from the Big Boss Man Dana White, the next TUF with ‘Rowdy’ Rousey and Zingano will be aired on Fox Sports 1, the network’s new flagship sports channel.  In most regards, this is a big deal.  MMA wil l continue to be an important element of FOX’s future broadcasts and the show should have an opportunity to grow its ratings if the channel succeeds, as many think it may.

And, Kelvin.  Well done.  The youngest ever fighter on TUF has become the youngest champion of the show.  I doubted the young fighter every step of the way.  In fact, I still do because experience is often a significant factor in fighting.  Yet, I’m a fan of Jon Jones, the youngest ever champion, so paint me a hypocrite.   Kelvin impressed every step of the way and proved he was more than a wrestler, in addition to meeting every challenge head on -- which, rather strangely, couldn’t be said about every fighter on TUF 17.   A big congratulations are in order for the unassuming and inspirational young man.

Images Courtesy:  MMAfighting.com; another awesome GIF from FanSided.com; BloodyElbow.com; and NYPost.com.

TUF 17 Ep. 12: Expect the Unexpected, and Expected, to Make the Finale

We quickly started the episode with a giant plug for Harley-Davidson as the coaches and fighters visited a local dealership to customize motorcycles that the winning coach and fighter will receive.

With two fights on the docket, the action quickly transitioned to the first bout between Josh Samman (9-2) and Kelvin Gastellum (5-0).

Josh appeared confident, but the younger fighter opened the fight by controlling the ring on his feet -- and then taking the Team Jones fighter to the ground.  Kelvin continued to ride Josh on the mat and control the top position, but was struggling to land significant strikes.

As the round advanced, Josh attempted to move to his feet, which allowed the wrestler to take his back.  After a few moments of positioning, Kelvin was able to sink in a surprisingly easy rear naked choke for the victory.

After a brief session of tomfoolery -- including a cursing Dana White impression by Dylan Andrews -- the episode maneuvered to the second fight between Coach Jones’ Dylan (16-4-1) against the TUF 17 favorite Uriah Hall (7-2) from Chael Sonnen’s team.

The first round began with both fighters dancing to feel each other out, but Uriah began peppering Dylan with hard jabs.  Dylan attempted to stalk Uriah from the center of the ring, but appeared slow and intimidated and threw a minimal amount of strikes.  While it didn’t appear Uriah landed any outrageously strong punches, the Kiwi left the first round with a swollen face from repeated jabs.

The second round started by mirroring the first as Dylan controlled the center of the ring, yet appeared hesitant to strike -- and gave Uriah continued opportunities to attack.  However, Dylan managed a takedown and secured top position, but the Team Sonnen fighter immediately fought for a kimura and neutralized Dylan’s attack.  With less than a minute to go, Uriah released Dylan’s right arm and began striking from his back before reversing position and securing a ground-and-pound victory.

The results set up a finale between the heavily favored Uriah against the upstart Kelvin in a battle or brawlers on Saturday, April 13.

While the penultimate episode lacked spectacular fights and ancillary action, the TUF 17 season was of the most interesting in recent memory and featured an impressive array of fighters -- and many will be featured on the TUF finale card.

TUF 17 Ep. 10 and 11: Working Down to the Final Four

@SaidSimmons Well, I suck.  You’re getting two episodes in one because I managed to leave a post sitting idle in my Drafts folder thinking it was published.  Sorry about that and because of the mistake I have tried to shorten each post into a more digestible single article … but we’re covering FOUR fights!

Tuf 17 Ep. 10 Blow by Blow
We made it to the semi-finals and the episodes are moving at a much quicker pace.

The first one started with Coach Jon ‘Bones’ Jones talking to Bubba McDaniel, who is apparently scared as all hell to go fight Uriah Hall.

Kelvin Gastelum (5-0) feels doubted -- he doesn’t believe the other competitors think he can box.  Coach Chael Sonnen indicated Kelvin has grown significantly over three weeks from the last pick on his team to a competitor, and he sees him as a brawler and a wrestler.  Sonnen mentioned that Colin Hart (4-1) is a difficult opponent, but not for Kelvin and he hopes his fighter can eliminate one of Coach Jones’ better options.

Coach Jones described Colin as “extraordinary” at jiu-jitsu and good at everything else.  Colin indicated he’s eager to prove he can box and isn’t a boring fighter after admittedly sitting on his last opponent.

Rhonda Rousey kept her word and came to the gym to train with Team, Sonnen and an excited Kelvin.  Rousey does a terrible Sonnen impression, but has his cadence down pretty well.  She taught the team some judo throws and more.

Coach Sonnen discussed the Luke Barnett (5-0) and Dylan Andrews fight (16-4-1), stating he thinks is interesting because it’s the first pick versus the last pick, and because Luke has a tremendous size advantage.  But because of the latter, he doesn’t see Luke losing.  Luke also added that, “England is a horrible place,” and it motivates him to get better.  (And, jeez, kind of harsh on the homeland, eh?)

Dylan has been working with Coach Stonehorse Goeman, who was Jones’ first muay thai coach.  Jones sees them as both tribal types and connecting on a spiritual level.  Dylan values his friendship and says Stonehorse has become a father figure.  Coach Jones indicated he thinks Luke is the type that doesn’t like to get punched.   Dylan feels a desire to be great and shuns a Monday to Friday-type life.

Mike Tyson came to watch the Luke and Dylan fight and meets the fighters before the fight.  Understandably, everyone was amped, as Tyson was king of the fight world for a period and is a living legend in many respects.

Fight 1-of-2

From TheUltimateFighter.com.

Both fighters came out swinging and Colin pushed Kelvin to the fence and connected with a hard left hook in defense.  After a quick clinch, the fighters returned to the center of the cage and began exchange haymakers and *BOOM* Kelvin landed a bomb.  He landed a hard left hook in a flurry and Colin went down face first.  Kelvin pounced and began to pound, but stopped his attack before the referee could even stepped in knowing his opponent was knocked out.

Fight 2-of-2
Dylan quickly shot and took Luke down to the mat, but had a hard time pinning down the larger fighter.  Dylan struggled to mount any offense from the top, and Luke scored with strikes from his back before standing back up.  In total, Dylan took Luke down three times on the road, but struggled to keep him down.   He even went for a choke to end the round, but was unable to sink it in for the finish.

The fighters began the second round by boxing for 30 seconds before clinching and moving to the fence.  Luke scored his first takedown of the match, but Dylan soon resversed positions, but again struggled to score from the dominant position.  As the round continued, it strangely mirrored the first and even ended with another failed choke attempt by Dylan.

Courtesy CageWall.com.

Somewhat surprisingly, the fight went to a third round and both fighters looked exhausted to start the round.  Dylan tried to shoot, but didn’t appear to have the remaining strength to manage the takedown.  After a clinch the fighters began exchanging sloppy, tired blows, yet Dylan had more power.    As the round wore on, Dylan started landing big blows and a series of connections took Luk down.  Dylan landed one final hammer fist before Herb Dean stepped in to end the affair.

After the fight, Stonehorse gave Dylan and hug and told him, “I’m so fucking proud of you … you’re going to do this.”


Tuf 17 Ep. 11
The second semi-final episode began with Team Jones training, but Bubba is lying on the sideline.  After a number of fights in a short period of time, Bubba is wearing down -- physically and mentally -- and has some off pain in his back near his kidney.  Bubba feels like he is being given the hardest road possible to achieve his dream.

The attention turned to Josh Samman with is fighting Jimmy Quinlan, the fight that Josh wanted and Team Jones desired as a reward for Josh, who has been a leader for the team.  Bubba believes Josh is the superior fighter, but Gilbert Smith has concerns about the Florida-based fighter defending Jimmy’s takedowns.

Jimmy stated that his confidence comes from his past success -- and likely should, as the young fighter is still undefeated.  Despite his confidence in his jiu-jitsu, Jimmy also explained that he wants to set up his takedown with striking.

After being reintroduced to the fighters, Bubba’s back again becomes a concern -- and Atlanta’s Chris Hester continued training to take his place if needed -- and blood work is done to check his kidneys.

And the blood work came back good, so Bubba was cleared to fight and was left believing the pain was caused by a muscle strain.  His confidence seemed to buoy with a clean bill of health, but Bubba is still afraid of Uriah Hall.

Uriah heard Bubba is afraid to fight.  Uriah provided a comment about twitchy, scared fighters being dangerous, but he knows he has the upper hand before entering the ring.  Uriah even compared himself to The Spider, Anderson Silva – wow -- but Sonnen admitted Uriah is the toughest and hardest working member of TUF 17.

And then the concern for Bubba poured in.  Both UFC mastermind Dana White and coach Sonnen commented that Bubba is in for a tough fight, followed by Luke explaining that seeing a teammate dropped with a devastating spinning kick with mess with you, and he expected Bubba to be thinking about it.

Fight 1-of-2
Both fighters squared up eager to throw punches, but Jimmy quickly shot on Josh after eating a blow to the head.  Despite a strong sprawl, the grappler picked up Josh and slammed him to the mat and took the top position.  However, Jimmy soon began bleeding significantly -- evidence that he did take a hard punch from Josh.

They don't coach you to do this.

And then Jimmy figuratively sat on Josh.  The wrestler fought to maintain position, but Josh was clearly landing the more significant strikes from his back as his opponent climbed across him continuously.

After scrambling up from  the mat, Josh took Jimmy’s back .  With just 30 second left in the round, Josh gave up on a choke and began swinging synchronized punches from both hands at the same time to Jimmy’s head – seemingly boxing his ears with punches -- and the grappler tapped from the pressure.  Yes, TAPPED from bizarre punches.

Afterwards, Jimmy admitted that he simply quit.

Fight 2-of-2

Awesome GIFs come from FanSided.com.  Go check 'em out.

Holy wow.  Does this count as a fight?  In a flash, Uriah started throwing punches and the second one caught and knocked out Bubba -- and seemingly crushed his eye socket.

This was one of the scariest moments in TUF history.  After the referee called off Uriah, Bubba lay motionless on the mat face down.   When Bubba came to, he began stating he couldn’t move and something was significantly wrong with his eye on the inside.

Per FanSided, Bubba's face was broke in three places from Uriah's blow.

Fortunately, Bubba soon regained his own ability to move and met with his team and doctors before going to the hospital.

Uriah was obviously perturbed by another devastating knockout and he seemed to still be learning how good he is -- and still coming to terms with how dangerous he is.  While still in the ring, Sonnen told Uriah he is a contender -- not just for TUF, but the UFC championship as a middleweight.

After the fights, UFC lord Dana met with the coaches and fighters to discuss potential semi-final matchups (and again color-coded for ease of use!):

Josh called out Kelvin for the semis and Uriah in finals. 
Dylan said he does not care.  Whoever.  Wherever.
Uriah wanted Josh.
Kelvin said he wants Dylan.

Jon Jones indicated he wanted their original plan -- Josh v. Uriah and Dylan v. Kelvin -- and Chael seconds that.  Dana said this is the first time the coaches have agreed, which of course meant …


Dana announced that the semi-final fights would be:

Josh v. Kelvin
Uriah v. Dylan

TUF 17 Ep. 9: Almost Time for Quarter Pounders

With just one fight remaining before the quarterfinal bouts, TUF 17 Ep. 9 delivered a impressive wild card matchup between Team Jones’ Bubba McDaniel and Team Sonnen’s Kevin Casey that set the stage for the next round of action.

The Blow by Blow
Determined in the previous episode, the wild card match pitted Bubba (20-6), a training partner of Jones in Albuquerque, N.M., against Kevin (5-1).

Leading into the fight, Kevin admitted he did not perform in his last moment of pressure, but he also understands that the coaches believe in him.  Because of that, he has one more chance to advance.

Bubba taped a confessional where he acknowledged the difficulty of his lifestyle and the toll it puts on his family -- who remains in Texas while he trains in New Mexico.  It’s not clear if he has an estranged relationship, but he has an eight-year old daughter that regularly asks when Bubba is coming to see her -- which really hurts the tough guy -- but he doesn’t have the money to visit.  Winning TUF could change that, so it’s apparent that Bubba respects his second chance.

Jones and his coaches put in effort to talk up Bubba, and Jones specifically reminded Bubba of the difficulty he gave Jones training in the past.  The champion coach implored Bubba to move forward and attack in the fight -- be the Bubba that gave Jones so much trouble.

And then Bubba confused the heck out of me, as he began discussing his “kids” in the plural.  He only mentioned the eight-year-old before, but there might be multiple ‘lil McDaniels.  Eh, unimportant …

Kevin trained in a helmet to let a cut heal about his left eye, but expressed his desire to come out hard in the fight.

Yeah, like this -- just over the lip.

And then Luke Barnett made his weekly appearance … and O.M.G. … Luke has a horrifying zit above his lip that might be the size of a Silver Dollar on my screen … staring me down in HD … it’s hypnotic … But, seriously producers, I know you love Luke and all, but give the kid a week off when he has a moon-sized zit orbiting his head.

It’s a Celebration, Bitches
The house celebrated Thanksgiving with their coaches around the traditional holiday fare -- to the dismay of a cranky Bubba, who is cutting weight.   Sonnen gave a great speech to the fighters and admitted that he really likes Jones, which is an unsettling prospect for a fighter who normally enjoys hating his opponents and talking some smack.

The Fight
Kevin quickly tossed a hard left hook and the fighters clinched, but Bubba immediately put Kevin on his back and took the advantage.  After working his way to the cage on his back, Kevin climbed up, reversed Bubba to the cage and tripped the taller fighter to the mat.  Kevin maintained the advantage on the mat for a number of minutes, but failed to score any significant strikes.  With 97 seconds remaining, Bubba worked his way up against the fence.  After fighting clinched for nearly 60 seconds, Kevin scored another takedown with 25 seconds on the clock and held the kickboxer down for the remainder of the round.

After a hard kick to right thigh, Bubba clinched with Kevin, to the dismay of his coaches.  The duo exchanged a number of blows dirty boxing against the cage before Bubba pulled Kevin to the mat and took control from the side.  Bubba worked short elbows and punches to Kevin’s head with his opponent trapped against the fence for the remainder of the round, just slowly peppering Kevin with meaningful blows.

The post-fight scene pre-ambulance.

As the bell ended the round, Kevin was slow to get up to his feet.   With the fight going to the third round, Kevin refused to answer the round -- the first time I’ve ever seen such an event.

Bubba then asked Dana White, “Does that count as a finish?”

“Good question -- yeah, we’ll give it to you,” said the big boss man.

After the win, Bubba talks a bit of trash to Team Sonnen, acknowledging he heard someone yell that Bubba was going to break and give up in the first round.

Kevin left the fight in an ambulance as a precaution after feeling faint.

Quarter Pounders
There was some talk early in the episode about who wants who -- and Josh Sammen seems scared of Uriah Hall -- but this is when it matters.  Lord Dana and the coaches called the fighters in one by one to discuss whom they wanted in the quarterfinals (color-coded for ease of use!):

Bubba called out Jimmy or Luke
Jimmy Quinlan requested Bubba
Dylan Andrews wanted Luke
Luke mentioned Bubba and Dylan
Kelvin Gastelum wanted Colin Hart
Colin wanted Uriah
Uriah asked for Josh
Josh called out Jimmy (and pussy footed around a potential matchup with Uriah)

After the fighters come in, the coaches discuss the potential matchups of:

Dylan v. Luke (who wanted each other)
Josh v. Uriah
Jimmy v. Josh
Kelvin v. Bubba (a matchup the coaches want)

But you taketh what Lord Dana giveth, which was:

Fight 1:  Colin v. Kelvin (Kelvin wanted Colin)
Fight 2:  Dylan. V. Luke (a match that both the coaches and fighters wanted)
Fight 3:  Josh v. Jimmy (what Josh wanted and he avoide a matchup with Uriah)
Fight 4:  Uriah v. Bubba (neither wanted each other)

Episode Grade:  A+
I’m sure many would disagree with this assessment, but it was a great episode -- just enough build up, a good fight and the quarterfinal deliberations.  Plus, a surprise matchup between Bubba and Uriah that left both the fighters and fans confused!

TUF 17 Ep.8: One For The Bag Guys

TUF 17 Ep.8 featured the final bout first round bout between Team Jones’ Dylan Andrews and Team Sonnen’s Zak Cummings before the stage is set for the wild card contest.

I don't think it counts for much, but Zak Cummings wins the
fight for better hair -- and creepier gaze.

The Blow by Blow
Par for the course of late, we begin the episode with more discussion about the wild card fight and Bubba McDaniel wants the spot for Team Jones.  Adam Cella makes an argument for Bubba in a confession piece and described how the veteran fighter just puts in more effort -- such as getting in a run after group training has ended.

And that’s it.  There is no behind the scenes this week and we get straight to the Coaches Challenge, where each coach competed in three challenges -- where they competed in excavators.

Yep, big ass construction equipment.

The coaches began by filling a 14-yard dumpster with dirt and Jon Jones jumped to an early lead.  However, Chael Sonnen soon overtook the UFC light heavyweight champion by scooping larger amounts in his bucket and finished first.

Sonnen moved to the next contest -- and talked some smack as he drove along -- while Jones lagged behind.  He then began stacking three oversized tractor tires in a pyramid shape and positioned two before Jones started the second competition.

But as Sonnen struggled to position his third tire, Jones quickly moved his into place and secured the third with his claw.   As both fighters worked to place the top tire, Jones miraculously dropped his into place and it balanced along the edges of the base tires across a gaping width between.

Jones chugged along to third segment, where the coaches would grab a basketball off a cone and drop it into a tire, and celebrated in the cab of the excavator.   ‘Bones’ immediately snatched the ball and spun the excavator to drop the ball in the tire, only to have it rim out and spin helplessly into the dirt.

In the meantime, Sonnen secured his basketball and maneuvered to drop it into place to win the challenge -- including $10,000 for himself and $1.5k for each of his fighters.

(And, while TUF didn’t show it, I’m sure the collective of Team Jones was likely pissed to lose out on that cash.)

As he has stated many times before, Sonnen shared a, “One more for the bad guys.”

Get to Know Your Fighters
Back in Australia, Dylan (16-4-1) went to a video rental store (blast from the past!) to get a UFC video and he noticed a gym next door -- and ended up training there for six years.

The Kiwi, who was the last TUF participant selected to a team, grew up around a marijuana farm in Australia and was inspired by the failures of his brothers, who were caught up in the weed game.

Dylan also faces a mental hurdle in that he feels trapped because he is so good at fighting that he cannot walk away.  He has two children -- a seven-year-old son and a four-year-old daughter.  Dylan explained that he works to provide for his family, but he has put them through hell by being a fighter and get this opportunity.

Zak’s (15-3) friends thought he was too smart to fight, but they soon recognized his dedication and ability.  Despite being a cage fighter, the Missouri-native has never been in street fight.  After trying out for TUF six previous times, Zak finally made the cut after his seventh effort.

Zak explained that he is happy he had to wait until the last fight, as it allowed him to get comfortable in the house -- and get mentally prepared.

The Fight

After feeling each other out Zak shot and pushed the action to the cage.  The pair retuned to their feat and Dylan retreated after catching a punch and quickly ended up on the mat with Zak in side control -- where he soon began dropping elbows.  However, Dylan reserved the position as soon as Zak took top control.  With blood flowing from the side of his head where he ate the elbows, Dyaln controlled the final two minutes on top and landed some good blows -- potentially enough to steal the round.

The pair began the second round by dancing in the middle of the ring for 30 seconds -- and midway though the pair exchanged a high five after Zak threw a wild, yet entertaining spinning kick.   Zak tossed a strong punch and Dylan retreated.  Zak pressed the action and jumped, only to have Dylan catch him and position himself atop Zak as he fell to the mat.  Dylan spent the next four minutes on top of Zak landing elbows and punches and stood at the bell knowing he had won.

The Kiwi took the fight by majority decision.

The Wild Card
In past years, UFC lord and overseer Dana White picked the wild card matchup, but allowed the coaches to decide.  Sonnen has an easy decision and selected Kevin Casey.  Meanwhile, Jones was forced to choose between his first pick, Clint Hester, and his training partner, Bubba McDaniel.  After taking a few minutes and discussing the opportunity with the team, Jones selected Bubba.

Episode Grade:  B+
It wasn’t the best fight of the season, but it was entertaining.  Toss in a Coaches Challenge and the wild card selection and it made for an entertaining evening of TUF.

TUF 17 Ep.7 Recap: Styles Decide Fights

Because you missed another episode of TUF and need to get a quick rundown before this afternoon’s water cooler talk, here’s an abbreviated synopsis of TUF 17 Ep.7 featuring Team Jones’ Clint Hester vs. Team Sonnen’s Jimmy Quinlan.

(And, dang, you seem to be missing a lot of episodes lately.  What gives?)

The Blow by Blow
This week’s episode opened with more talk about the potential wild card spot, with Bubba McDaniel eyeing the opportunity.  And Uriah Hall’s continued assholery is discussed with Jon Jones.

But enough with the small talk, the guys went to Hooters -- and Gilbert Smith Jr. undressed on cue and took his shirt off.  After finding his way into a size smedium Hooters tank top, Gilbert then ripped that off to the staged applause of the waitresses.

Before departing the restaurant, the fighters and coaches posed for a picture with the Hooters ladies, but the always grumpy Uriah refused to join in.

"Argh, I love being naked on TV."

The next morning, Josh Samman woke up with intense leg pain and was taken to the hospital due to his history of blood clots.  He ends up being released and okay.

(Which I somehow missed entirely.  Mid-fight, I blurt, ‘Hey, what happened to Josh,’ but fortunately my fiancée was there to back me up.  I guess this occurred when I making an adult beverage.)

A lot of the episode was spent discussing the stylistic differences of Clint, an accomplished striker, and Jimmy, who has a background in grappling.  Chael Sonnen reveals that both coaches wanted Clint with the first overall pick.

Both Clint and Jimmy genuinely like each other and appeared to be bro-ing it up a bit.  Clint said most the house doesn’t get Jimmy, but they’re besties.

Get to Know Your Fighters
Clint (7-3) is from Powder Springs, Ga. -- which is about 30 miles from the ‘ole home base in downtown ATL -- and he tries to be a humble dude.  He had a stable upbringing where he lived with his aunt and uncle, but he just liked to fight.  Clint hung with some smaller guys, so he stuck up for them -- and fought.

He wanted to box when he was young, but started in 2005.  After his boxing gym closed, he found a nearby gym that also featured MMA, which intrigued the fighter.  Clint took his first MMA fight 10 months later.

Jimmy (3-0) went to school for criminal justice and didn’t grow up in bad neighborhood.  He tries hard to be a good cop.

Jimmy also believes his police training helped to prepare him for the scenario he faces on the show -- being holed up with a bunch of dudes while competing.  The local police force has allowed Jimmy to train and pursue wrestling and MMA.  He has a job waiting when he gets back -- but he hopes to win.

The Fight

Photo from UFC.com.

Jimmy shot early and lifted Clint for an immediate slam to begin the first round.  Although Jimmy secured a strong side position after the slam, Clint quickly escaped -- yet soon was thrown a second time by Jimmy.   Clint popped up and the pair returned to grappling.  Clint almost secured a guillotine and landed some knees while controlling Jimmy’s head.  After separating, Jimmy again lifts Clint for the third slam of the round and rode the top position until the horn.

Clint opened the second round by shooting and Jimmy almost secured a guillotine after sprawling – and the second round again turns into a grappling match.  Jimmy assumed the top position.  Fighting to escape, Clint rolled to his stomach and Jimmy sat on his back.  The wrestler dropped some small bombs before sinking in the guillotine to end the fight at 3:16 with a quick tap by Clint..

Episode Grade:  C+
TUF has oft been criticized for being a juvenile and focusing on pranks -- and I miss it.  We’ve had two straight weeks of friendly fights with little build up.  If it weren’t for Uriah being a self martyr, the season 17 house might have flat lined by now.

By the way, what the hell was Clint thinking to open the second round?  Was he trying to catch Jimmy off guard, by shooting?  He needed to toss some haymakers to utilize his strengths, but too often played into Jimmy’s grappling background.

 By default, the final round matchup is Zach vs. Dylan.  Dylan was last pick, so Zach should be the assumed favorite next week.

TUF 17 Ep.6 Recap: Tor's Hammered

For those who missed TUF 17Ep.6, here is a brief rundown of this week’s episode as we witnessed another sensational knockout in the matchup between Team Sonnen’s Tor Troeng and Team Jones’ Josh Samman.

The Blow by Blow
As Bubba McDaniel licked his wounds from his submission to Kevlin Gastelum, Team Sonnen built a hammer for Tor -- out of kinesio tape and objects at hand.  As expected, the team engaged in Bam Bam-like behavior with Tor’s hammer.

Luke Barnatt was popped by a jab from Uriah in training and ended the sparring session, claiming his opponent’s attitude sucks.

“He’s not really a team player.  He’s an individual and it is an individual and can respect that … but his attitude sucks.  Uriah’s got a big ego – hes an ego driven machine.”

With Gilbert Smith Jr. stirring the pot at dinner, Uriah called out Luke, his teammate, as a potential future matchup -- but quickly started backpedaling from the statement, saying he was discussing a future ‘best’ matchup scenario.

However, a seemingly mundane conversation then led to Uriah dropping a verbal bomb on Adam Cella: “Man, is your girl like a bitch like you?”

Uraih started backpedaling again, yet again continued his verbal assaults the next morning:  “The more I talk to (Josh) the more I don’t like him.  I just think he’s a dick.”

It’s obvious the house is uncomfortable with Uriah.

After the household melodrama, the teams went boxing where the coaches agreed to compete in a three-frame contest -- with the loser coaching a training session in the winning team’s jersey.  It came down to the last frame, but Jon Jones lost -- and promptly ran out of the bowling alley.

In the moments before the fight, Chael Sonnen gave Tor a backrub, prompting Luke to quip, “and people say wrestlers are gay.”

Get to Know Your Fighters
Tor (15-4-1) is a country boy from Sweden, which I assume means he probably owned a snowmobile and definitely tire chains.  He started training in martial arts at nine-years-old and began MMA at16.

The real Thor, with a real hammer.

Oh yeah, he’s smart -- he works part time as a university math researcher to fund his fighting.  And he’s a really relaxed dude.

Josh (9-2) is not a relaxed dude.  He’s an alpha male and even coached an evening workout session for his Team Jones at the house, which was received with mixed reviews.

He previously tried out for TUF and tore his quad, which resulted in a blood clot during the flight home.  After nearly losing his leg, Josh received 200 stiches and 40 staples in surgery, but has since recovered and exceed his previous results.  He grew up raised by a single mother who admonished violence, but Josh was an adrenaline junkie and viewed fighting as his opportunity to be great.

The Fight

After battling along the cage clinched for 110 seconds, Josh attempted a failed trip resulted in Tor having the first advantage.  However, Tor was unable to muster any offense on the ground and the foes returned to their feet -- and again resumed jockeying along the fence.

After a series of short knees by Josh, Tor pushed his partner away, but stumbled and retreated.  Josh pushed the action and threw a right kick to the torso.  He immediately followed with a three punch combo, left-right-left, with the straight right ending the action during the spectacular furry.

Episode Grade:  B+
If it weren’t for the spectacular KO, the episode was pretty lackluster -- no surprises, guest appearances or real action.  Only Uriah being an ass and bowling.  And, by the way, it appeared the preview of this episode suggested Josh’s injuries might play a role -- and, ahem, that didn’t happen.  Luke also continues to be a favorite of the producers.

The MMA Shake

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon
Jones embraces his 2012 World MMA
'Fighter of the Year Award' in Vegas.

Just when you feel as though you've survived the tsunami of "Harlem Shake" videos, another video hits you like a wall of water you want to hate -- but deep down you love it.

Behold the dance moves of the UFC light heavyweight champion Jon 'Bones' Jones and the Jackson MMA clique in Albuquerque, N.M.

TUF 17 Ep.5 Recap: Bubba's a Bad Man

TUF 17 Ep.5 was a rather cordial affair lacking in trash talk and pranks, but the episode did feature fisticuffs between two dynamically polar contenders seemingly typecast into clichés -- the grizzled veteran that trains with the Champ against the youngest of all time.

The Blow-by-Blow

Early in the episode TUF drops a bit of knowledge on you -- Jon ‘Bones’ Jones trains with Bubba McDaniel (20-6) in Albuquerque, N.M.  With this info nugget on the table, and consistent reminders throughout the episode, the producers make it clear that Bubba is an experienced fighter and should be considered the favorite over Kelvin Gastelum (5-0), who entered the season as the youngest-ever TUF competitor.

One of the more interesting moments in this week’s episode was a casual, even pleasant discussion between Jones and Chael Sonnen early in the episode.  In the hallway outside of the locker rooms, the coaches chat about Bubba’s strengths and his past training with Jones.  The soon-to-be PPV opponents seem to genuinely enjoy each other’s company, but Jones records a confessional indicating he has plenty of time to learn to dislike Sonnen before their fight.

At the house, the teams decide to engage in a game of charades.  Charades?  Yes, as in tapping-into-your-inner-thespian-and-acting-stuff-out charades.  Gilbert Smith, who is dressed only in his skibbies and is accordingly ridiculed, surprisingly managed to act out “Coming to America.”

(Sidebar:  “Coming to America” is easily one of the 10 greatest movies of all time, if not top-five, right?  Right.  Somehow, my fiancée has managed to live for 25 years without seeing this cinema classic.)

Meanwhile, Bubba sits outsides sulking by himself next to the fire, which is a lovely place to sulk.  We learn that you probably wouldn’t want to be Bubba’s friend, but more on that later.

As we get closer to the fight, coach Sonnen gives a speech to his team on how the environment will change, but the act doesn’t and soon breaks into a Ric Flair-esque promo:

“This team is coached by the reflection of perfection.  We’re demanding all of your attention and, Jon Jones, I want to know what you’re going to do when you know who, how you’re going to deal with the team of steel and how will you react when I put my boys on the attack.”

Josh Sammen tells Jones he doesn’t want to fight next because, “the whole left side of (his) body is kind of falling apart.”  Unfortunately for Josh, the coaches don’t seem to buy his story and think he’s trying to dictate his schedule. 

Bubba looks good at the weigh in, or is “shredded like lettuce” as a teammate puts it and towers over Kevlin, but there is little drama at the weigh in this week.

Get to Know Your Fighters

Bubba isn’t a good dude.  And he’s old.  Bubba says he’s the kid you know that shouldn’t be alive, but he made it.  And he’s had a lot of trouble with the ‘Johnny Law’: “The law sometimes doesn’t agree with me and it’s cost me.”  He got his start in the fight game when he heard a radio promo for a tough man contest at 19-years-old and got beat down -- and he’s been trying to grind it out as a fighter since. 

Kelvin works as bail bondsman and trains in his time off.  He was raised by a single mother from Mexico who struggled to support their family -- and that provides his inspiration.  As a young up-and-comer, Kelvin’s goals are simple -- he wants to quit his job and be able to train full-time.  Kelvin’s a wrestler by practice, but is working on his boxing, and is the youngest ever on TUF, as mentioned frequently.

Guests in the Gym

This is the face of  fighter, not a lover.

Sonnen brings in no other than swollenface Mickey Rourke to speak to his team.  Rourke explains that, “discipline in (his) life came late,” and two of his boxing draws were on account of messing around the night before.  Discipline.  Keep it in your pants. Valuable lessons indeed.

Gilbert gives Rourke some cred for his boxing career -- who was 6-0-2 in a three year pro run -- but then offers a caveat:  “He probably wasn’t the greatest pro boxer, but, you know, he did step in the ring.”

In addition to Rouke, Sonnen places a call to UFC women’s bantamweight fighter Rhonda Rousey and the future star promised Kelvin, who has an obvious chub for miss Rousey, she will come train with team Sonnen if he wins.

Round One

Both fighters come out feeling each other out.  Bubba (20-6) attacks first, yet finds himself on his back after some poor grappling, but is easily able to kick off the wrestler (5-0).  The fighters immediately clinched, with Kevlin using his leverage to pull Bubba to the ground and onto his back.  While working for a guillotine, Bubba sweeps Kevlin and takes his back, but is unable to secure both hooks on the shorter fighter who fights to his feet.  To this post, the most meaningful strikes of the round may have been a pair of knees to the back of Kevlin’s thigh as Bubba had his back standing.

Back on the ground and Kevlin sweeps Bubba to his back, but Bubba returns the favor shortly after and Kevlin gives up his back.  Bubba sinks the hooks and attempts a read naked choke.  However, Kevlin manages to roll, get to his feet and escape Bubba’s grasp.  Shortly after, Bubba is again on his back and on the defensive after sprawling and seeing the wrestler use his speed to take the back and put Bubba on the mat.  But, Bubba sweeps … again … only to have Kevlin sweep … again.  Kevlin stood and fired a wild strike at the Bubba as he lay on the mat to end the round in the most fitting way possible -- with a big sloppy exclamation point that meant nothing.

I Ain’t a Real Judge

Scoring fights isn’t my day job, but I would give Bubba the round 10-9. 

Round Two

Kevlin opened the second round with the best shot of the night, a solid left leg strike to the outside of Bubba’s right thigh.  But immediately after, the fighters engage in a sloppy exchange of seemingly choreographed kicks, with one fighter unthreateningly flailing right after the other in B-movie Kung-Fu style.  Bubba attempts to trip Kevlin from a clinch, but falls to his back.  Kevlin takes the dominant position and fights for a pair of guillotines, but Bubba escapes and reverses Kevlin to his back.  After again offering his back to Bubba, Kevlin manages to stand and shake Bubba to again to take the top position.  The wrestler is clearly scoring points in the second round -- and Bubba has a significant welt where Kevlin kicked him to start the round.  Kevlin again takes Bubbas back and finally sinks in a strong rear naked choke to end the match.

Winner

And this is the face of defeat, which is
slightly prettier than Rourke.

Kevlin Gastelum by rear naked choke at 2:22 in the second round.

At the Bell

It’s probably a bit of a conspiracy theory, but the producers really seem to like Luke Barnatt.  He seemed to have the most confessional commentary in Ep.5 outside of the pair fighting, and was again featured in the promo for Ep.6.  Is it intentional foreshadowing by the producers or coincidence?  I don’t know, but it just feels like he’s being ‘sold’ by the producers.

Bubba broke down after his loss and had to be reminded by Jones that he is still eligible for the Wild Card to continue his dream. 

After the win, Sonnen again puts Rousey on speakerphone to speak to Kelvin and she agrees to train with team Sonnen.  Kelvin seemingly giggles and has little else to say.

Next Week

As Sonnen eloquently stated, “with Kevlin’s win, the bag guys have retaken control.”  Team Sonnen will put forth Tor Troeng and selected Josh as his opponent -- and the Ep.6 promo hints that his injuries could become an issue.  Sonnen says he selected the fight because, “at the house, guys are intimidated by both these guys.”

Cliché of The Night

“You’re only as good as your last fight.” -- Bubba McDaniel, prior to tears of irony.