Noke was one of the prized fighters to come out of the eleventh season of TUF, and while he was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Kris McCray, who eventually made his way into the finals opposite of Court McGee.

Kyle was inevitably invited back by the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he defeated TUF teammate Josh Bryant last June at the “The Ultimate Fighter 11″ finale, finishing him by TKO in the second round.

In his second appearance, Kyle showed his well rounded skills when he submitted veteran Rob Kimmons earlier this month at UFC 122, in Oberhausen, Germany.

Now, the Greg Jackson product will look for his third win inside the octagon in front of his fellow countryman when he takes on Chris Camozzi.

Camozzi was featured on the same season of TUF. Noke was featured as a member of Team (Chuck) Liddell whereas Chris was part of Team (Tito Ortiz) Punishment, however Camozzi suffered an injury in his preliminary bout and was unable to continue in the competition.

Chris was invited back on the season’s finale show, and picked up a unanimous decision victory over fellow teammate James Hammortree. The 24-year-old followed up his successful UFC debut with a split-decision victory over the heralded prospect in Korean Dong Yi-Yang, who prior to their match up was undefeated in 9 bouts, with 8 of those wins coming by was of TKO.

Now, both men will put their undefeated UFC streaks on the line when they face one another at UFC 127, which takes place at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia on Feb. 27. The main-event of the evening is expected to be a welterweight clash pitting perennial contender Jon Fitch against former champion BJ Penn.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the new middleweight addition to UFC 127? Who do you think will walk away the victor? Sound off in the comment section below.

According to the middleweight and season 3 winner of “The Ultimate Fighter”, Grove will be returning where it all began for the 6’6 Hawaiian over 4 years ago when he meets Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Demian Maia on December 4, for the culmination of the 12th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” for the TUF finale show.

“December 4 live on spike tuff 12 final grove vs maia”, said the TUF winner on his official twitter account late last night.

The match will likely serve on the evening main card. Grove is accustomed to airing on SpikeTV broadcasts since his early inception into the UFC in 2006 following his TUF finale win over fellow UFC middleweight Ed Herman. This will be Grove’s 4th time on a SpikeTV broadcast–however in last performance against Goran Reljic at UFC 116, Kendall’s bout was originally to air on the special Preliminary feature on the aforementioned television network, however after some dicey words he shared with the Tapout Radio crew, his bout was off the special broadcast.

“I admit. I’m pretty sure I got on there not just because of my good looks, but because of I had a pretty good personality and a funny personality. Everything is ratings to these guys (SpikeTV) and what’s going to sell ratings,” said Grove. “They could care two-(expletive) about our career. They just care about the time we’re there and the six weeks that they’re shooting and trying to get as much drama and stupidity out of us. That’s all we are to them, just cattle and sheep.”

Kendall later retracted his statements and made public apologies on several occasions, and it looks like it’s paid off.

Maia, who just a couple of fights ago was vying for the 185-pound title,

But, Nelson knows Struve isn’t a stepping stone directly to a title shot versus the winner between UFC champion and Fighters.com’s second-ranked heavyweight Brock Lesnar (4-1) and Shane Carwin (10-0) at UFC 116 in Las Vegas July 3.

Fighters.com posed the question, “Who’s next for Nelson?” last week and matchups between Nelson and former UFC champion Frank Mir(13-4) or former UFC title challenger “Napao” Gabriel Gonzaga (11-5) emerged as popular fan choices.

But, Nelson has his eyes on Fighters.com’s favorite in the UFC heavyweight division “Cigano” Junior dos Santos (11-1).

“I think Dos Santos deserves [a title shot] over Cain [Velasquez] just ’cause he’s whipped some better competition,” Nelson told MMA Weekly Radion.  “I mean his very first fight was [Fabricio] Werdum. He’s beat up some really good guys. I think he definitely deserves a good chance or a good stab at it.”

And about a fight versus dos Santos, Nelson said, “I’d love it!”

But, Nelson also indicated interest in fighting heavyweight boxing champion “Lights Out” James Toney (0-0) who recently signed to fight in the UFC.

Bonnar had appealed his UFC 110 loss to The Ultimate Fighter 8 light heavyweight “Polish Experiment” Krzysztof Soszynski (20-9-1) in Sydney February 20.

The fight was stopped at 1:04 of round three by the doctor after Bonnar’s wig was split due to an accidental headbutt.  Bonnar appeared to be winning the exciting fight up to the accidental headbutt.

Bonnar immediately appealed for the fight to be ruled a no contest and has lobbied for a rematch.  According to reports, Bonnar and Soszynski will rematch at The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale in Las Vegas June 19.

Taylor tapped Eric DaVila (14-9) in a rear naked choke at Shark Fight in Lubbock last May.

Yoon was TKO’d by Andrews Nakahara (2-0) at DREAM.6 in Saitama last September.

Perhaps Taylor’s most publicized win was against a rented limousine at the Palace Station Hotel in Las Vegas, which led to his dismissal from TUF’s seventh season and admission to Alcoholics Anonymous. Taylor has evidently remained sobor since.

Johnson earned “Knockout of the Night” with a head kick that dropped Kevin Burns (7-2) to the mat in the third round.

Browning and Kaplan’s two-round brawl was “Fight of the Night”, which Browning finished via armbar.
Soszynski won “Submission of the Night” with his second-round kimura on Shan Primm (3-1).

The bout started with both fighters kicking. Nover looped a big right hand at Efrain’s head, which he ducked for the takedown. Escudero postured up, but Nover kept him away with his legs and scrambled to his feet, eating a right punch on the way. Escudero got Nover’s back and transitioned to full mount. Escudero rained down heavy right fists into Nover’s face before getting back on top. Nover attempted a triangle choke but with one leg trapped under Escudero was unable to cinch it. Before the end of the round Escudero was able to take Nover down to the mat several more times.

In round two, Nover threw a leg kick, then tried punches, but Efrain got the single leg for the takedown. The fight alternated between stand-up and the ground, with Escudero dictating. They both threw knees as they clinched at the cage. Escudero’s right hand tagged Nover and he landed a few inside leg kicks. Escudero scored another single-leg takedown, but they soon stood back up. Nover charged at Escudero with a big kick to the body, but Escudero caught him and slammed him as the horn sounded.

Another takedown by Escudero began round three, but Nover worked hard to get out, elbowing his side hard. Back to stand-up, Nover connected with two stiff jabs. He threw a knee which Escudero caught and again was wrestled to the mat. Nover worked for the omoplata while elbowing at Escudero’s shoulder. He tried to muscle his left foot under Escudero’s chin but Escudero rolled out with half a minute left in the fight. Escudero’s windmilling legs kept Nover from getting close enough to set anything up before the round ended.

The judges awarded Escudero the unanimous decision victory with scores of 29-28 across the board.

Both fighters came out trading leg kicks. A body kick by Burns was answered by a body kick-jab combination by Johnson. Burns shot for the double-leg takedown and landed in Burns’s closed guard. Burns climbed his legs up Johnson’s back but Johnson stood out of it and threw a few punches into Burns’s midsection until he moved into side control. Burns’s legs moved up again, this time securing a triangle choke. Johnson was able to slide out, however, back into Burns’s full guard. Referee Mario Yamasaki stood them up. Johnson landed a left body kick and jab-straight. Burns was flipped onto his back when Johnson caught a kick, but Yamasaki allowed him to stand back up.

Johnson and Burns again opened the round trading kicks. Johnson shot for the single leg, but although Burns defended, he got the takedown. Burns worked a kimura with Johnson in his half guard, but Johnson slipped out, ending up in full guard. They spent the rest of the round in this position, throwing short strikes to the body, and Johnson landing a few elbows into the face. Burns attempted another triangle choke and an armbar, and ate a hammerfist for his efforts.

Round three began with strikes, and ended soon after when Burns was felled by a left head kick, out cold. Johnson’s revenge for his TKO loss in July via eye-poke was completed at 0:28 of round three.

The Brazilian Gouveia came out with a leg kick. MacDonald followed a right-left punch combo with a single-leg takedown, but Gouveia refused to stay down. Trading strikes, Gouveia dropped MacDonald with a hard left jab, and immediately fell on him with hammerfists and elbows, splitting open MacDonald’s head.

Referee Josh Rosenthal stopped Gouveia’s assault of MacDonald at 2:18 of round one.

Browning opened with an inside left kick that hit Kaplan in the cup. After an immediate apology from Browning, Kaplan recovered and the fight continued. The lightweights stood and banged with Browning throwing the crisper, more accurate combinations. Browning landed punches and a flying knee, interspersing them with kicks – each strike looked like it hurt. Both fighters attempted submissions when the fight went to the mat after Browning slipped, Kaplan attempting leg locks and Browning twice tried for a rear naked choke, but neither was able to finish. They stood, and ended the round with knees from Kaplan and an elbow from Junie.

Kaplan started round two with looping punches. Junie went for the double-leg takedown and landed in Kaplan’s half guard. Browning passed into side control, and smoothly transitioned into an tight armbar. Kaplan was forced to tap at 1:32 of round two.

Fighters.com:  I saw that you earned your black belt on Saturday, congratulations.

Phillipe Nover:  Thank you.  Yeah, I didn’t even really expect it.  I guess when you least expect things, sometimes they happen.  I trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu for about eight years now, and my teacher, Soca (Alexandre Freitas), gave me my brown belt a few years ago.  Soca had a promotion ceremony and he was like, “Be there, man!  You better be there,” and I’m like, “Okay, okay.”  I thought I’d probably get some stripes and then I got my belt instead.  It was a big, big deal for me.

Fighters.com:  How is your training going?

Phillipe Nover:  Really good.  I really trained specifically for Efrain’s style and what I remember him to be on the show and analyzing his fights.  I train about eight to twelve sessions a week.  I do mostly double days and I’ve been doing about twice a week of live training like sparring and stuff and my conditioning.  I feel really good.  My weight’s good, I feel more ready for this fight than any other fight.  You know, pretty much I had Efrain on my mind for the last five, six months.  I’ve never been so focused on one particular person.

Fighters.com:  Is that more training than you were doing before?

Phillipe Nover:  Oh yeah, it’s definitely more training.  I quit my job, actually.  I quit my full-time job.  When I got back from the show, I downgraded to part-time at the hospital and I couldn’t even handle that.  So I quit the emergency room job and I only work eight hours a week now as a nurse in intervention radiology, which is a lot easier position.  It’s a controlled environment, and it’s a lot easier especially if I’m training all the time.

Fighters.com:  What made you choose nursing?  Is it something you’d always had an interest in?

Phillipe Nover:  It’s kind of weird, because usually… well my mom is Filipino and usually the Filipino mom is the nurse, but it’s actually backwards.  My father, who’s American, is actually the nurse.  My mom does real estate and insurance.  But my dad always wanted me to get involved in the medical field, whether it was [as] a physician or a pharmacist or physical therapist, and he said, “What about nursing?  I’m a nurse.”  And I saw he was the breadwinner of the household, [and] he said I wouldn’t starve.  I made a decision, and it worked out well.  I really enjoyed the profession and it’s a great position for a male, too.

Fighters.com:  Do you miss it, not working full time?

Phillipe Nover:  I definitely miss some of the action.  I used to work night shifts.  I do visit the hospital at like twelve, one o’clock in the morning and just see my old co-workers.  A couple of weeks ago I visited and they had a trauma coming in, and I got, “Oh, this is great!  Let me try to jump in.”  But you know, I couldn’t jump in.

But other than that I really want to focus on the fighting right now.  This is my ultimate dream.  It wasn’t really nursing.  My ultimate dream was to be a pro fighter and just train all day and get paid to do it.

Fighters.com:  You were born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, but you made a point of showcasing your Filipino heritage on the show.  Your mom is Filipino and you’ve spent some time in the Philippines…

Phillipe Nover:  Yeah, actually, when I was growing up, ever since the age of seven or eight, I went back every summer or every other summer.  I have so much family there, so many aunts and uncles and titas and kuyas.  My mom has five sisters and one brother and they’re all older than her, and they have kids, and the kids have kids.  I love going back and seeing my family there.  I’m going back in January.

Fighters.com:  When was the last time you were there?

Phillipe Nover:  I was there, I believe, a year and a half ago.

Fighters.com:  Do you speak Tagalog?

Phillipe Nover:  Kaunti lang.  A little bit.  Just enough to get by.  Maybe like a Tarzan type of Tagalog.

Fighters.com:  How big is your following in the Philippines?  Do you know?

Phillipe Nover:  I don’t really know quite yet.  The last time I was there, and I wasn’t in the UFC… pretty much nobody really knew me except some of my relatives and some of my friends over there who also happen to train.  I’ve recently just been talking and e-mailing with my cousins over there, and they said that people are starting to find out the message I’m presenting, especially on the show eating balut and stuff, and I had some subliminal messages.

I don’t know if people saw them, like on my hat I colored in a Filipino flag and I made some signs that said, “Sipag at Tiyaga” (hard work and patience).  I had it up for the Red Team in our room.  My mouthpiece was the Filipino flag colors.  And I made Filipino pork barbecue.  There was a Filipino guy who was one of the workers for the producers and he got us food, so whenever I would see him I would talk to him in Tagalog even though we’re not supposed to talk to them.  I was like, “Get me the pork shoulder, get me the whole pork shoulder and skewers,” and he got me the whole pork shoulder and I barbecued it.  The guys ate it; they loved it, even though I’m trying to feed them unhealthy food.  [laughing]  I only had a piece, but man, I’m trying to get these guys nice and fat.  [laughing]

Fighters.com:  This was your third time trying out for The Ultimate Fighter, I believe.  Which other seasons did you try out for?

Phillipe Nover:  True, I tried out for season two, I believe.  That was the season with Luke Cummo (6-6) and Joe Stevenson (29-8) when they fought.  I do remember trying out for that.  When I went to the tryouts Dana [White, UFC President] said I didn’t have enough experience at the time – I only had like two fights.

And then season seven I tried out for the 185 division.  I went down there with my friend Matt Brown (9-7) who happened to get on the show and do well.  So we both tried out.  He’s heavier than me so he got on, but Dana said, “Your record looks good, your jiu-jitsu looks good, but man, you’re too small to get in this show.”  I was like, “All right, this sucks.”

That didn’t stop me.  As soon as I heard that season eight had 155-ers – I never even cut to 155, I was a 170-pounder; I fought at 185 a couple of times too.  But I was willing to do anything and when I heard it was 155, I started dieting, exercising, and I went down there and I did pretty good at the tryouts.  They accepted me.

Fighters.com:  How do you feel as a lightweight?  Do you see yourself staying at 155?

Phillipe Nover:  I definitely see myself staying at 155.  I feel like I still have the power of a 185-er or a 170-pounder, but I’m faster now.  I feel like I could last longer, my conditioning is probably the best it’s ever been in my life.  I hooked up with a really good conditioning coach also and he just really pushes me to the limit.  At 185 or 170, I don’t think I could be doing the same things I’m doing now.

Fighters.com:  You are a heavy hitter, especially for a lightweight.  Is that what makes your strikes so powerful?

Phillipe Nover:  Even before the show I’ve been told that, “You hit real hard.”  I guess it’s just the way I move my hips and the way that I was taught to punch.  I don’t really punch just with my shoulder and my hand; I turn and commit to it.  It’s a big commitment when you land one or two shots like that.  They make a big difference, especially when you’re wearing four-ounce gloves.

I’m used to wearing headgear and boxing gloves.  When you hit someone with those punches, if you can stun someone with that type of gear on, imagine what you can do with just four-ounce gloves.  You know, you could start breaking jaws.  [laughing]

Fighters.com:  Your standup is excellent, you just got your black belt, and you’ve trained in multiple disciplines since you were about ten.  How would you describe your particular style?

Phillipe Nover:  If I would use a few words, I’d say it’s well-rounded, it’s leaning toward what a mixed martial artist should be.  As a mixed martial artist you really should be training every aspect, you know.  I’ve been trying to pick up my wrestling lately, too.  I’m just training all the elements.  I’m striving to become the complete fighter, ‘cause that’s how I think the big names get there.  GSP [Georges St. Pierre (17-2)] and Anderson [Silva (23-4)], they both have black belts in jiu-jitsu, they both have really good standup, they’ve got amazing takedowns.  I’m trying to be the complete fighter.  I’m not going to say, I’m just going to train what I’m good at.  I’m going to train what I’m bad at so I can just get it better.

Fighters.com:  Obviously the path to a black belt is a process and you didn’t suddenly get much better, but how much will your promotion help your performance against Efrain?  Do you think passing that milestone will affect your fight?

Phillipe Nover:  Every time I get a promotion, I get this kind of fire in me.  I already had this feeling, this really crazy, “feel like a million bucks” kind of feeling, and getting my black belt really gave me a boost of energy, a boost of confidence, and it’s going to make me press my game.  Maybe I want to submit him now, I don’t know.  [laughing]

Fighters.com:  [laughing] Is that what you’re going to try to do?

Phillipe Nover:  I predict it’s going to end in the first round, I really don’t know how it’s going to end.  I just don’t know if Efrain can handle me for more than one round.  I’m not underestimating him, I think he’s a great fighter; I just don’t think he’s going to last more than one round with me.

Fighters.com:  Efrain is fairly well-rounded and a good wrestler with a good ground game; how do you plan to get around that?

Phillipe Nover:  He made it to the finals just like I did, and he’s a great kid.  He’s a good guy.  We basically lived together, ate together, slept in the same room, and, you know, I respect him completely.  He does have really good wrestling takedown ability, he has a good submission ability.  I don’t think Efrain has been taken to the deep end of the pool yet.  I’m not going to say that he fought scrubs before, but I’m going to say that he hasn’t fought a guy like me before.

I know he has a 10-0 record, which is an incredible record, or if you count the semis, that’s like an 11-0 record.  But I’m not included on that record.  ‘Cause I think I fought some guys before that I really went to the deep end of the water mentally and came out victorious, so we’ll see if Efrain can handle that, and if he can, he’s got all my respect.

Fighters.com:  You two were friends.  Have you kept in touch with him at all?

Phillipe Nover:  MySpace is a crazy thing.  We text.  We actually got each other’s cell numbers and stuff.  We talk.  I mean, the only thing I think that’s stopping us from being more friendly is the fact that we’re going to beat the crap out of each other [on Saturday].  [laughing]

It was mentally easier for me to fight Joe Duarte (4-1) and Dave Kaplan (2-1), ‘cause I didn’t really like those guys as much.  I mean…  George Roop (8-1) was a really nice guy, and Efrain’s a really nice guy, so it might be mentally a little more difficult to fight Efrain, but once the bell rings and the cage door is shut, it’s a totally different mentality, it’s strictly business.  It’s a sport, but at the same time I’ve got to separate all the emotions, that he’s a nice guy, and just come out there and smash him.

Fighters.com:  How does it feel, headlining the event?

Phillipe Nover:  Wow, that was pretty wild, because I actually didn’t know I was headlining until I looked it up on the internet when my brother called me and said, “Hey, look on the internet.  You’re headlining the card,” and I was like, “What?!”  [laughing]  Seriously, that’s nuts.

A year ago I was hoping to get on an undercard in the UFC, you know, just to be one of the fights, not even to make it onto live pay-per-view, just to be on the undercard would be satisfying.  And now, I’m headlining an event!  I never even fought technically on a UFC card, and Efrain and myself are now… like everyone’s just waiting for us to fight.  It’s just mind-blowing.

Fighters.com:  Finally, what is your prediction for your fellow finalists, “Darth” Ryan Bader (5-0) versus “Pezao” Vinicius Magalhaes (3-3)?

Phillipe Nover:  Okay, I think Bader’s going to win by decision.  I think Vinny’s a really good fighter, they’re both really good fighters, but Bader is just so damn strong.  I mean, he was on my team and I felt this guy and he’s just so powerful.

Like, I think I had a time where I was trying to show a defense for a choke, and I was like, “This is how you do the defense,” and he was like, “All right,” and then he puts you in the choke.  And I could pretty much defend the choke if the guy wasn’t fifty, sixty pounds heavier, and you know, Bader.

It’s going to be hard for Vinny to sub him, I think, and if Bader wants to stay on his feet, he can, because Vinny isn’t going to be able to take Bader down.  Bader can control the fight better than Vinny.  If Vinny tries to jump guard and stuff, I don’t think he’s going to be able to sub Bader ‘cause Bader could just ground’n’pound and get up.  But yeah, my prediction is Bader by decision.

Fighters.com:  Thank you for your time.  Congratulations on your recent accomplishments, and good luck on your fight.

Phillipe Nover:  Thank you, and take care.

The light heavyweights will vie for the title of “The Ultimate Fighter” at the live finale 13 December in Las Vegas.

Fighters.com’s top heavyweight contender “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) and Frank Mir (11-3) served as coaches for the season.

Fighters.com:  Is the Ryan Bader we saw on The Ultimate Fighter the real Ryan Bader?  Do you feel you were portrayed accurately?

Ryan Bader:  Most definitely, I thought they did a great job portraying the fighters’ true personalities, at least, if the fighters were actually being themselves.  But I have no qualms whatsoever about how they portrayed me on the show.

Fighters.com:  Do you think any of the cast was misrepresented because of the editing?

Ryan Bader:  In the end I feel that everybody got their true personalities out.  Some things were over hyped.  Vinny [Magalhaes] really isn’t that much of a dick, and Eliot [Marshall (4-1)] is actually very respectful.  Junie [Allen Browning (2-0)] is a nut just as he was portrayed.

Fighters.com:  Are there any scenes you would have added or taken out if you’d been in charge of the show?  Would you have given anyone more or less airtime?

Ryan Bader:  Probably have given Junie less airtime with his antics but they got the ratings that they wanted from that.  The sushi incident could have gone without making the show, which was pretty disgusting.  I also would have liked to have seen more footage of the training, but the people at Spike are professionals and know how to get the ratings.

Fighters.com:  Who did you get along with the best at the house?

Ryan Bader:  I was closest to Kyle Kingsbury (8-1) and Efrain Escudero (6-0). Both are from Arizona and both were on my team.  I knew Kyle from ASU before the show, so we already had that relationship.  So it was very interesting when we got called to fight each other to get into the house.  Efrain and I knew each other from the wrestling world and just clicked.  I got along with everybody in the house though.  All were pretty good guys.

Fighters.com:  Your team was very close-knit and like a family, while Team Mir did not have the same dynamic.  How much of your success on the show do you attribute to being on Team Nogueira?  Would you have done as well had you been chosen by Mir?

Ryan Bader:  I think that I would have done just as well.  In the end, this is an individual thing and you have to keep that in mind and work towards your goal, which should be to win the tournament.  That being said, I loved being on Nogueira’s team, I had a great time, we all got along great, and I learned so much from the coaching staff and fighters themselves.  I have made life long friends and have made great contacts.

Fighters.com:  I understand that you’ve been getting serious about Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and have even purchased a gi.  How much of this interest is from working with Nogueira and how much is preparation for your upcoming fight with Vinny?

Ryan Bader:  Those two factors didn’t really push me towards working with the GI, I just wanted to immerse myself in the game and that is the best way.  I am trying to do each and every thing I can do to elevate my game and make me a more well-rounded fighter.  I am enjoying it and will continue to work BJJ as well as all the other aspects.

Fighters.com:  Vinny’s strength is obviously his jiu-jitsu, whereas you are the better striker.  How do you plan on keeping the fight standing?

Ryan Bader:  If I want to keep the fight standing I will use my wrestling. That’s what I love about having a strong wrestling background; I can dictate where the fight goes. Wrestling also gave me a great base for defending submissions.  Also, Vinny is able to pull guard when he is close to the fence, so keeping away from the cage will help a lot.

Fighters.com:  You wrote in your blog about the semi-final fight between Krzysztof Soszynski (16-8-1) and Vinny that once Vinny took Krzysztof down it was only a matter of time before Vinny submitted him.  How will you avoid the same fate if Vinny manages to take the fight to the mat?

Ryan Bader:  I believe that my jiu-jitsu and submission defense is at a much higher level than Kyzysztof.  I believe that if it goes to the ground I can use that with heavy ground and pound to keep myself safe and out of his submissions.

Fighters.com:  Who has been working with you on your standup and your submission defense?

Ryan Bader:  I work with a bunch of different people on the ground.  Gustavo Dantes (1-0) is the main jiu-jitsu instructor and is a high level black belt.  I have also been doing a lot of work with Jacob McClintock (2-0) who has a similar style with rubber guard, flying triangles, etc.

Fighters.com:  What are your thoughts leading up to this fight?  How do you feel about fighting in front of thousands of live, screaming fans, and do you think it will affect your focus?

Ryan Bader:  I feel great; it’s been a while since I have fought since we were unable to do so because of the show.  The crowd does not bother me at all, if anything it gets me going.  I have had fights in front of thousands before and I have also wrestled in front of twenty thousand people at nationals so I have been there before.  I am looking forward to the fight and looking forward to giving the fans a great show!

Fighters.com:  We now know that both finalists are likely to earn contracts in the UFC, which wasn’t apparent in the finals of the original TUF seasons.  How does that affect your mindset about the fight?  Does it take pressure off knowing that win or lose, you’ll most likely get a shot in the UFC?

Ryan Bader:  That is not always the case and I will go into this fight with the mindset that it is a “must win” situation.  I don’t ever think like that, in the aspect of, ‘If I lose it is ok because I will still get a contract.’  First and foremost I need to win and then we will go from there.

Fighters.com:  How important is the title “The Ultimate Fighter” these days, with so many contestants getting the opportunity to fight in the UFC?  And how important is that title to you?

Ryan Bader:  It is extremely important to me.  I have put a lot of time and effort to be where I am at right now.  My goal for the last eight months was to win The Ultimate Fighter.  So until I obtain that goal I will not be happy.  That title also comes with its perks such as sponsorships, TV time, etc.

Fighters.com:  You said in TUF that you don’t want to fall back on your degree and go back to a desk job.  Will you do anything with your marketing degree, or is it strictly a back-up plan?

Ryan Bader:  I love fighting and I love being an athlete.  I will pursue this for however long that I can.  I have my degree and that is a backup plan.  I don’t want to look back and say that I could have done this; I should have done that, etc.  I am doing that now so there are no regrets later on in life.  Later on, yes, I may do something with my degree, but as of now I am enjoying what I am doing.

Fighters.com:  You recently returned from a trip to Miami to (try to) visit Nogueira.  When do you plan on visiting him again?

Ryan Bader:  I am not sure, that was my first time to Miami and I had a great time.  I talk to him occasionally.  A couple of us from the show are looking to go to Brazil sometime in February.  Maybe we can get together with him then.  He is a great guy, and always welcomes us.

Fighters.com:  Dana White told you all at the end of taping that the show will change your lives.  How has your life changed since the show aired, in terms of recognition, opportunities, and otherwise?  Has it been what you expected?

Ryan Bader:  The exposure has been awesome; more sponsors are looking at us, which in turn means more money.  Obviously recognition has gone way up and everybody has been very cool.  It has gone above and beyond what I expected and after I win this contract, it will only get better!

Following the broadcast the UFC announced the full lineup for the live finale of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir 13 December in Las Vegas.

Also on the card are a previously reported bout between middleweights “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald (19-10) and Wilson Gouveia (11-5), and a rematch between Kevin Burns (7-1) and “Rumble” Anthony Johnson (5-2).

Rounding out the main card is a lightweight match-up between TUF 8 competitors Junie Allen Browning (2-0) and David Kaplan (0-0).

The remaining ten competitors will also fight:

“The Experiment” Krzysztof Soszynski (16-8-1) v Shane Primm (3-0)

Eliot Marshall (4-1) v Jules Bruchez (1-0)

Kyle Kingsbury (8-1) v Tom Lawlor (4-1)

Shane Nelson (9-2) v George Roop (8-1)

Rolando Delgado (5-3-1) v John Polakowski (2-1)

In the semi-finals, Nover defeated Roop via first-round kimura, Escudero submitted Browning with a D’arce choke in round two, Bader won a unanimous decision over Marshall, and Magalhaes armbarred Soszynski in the first round.

Johnson will look to avenge his loss to Burns via eye poke in July, which was severe enough to require surgery.

MacDonald’s manager, Mark Pavelich, confirmed the fight on MMA Weekly Radio Wednesday.

MacDonald submitted “Punisher” Jason Lambert (23-9) with a rear naked choke at UFC 88 in September, just one month after he himself tapped out to Demian Maia’s (8-0) rear naked choke.

Gouveia armbarred Ryan Jensen (13-6) in round two at UFC: Fight Night 15 in September.

FIghters.com: Jorge, your scheduled to fight at UFC 91.  This event is being hyped by the industry insiders as a UFC card with potential to set record pay-per-view sales.  What’s your thoughts on being part of this event?

Jorge Gurgel: To be honest.  It’s a huge honor to be part of the UFC.  Period.  My dream in life has always been to be part of the UFC and fight in the UFC.  As far as the event being the highest pay-per-view event ever, for me it’s just another fight.  You know, there’s so much on the line for fighters now days.  Every performance counts. The next fight is the most important fight every time.   My job is always on the line. I am very focused on my fight and my teammate’s fights: Dustin Hazelett and Kenny Florian.  I am worried about our performances and how the three of us are going to do and then everything else will take care of itself. 

FIghters.com: Your opponent, Aaron Riley, is coming off two straight wins; but, it’s his first fight in the UFC since 2006.  Do you think Riley’s time away from the Octagon plays to your advantage?

Jorge Gurgel: No, I do not.  I think Aaron Riley is a very, very tough opponent.  I think Aaron Riley is a very seasoned fighter.  He has fought Robbie Lawler at 170 pounds.  He has fought Spencer Fisher.  So, Aaron Riley returning to the UFC because he has so much experience makes absolutely no difference in the way he is going to perform.  You know, he’s got almost forty fights.  Wherever Aaron fights it really makes no difference.  It’s not like he is going to have first fight jitters returning to the UFC.  If anything it’s going to make him fight harder and better.

FIghters.com: Several months ago it was revealed within a UFC blog that you wanted to change training routines and start a new camp under Mark DellaGrotte.  Is Mark DellaGrotte part of your training for the upcoming fight at UFC 91?

Jorge Gurgel: Yes, I am here in Boston right now.  I’ve been training here in Boston for a while.  It’s been one of my goals to accomplish.  I have such a good strength and conditioning coach now too.  Kevin Kerns trains me and he also trains Nate Quarry, Kenny Florian, and Kurt Pellegrino.  I’m in good hands, man.

I live here in Boston in the gym right now.  I am living totally Rocky Balboa style. [laughing]  You know, with Mark Dellegrotte, I’ve got great training partners now.  I’ve got Kenny Florian here.  And Kevin goes out of his way to come get me because I don’t have a car here and he trains me three days per week at Studio Sityodtong.  And, I also work with Mark Dellegrotte and the entire Studio Sityodtong team at night.  So, I really feel this is the best camp I’ve ever had.  I am really happy to be here.

FIghters.com: You have been deemed a warrior following the epic fight at UFC 73 against Diego Saraiva (12-18-1) where you won following a broken jaw and, of course, you were later hospitalized due to injuries.  As a professional mixed martial artist, do you believe in the concept of heart carrying a wounded fighter through to victory?

Jorge Gurgel: You know what, I do believe in heart, but if I say it in front of my trainers they will yell at me. Marcus Davis is one of my best friends; and, he and Mark Dellegrotte have been trying to beat it into my head that everyone already knows I have heart.  And, Kenny Florian as well. 

You know, Kenny is in my weight class but he’s also a great friend.  And, he says, “Jorge, nobody questions whether you have heart.  Everybody knows you are one of the toughest guys out there.  You’re tough and you fight with a lot of heart.  Now it’s time for you to show them you can fight smart.” 

It’s my biggest challenge.  I understand my heart and my desire to win.  I understand my will to get out there and trade blow for blow to prove who’s got the biggest heart.  To win fights this way has earned me victories and fans, but it doesn’t carry me or give me longevity in the sport.  Let’s put it this way.  If I had to corner myself, I would have a heart attack. [laughing]  I corner a lot of people properly.  I corner eight or nine UFC fighters.  You’ll see me in people’s corners all the time.  But, if I had to corner Jorge Gurgel, I would probably walk out in the middle of the fight and say, “You, I am done with you.  I am not calling you any more because you are as dumb as it gets.”  [laughing] 

I am a very emotional fighter and I have too much fun and I tend to amend gameplans and then go to slug it out and fight with my heart only.  And, I am really trying to change this and learn from DelleGrotte and Kevin and the entire camp here.  You know, to fight smart and implement a gameplan so I can have longevity in my career.  Everybody knows I have heart and I fight hard; but, now I want to prove to them that I can follow a gameplan, be a coachable fighter and to fight smart. 

FIghters.com: Jorge, you were upset recently by Cole Miller (14-3) of American Top Team at UFC 86.  But you were highly favored going into that fight.  What did you learn from this loss?

Jorge Gurgel: Hey, I really won that fight.  But, I messed up.  I am not sure who it was or which philosopher said it originally, but you know the one who said, “Shit happens?”

The only thing that came out of that fight for me is that I believe shit does happen.  Because I was ahead on the scorecards.  But it took me one split second of losing focus to lose the fight.  I don’t know what happened to me.  I was dominating the fight.  I was 100% confident that I was the best mentally and physically that I’d ever been walking into a fight before.  Many say it was my best performance to date in the UFC. 

But, with fourteen seconds left in the fight, I got caught in a triangle and I never get caught in triangles.  Not even in practice do I get caught in triangles.  It’s just one of those things where people say, “tough break.”  It was all I heard all night from the UFC and the fans: “Tough break man, tough break.  Shit happens, shit happens.” 

I tried to get up and I slipped off of my right foot and made the triangle tighter and I remember thinking the whole time, ‘This is not happening, this is not happening.  I am going to get out of here.  This is not happening.’

But, then the triangle started getting tighter and tighter.  And, my family was there.  You know, it was the first time in my life I have ever become depressed.  I really felt depressed afterward.  It was really hard for me.  The best person to put things in perspective was my stepfather.  He’s a huge fan and it was the first time my parents had ever come to see me fight.  So this made the loss extra hard on me. 

My stepfather walked up to me after the fight, looked me in the eyes, and said, “Jorge, this is the first time in my life I have seen a fighter win and lose a fight in the same fight.”

I couldn’t say anything back for a minute.  I looked down at the ground and then I said, “You’re right Dad, you’re right.  I am sorry.  I don’t know what to say.  You know, I don’t know how that happened.” 

Rich Franklin came up to me and said, “Jorge the whole time until the last second I was saying you were going to get out.  Jorge never gets caught.” 

But, I did get caught.  I simply got caught.  I had one second of losing focus and I got caught in a triangle. More power to Cole Miller; but, up until that moment, I had control of the fight.  I think it doesn’t matter. Shit happens and I am over it now.  I am ready to move on to bigger and tougher challenges and to see how I do.  To see how much better and smarter I have gotten. 

FIghters.com: Speaking of Fighters.com’s second-ranked middleweight “Ace” Rich Franklin (25-3) and being an Ohio resident yourself and one of Rich’s training partners, what did you think of the fight between Franklin and “Hammer” Matt Hamill (4-2) at UFC 88?

Jorge Gurgel: That was great.  I like Matt.  You know, obviously Rich is my best friend.  I am always happy to see Rich perform and Rich win.  For some reason when I talked to Matt’s camp they were very upset that Matt Hamill didn’t perform.  They kept saying, ”Matt Hamill did not fight the Matt Hamill fight.”  But, what can we say?  Matt tried to do his thing; but, it’s very hard against Rich.

People underestimate Rich’s ground game tremendously.  It may be easy to take him down sometimes, but it is very hard to keep him there.  And, Rich keeps them going.  He’s a cardio machine.  He hit Matt Hamill with the right body shot.  Rich was like a robot.  I was very impressed how Matt Hume was calling the shots; and, Rich was very smart hearing everything Matt [Hume] was saying.  Rich implemented a gameplan perfectly, like Matt Hume said, and was able to put Matt Hamill away.  I was very happy.  There is nothing I’ll take away from that fight.  I think Rich fought a very, very good fight and came out with a good victory.

FIghters.com: What’s your assessment of Franklin’s upcoming fight against fifth-ranked “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (23-7) at UFC 93 in Dublin 17 January?

Jorge Gurgel: I have a lot of respect for Dan Henderson.  So does Rich.  I’m sure he will say the same.  Rich has a bit more size because the fight will be taking place at 205 pounds.  Dan Henderson is always extremely dangerous.  But, we know his weapons.  We know he’s a great wrestler and he has a great overhand right.  It’s no secret to anybody.  All I can say is that Rich is going to be ready.  We’ll all be together in Ireland hopefully witnessing another Rich Franklin victory.

FIghters.com: SInce 2005, we have seen the rise and stardom of numerous alumni from Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter reality show.  At UFC 92, two former winners of the show will fight for the UFC and Fighters.com light heavyweight championship.   What’s your personal take on the show where you also once starred yourself and it’s impact on the sport of mixed martial arts?

Jorge Gurgel: I will tell you the truth here and I might really shoot myself in the foot.  I thought the show was great up until maybe the third season or so.  But, now I don’t like to watch it at all.  I was always under the impression that being a professional martial artist is a full-time job.  And, every time some ignorant person comes in off the street and says, “Well, I got out of high school and I got a scholarship to wrestle in college; and, after that, it was either get a regular job or fight for the UFC.”  That makes me sick.  It’s ridiculous. 

I think fighting is a full-time job.  I think we should be seen as professionals too.  You know, people that give up a lot and sacrifice to make this a full-time job to be able to support their families.  But, lately I think the show has really watered down the values and everything that martial arts is all about.  We train hard.  But now on the show, there’s no Kenny Florian, no Forrest Griffin, and no me. 

You know, there was no breaking furniture and spray painting walls and throwing barbecue sets into the swimming pool when I was on the show.  Where I come from, that stuff costs money.  Where I come from, people have to work for food.  But, now I see a bunch of wannabes.  People that want to fight for the wrong reasons.  People that are on television to get a free Tapout shirt and some airtime.  They are not fighters. You know, people that really want to become fighters will collect the dividends of hard work in the long run. People that experience success too early will not. 

Many of the people on the show now don’t deserve to be there or don’t belong to be there and they are giving the UFC the very name that the UFC is trying to avoid.  You know, a bad reputation of punks, for lack of a better word, or uneducated people that don’t have the opportunity or the ability to get a good regular job and then decide to fight in the cage or Octagon instead.  The show does not portray a true and honest image of mixed martial artists.  The show does not do that at all. 

Now days there’s always an episode where somebody quits.  Then there’s the episode where the contestants talk badly to one another in the house.  There’s always episodes where they play pranks on each other too. There’s the episode where everyone gets in a fight in the backyard because they’re all drunk.  Then there was that episode once, of course, where the guy left the show because of his girlfriend.  [laughing]  There’s always the episode where the coaches argue with each other.  And, there is always an episode where a guy cannot make weight! 

So, everything is already pretty much staged. Every season there’s episodes where we already know what is going to happen.  It’s just a different set of people in the same episode happening over and over and over. 

Originally, I started martial arts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to do two things only: to test myself as a person in one-on-one combat against another person and to honor my school and my teacher.  To honor the school, where I came from, was important.  Now, the UFC has been going overboard in great, great lengths and in big places; but, the marketing that the reality show is putting out there and the way this show is being portrayed disgusts me.  It makes us professional fighters look like schmucks.  It makes the guys who really want to be “ultimate fighters” look stupid.  And, like I said, besides the first three seasons of the show, I think show has gone down tremendously and I do not care for it at all. 

FIghters.com: Some people say that there’s a bit of irony in the fact that UFC President Dana White predicts that by 2012 the sport of MMA will be a contemporary to organized sports such as football, baseball, and soccer.  While at the same time there are organizations such as EliteXC involved in questionable practices and equally questionable marketing campaigns.  Do you also find it ironic when Dana White criticizes EliteXC while similar controversies occur on The Ultimate Fighter television show?

Jorge Gurgel: Yeah, but there’s a big difference between the two.  And, I do not want to be misquoted here. EliteXC is literally doing wrong and shady things in the sport of mixed martial arts on live television.  But, the TUF show is just a TV show.  Just a reality television show.  They are two different things completely. 

On a reality show, regardless of whether it’s associated with mixed martial arts, it’s a situation where anything can happen and will probably happen.  Those TUF guys are going to do some crazy things eventually when put in front of a camera all day.  Those guys are going to fight at some point. 

You know, “Hey, let’s put itching powder in each other’s beds because we are thirty-years old and we have nothing better to do. Yay!”  [laughing]  “Let’s  go ahead and freeze each other’s underwear and open cans of sardines and put the juice on everyone’s beds.  Let’s throw somebody in the pool and fight and get drunk all night.  Yay!” 

Now, that’s reality television.  And, for the average American or whatever, that appeals to them, I guess.  But, at EliteXC there’s nothing worse than the joke of Kimbo Slice“.  A guy that got famous fighting in the streets of Miami for money, beating up people on the Internet, and he becomes huge, huge MMA figure.  A figure of mixed martial arts?  A representative of our sport?  Selling fights and making sponsorship money from Tapout and getting paid $500,000 to fight?  And, with no real training?  Come on, I have been fighting for fifteen years. 

FIghters.com: What about the rumors of EliteXC’s fight-rigging and those sort of controversies?

Jorge Gurgel: Yeah, well, if you knew me better you’d know that I am the least educated person when it comes to the Internet.  I don’t read the forums.  I do not read my interviews.  I mean, I give interviews, but I usually don’t read them afterward and often forget what I’ve said.  [laughing]

But, I do know that Seth Petruzelli opened his mouth and said EliteXC were offering him bonuses to keep the fight standing.  I do not doubt this for one second.  EliteXC was living off of the myth of Kimbo Slice.  Did you see the fight when Seth hit Kimbo close to the back of the head with one punch and that guy, whatever his name is, I think Shaw or whatever it is, the guy in charge of EliteXC, he was screaming, “In the back of the head ref, the back of the head!”

FIghters.com: Yes, it was Jared Shaw who is the son of Gary Shaw and a vice-president at EliteXC. 

Jorge Gurgel: Yeah, it became a joke.  Do you remember the next day?  On the front page of Yahoo it said something like: “Kimbo Slice has been exposed” or something like that. “The big lie has been exposed” or whatever it was. 

I think we both agree here.  I’m an advocate for martial arts.  I try to represent the sport as well as I can.  I have thirteen schools.  I have over 400 students.  I try to lead by example.  I hate with a passion anyone who takes mixed martial arts for granted or approaches this sport in a manner that’s not professional. 

So again, long story short, EliteXC and the TUF show, I do not care for whatsoever.  Of course, there are some exceptions.  There are some fighters there that absolutely want to be there and deserve to be there.  You can see the fighters that want to make it and want to do something for themselves.  And, then there’s the other majority of fighters that do not belong there.  They are only there to get a free t-shirt and some air time. 

The EliteXC situation and what’s coming out and what they are doing is totally unethical and unprofessional.  I disagree with it completely.  I just want the sport of mixed martial arts — which is the career that I chose for myself — to be a sincere and honest as I dreamt it was going to be when I was a kid.  So, a lot of this stuff frustrates me.  A lot of this hurts me tremendously.  But, I am just one person.  I can’t change everything.  And, I cannot make things change and make my opinions count.  I have to worry about my fights and my students and then carry on. 

FIghters.com: Earlier you mentioned the old honor of the martial arts school and martial arts teachers.  Do you think that old spirit or those sort of ethics will ever become status quo in modern mixed martial arts?

Jorge Gurgel: It will never come back.  I tell everybody that the next person I will actually spend my time teaching those values to will be my children when I have my own children.  I do have people like Dustin Hazelett, which is pretty much like my own son.  He’s my blackbelt and a UFC standout.  And, I have my other students that give it a try and train hard and that they believe in what I say.  When I speak they are there to listen to me.  And they are there to understand that I have been doing this for many years.  That I was born and raised in the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, honoring my school and my teacher.  And also being respectful and being loyal.  Loyalty is everything.  But, now many people just want to sign up one day the the very next day they want to fight. 

“When can I fight?  When can I fight?  Can I fight now, Jorge?” 

This is not how things are supposed to be.  Things have really changed.  The sport of mixed martial arts has given me the opportunity to live a very good lifestyle.  I own a school.  I have a great house, a good car, and food on my table.  It’s given me the opportunity to fight for a living and get paid accordingly for my hard work.  But at the same time, the values have been extremely watered down.  And that hurts my heart tremendously because I remember how things used to be.  But now they are far, far, far from what they once were and I don’t think it’ll ever be back like it used to be again.  Ever.

Fighters.com was in attendance Monday night when Browning had his first full session at the gym of Fighters.com’s fifth-ranked heavyweight and UFC Champion “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-8).

Browning, a native of Lexington, is currently living with Xtreme Couture striking coach Shawn Tompkins (0-4).

Browning joins another TUF 8 competitor, “Pezao” Vinicius Magalhaes (3-3), at Xtreme Couture.

TUF 8 is currently airing Wednesday nights on SpikeTV in the States.

But, that’s not explicitly what UFC President Dana White told The Sun 17 Octoberin the report that first announced that Bisping and either Hendo’ or “Ace” would coach on the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

In fact, White promised The Sunthat Bisping would coach TUF 9 “win, lose or draw” versus “Crippler” Chris Leben (18-5) at UFC 89 in Birmingham 18 October.

It doesn’t make sense that Bisping would earn a fight versus either currently ranked and historically relevant mixed martial artist, Henderson or Franklin, if he drew or lost versus popular, but unranked Leben.

Does it?

Franklin’s agent, J.T. Stewart, agreed with Fighters.com, saying, “Doesn’t make sense to me either.”

Why match two ranked fighters at a higher weight division than they’re currently fighting in, only to match the winner in a gatekeeper role in the division the UFC just moved them out of?

In fact, Franklin told Fighters.com before his “W” in the 205-pound division over “Hammer” Matt Hamill (4-2) at UFC 88 in Atlanta 6 September that the UFC asked him to move to light heavyweight specifically because he wasn’t going to get match-ups versus middleweight contenders because he was likely to spoil title fights for Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (23-4), who has already beat Franklin twice and Henderson once.

A loyal and model UFC soldier, Franklin has accepted his assignment and set out on a new training routine aimed at filling out his frame for the 205-pound division.

It’s plain unfair to ask Franklin or Henderson to reverse course and drop back to 185-pounds to vet Bisping for a title shot versus Silva.

That doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen, especially in light of the quick rise from TUF to top of Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin (16-4) and fourth-ranked “Sugar” Rashad Evans (12-0-1).

When asked specifically if Franklin was going to fight Bisping if he beats Hendo’, Stewart only responded, “Who knows…,” then added, “Rich will not answer any questions that have anything to do with a future fight other than the fight that is in front of him.”

No.  A better match-up for Bisping is “Athlete” Jason MacDonald(21-10).  Let’s brush the haze of over-hype from our eyes and realize that MacDonald is right where Bisping is at in the 185-pound division.

Bisping is a quickly developing prospect; but, Franklin or Henderson are both too much, too fast for the Brit.  Bisping would lose and set back a possible title shot 18 months to two years.  That would screech to a halt the best thing the UFC’s got going for it in the U.K.

Bisping has been near tappingto “King of Rock’n'Rumble” Elvis Sinosic (8-11-2) and “Chainsaw” Charles McCarthy(10-5).  Bisping beat both fighters handily – as he should’ve – but, that hole remains in Bisping’s game ready to be exploited.

Enter MacDonald, a helluva slick submission grappler who has only lost in the Octagon to the 185-pound division’s contenders: Franklin, sixth-ranked “Thunder” Yushin Okami (22-4), and Demian Maia(8-0).  Also worth mentioning, MacDonald was able to stop Leben in the second round at UFC 66 while Bisping could only manage a unanimous decision over Leben at UFC 89.

But, MacDonald has always had trouble with slick stand-up games like Bisping’s.

MacDonald is the best match-up for Bisping right now, not Franklin or Henderson; and, Bisping v MacDonald could be set-up in time for UFC 93.

Make this fight!

“I just got the contract,” Dolce told Fighters.com Tuesday.

The fight was originally scheduled for 18 October; but, War Machine pulled out due to an injury suffered during training.

Dolce had chided War Machine in a post on The Underground message board, saying, “I can certainly say that I was not coming into this bout 100% healthy, though I had never considered backing out.  The promoter is out thousands of advertising dollars, nearly twenty athletes are out an anticipated payday after six hard weeks of training and thousands of fans are left holding tickets.”

After fighting his way into the house in episode one, Dolce was eliminated by Jesse Taylor (7-3) on episode three of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest.

Dolce has lost six straight, most recently by choke submission to “The Snake” Jake Paul (13-12) at Rise Fighting Championships in Eugene 13 September.

War Machine was a replacement for injured Roman Mitichyan (5-2) on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra.  He was eliminated on episode eight by eventual finalist Tom Speer (9-3).

War Machine was tapped in an anaconda choke by Fighters.com’s ninth-ranked welterweight “Zenko” Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2) at UFC 84 in Las Vegas 24 May.

War Machine was subsequently dropped from the UFC.

The UFC claimed he was cut due to War Machine’s public speculation that Evan Tanner (32-8) had committed suicide after the former UFC Middleweight Champion’s unfortunate death.

War Machine contends he was cut because he refused tp fight Brandon Wolff (7-2).

“Win, lose or draw [versus "Crippler" Chris Leben (18-4) at UFC 89 Saturday], Michael Bisping will coach the UK team on TUF 9,” White said, then added, “We’re looking at Henderson or Franklin to be the American coach on TUF 9.”

UFC 93 is scheduled for Dublin 17 January.

Franklin coached on TUF 2 in 2005.  His team included heavyweight winner and now fourth-ranked light heavyweight “Sugar” Rashad Evans (12-0-1), who will challenge Fighters.com’s Champion Forrest Griffin (16-4) for the title in Franklin’s new weight class in Las Vegas 27 December.

Franklin successfully returned to 205 pounds with a TKO over “Hammer” Matt Hamill (4-2) in Atlanta 6 September after falling twice to Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (22-4).

Henderson will return to 205 pounds after splitting two fights at middleweight, a submission loss to Silva and, most recently, a UD over “Toquinho” Rousimar Palhares (8-2) in Atlanta.

Henderson wore belts at light heavyweight and middleweight in PRIDE when the promotion was bought by Zuffa, LLC., parent company of the UFC, in March 2007.

Bisping, who now fights at middleweight, was the light heavyweight winner of TUF 3 in 2006.

Tryouts for TUF 9 will be held in London 20 October and Chicago 27 October.

“I like the small guys.  They go at it,” UFC President Dana White stated to TUF 8 coach Frank Mir (11-3).

Lightweights Wesley Murch (3-2) and John Polakowski (2-1), who, in his words, “loves giving hugs to everyone”, didn’t disappoint White in the first fight of the night on Wednesday’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter 8.

Both fighters were able to land strikes and take each other’s backs; however, at the end of the first round, British fighter Murch injured his shin on a low kick attempt. 

Ouch!

Murch braved the pain, but, early in the second round, collapsed; and, the ref was forced to stop the fight.

True to his words, Polakowski hugged Fighters.com’s top heavyweight contender and TUF 8 coach “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1), White, and Mir, forcing an admission from Nog’: “ I don’t care, you know.  I like to hug too.”

Light heavyweight Sean O’Connell (0-0) bragged, “I watched every season of Ultimate Fighter!  Forrest Griffin is my favorite active fighter.  I will follow in those guys path and be champion some day.”

But, Shane Primm (1-0) stood in the doorway of the TUF 8 house.  Primm dominated O’Connell, tapping him in a rear naked choke in the first round.

Lightweight Efrain Escudero (10-0) predicted he would “probably take [his opponent] down, ground’n’pound him, take his back, and rear naked choke him.”  True to his word, Escudero took down Ido Pariente (8-3), climbed on his back, and well…just read Esucdero’s prediction.

Bounty hunter-by-day Ryan Lopez (4-4) started his fight versus light heavyweight Tom Lawlor (4-1-1)  with a kick, but was taken down.

Lawlor immediately took Lopez’s back and sunk in the rear naked choke, forcing the former Men’s Health model to tap.

White introduced the fight between BJJ black belt “Crazy Cuban” Roli Delgado (5-3-1) and George Roop (8-3) as the “battle of the beanpoles.”

Roop had the clear advantage standing; but, on the ground, Delgado nearly submitted him.

Roop was able to keep the fight standing and took the decision, prompting Mir to comment that Roop “is coachable” and “imagine what he can get him on my team and work with him in practice”.

According to Mir, light heavyweight Kyle Kingsbury (7-1) won the first round of his fight.  But, the two-time All-American wrestler Ryan Bader (7-0) was able to rebound and submit Kingsbury with a tight arm triangle.

Nogueira commented that Bader has “top wrestling, he got eyes of the tiger and I like the way he fights.”

Light heavy Charles Diaz (3-0) talked a great game; however, Shane Nelson (9-3) completely overwhelmed Diaz with a barrage of strikes. Nelson dropped Diaz with a big knee and picked up the easy decision victory.

BJJ specialist Eliot Marshall (5-1) took Armenian-born 205er Karen Grigoryan (6-1) to the limit and lost a controversial split decision.

Grigoryan was the constant aggressor; however, Marshall landed the crisper strikes and constantly worked for submissions. Both White and Mir agree that Marshall should have been awarded the victory; however, White emphasized that a fighter should “never leave it in the hands of the judges.”

There was a consolation prize, however.  Unfortunately for Antwain Britt (3-1), he broke his hand in last week’s episode’s slugfest with “Big Deal” Ryan Jimmo (6-1).

The coaches and White decided to bring back an elated Marshall and, as white put it “justice was served.”

Joe Duarte (3-0), who was submitted via rear naked choke by Phillipe Nover (5-0-1) in round two, told Fighters.com, “I just cut much weight too rapidly. I thought I could make it easy but it didn’t turn out that way.  I was real slow and sluggish during the fight.  I will come back stronger next time….”

“Next time” will be 26 September at the Alberta-based Colloseo Championship Fighting in Edmonton, against MFC veteran Ryan Heck (5-2).

Heck was TKO’d in the first round at his last fight by Ryan Machan (5-2) in July.

“Big Deal” Ryan Jimmo (6-1), who was eliminated when he lost a majority decision to Antwain Britt (4-1), will headline XFights: Ontario vs Maritimes 4 October in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Jimmo, a Saint John, NB, native who now trains in Halifax, will face Toronto’s “Lethal” Jason Cecil (3-5).

Cecil is coming off two losses, most recently being TKO’d at 1:55 of round one by Martin Desilets (8-2) earlier this month at Xtreme MMA 5.

Jason Guida (17-17), who was eliminated from competition after missing weight by one pound, has signed with EliteXC and will fight at the promotion’s ShoXC event 10 October in Hammond, IN, not far from Chicago.

Guida will face “Cannibal” Mamed Khalidov of Poland, who will be making his U.S. debut.

Khalidov ended an eleven-fight win streak earlier in September with a draw versus Daniel Tabera (11-1-3).

Brandon Garner (4-1), whose lightweight bout versus Brian McLaughlin (0-0) was ruled a No Contest after he landed an illegal knee, was nevertheless booted from the competition.

Garner confirmed to Fighters.com that he will fight on 11 October at the Carolina Fight Promotion’s Carolina Crown event, against Wisconsin’s Seth Marquez (1-2) at a catch weight of 140 pounds.

Marquez won his first professional fight in July, submitting Eugene Crisler (7-8) via third-round rear naked choke.

The final sixteen of the original 32 contestants will compete for the remaining eight spots in the house in the episode airing tonight.

UFC President Dana White proclaimed the same thing to this season’s 32 contestants to be coached by Nog’ and Mir for the TUF 8 championship at lightweight and light heavyweight; but, before he could finish his sentence, Phillipe Nover (5-0-1) hit the deck in a fainting spell.

“Fainting Phillipe” White called him; and, Nover had a tough opening challenge versus Joe Duarte (3-0).

“I’m going to have to make him faint again,” Duarte said before the fight.

But, it was Duarte who had to tap in a Nover rear naked choke in the second round to keep from fainting.

Nover opened the first round with a head kick, followed by a body kick.

“He hits like a heavyweight,” Nog’ said.

But, Duarte countered a Nover leg kick with a straight left that dropped Nover. Duarte pounced; and, Nover gave up his back and ate an elbow.  But, Nover actually pounded Duarte while Duarte had his back and attempted a rear naked choke.

In the second round, Nover tripped Duarte into half mount.  Duarte gave up his back; and, Nover slipped in the rear naked choke.

Mike Stewart (1-1) made the field of 32 when Jason Guida (17-17), brother of lightweight “Carpenter” Clay Guida (24-9), couldn’t make the 205-pound weight limit.

As quickly as he stepped-in, he stepped out after a straight left from Krzysztof Soszynski (15-8-1).

“Machete” Fernando Bernstein (0-0) “was more like the butter knife,” said White after Bernstein was quickly tapped out in a rear naked choke by Dave Kaplan (0-0).

“Sugar” Rashad Evans‘s (12-0-1) brother, Lance Evans (2-2), quit with a rib injury after one round versus “Pezao” Vinicius Magalhaes (0-1).

Built like a brickhouse Antwain Britt (3-1) won a light heavyweight spot in the TUF house in a majority decision slugfest versus “Big Deal” Ryan Jimmo (6-1).

Light heavyweight Jules Bruchez (0-0) was very confident after Eric Magee (1-1) in a rear naked choke.

Lightweight Brian McLaughlin (0-0) took it to Brandon Garner (4-1) in the first round before Garner zapped McLaughlin with an illegal knee and the fight was declared a No Contest.

White decided McLaughlin had earned a bed before the fight was stopped without a winner.

This season’s Jeremy May (5-5), Jose Aguilar (0-0), talked a lot before one round with Junie Allen Browning (1-0).

Browning rolled out of two Aguilar ankle locks on the road to an otherwise dominating striking and G’n'P display.

Aguilar quit in his corner, saying “I’m pretty.  That’s all that matters, dog.”

Browning was clearly Mir’s favorite fighter.  He coached Browning through his domination of Aguilar and told Nog’, “Don’t pick him.  He told me he hates Brazilians.”

The difference in personalities between Mir and Nog’ were immediately noticeable.  Mir talked a lot while Nog’ watched and said little.  Nog’ also revealed little about the fighters he’s eyeing for his team while Mir let slip who his early favorites were.

Next week, the final sixteen fighters will fight their way into the remaining eight beds.

The 26-year-old Canadian from Halifax trained at Titans MMA but recently switched gyms and is currently at Fitplus.  Jimmo answered a few questions for Fighters.com this week.

Fighters.com: How did you get involved with TUF 8?

Ryan Jimmo: I got involved with TUF 8 by a friend that sent me an email about the tryouts in Boston. I went down to the tryouts, got past the grappling, striking and interview rounds then down to Vegas for medicals and more interviews. And the rest is history (I always wanted to say that).

Fighters.com: Are you training full time right now, or do you have other work?

Ryan Jimmo: I’m training and working part time right now. Working as a doorman 2-3 nights on the weekend as well as teaching kickboxing and personal training.

Fighters.com: Outside of MMA, what are your interests or hobbies?

Ryan Jimmo: I do a lot of reading when I’m not training. I don’t have a lot of spare time between training, teaching and being busy. I really like playing chess and I love watching Family Guy.

Fighters.com: Which do you consider to be your biggest fight so far?

Ryan Jimmo: My time on TUF is by far the biggest, but aside from that is my Craig Zellner [4-3] fight In the MFC [in February]. I was very peaked for that fight, and it came at the right time in my life.

Fighters.com: What would you like others to know about you?

Ryan Jimmo: I guess what I would want others to know is that I want to be the best in the world at this sport. I experienced some setbacks and some successes, but it’s all a learning experience. I see myself at the top of this sport in five years so if I experience failures, it’s all just for learning and improving. Current Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler came 11th in his first pro contest in 1998 but he had the vision to see himself at the top of the sport in years to come, and simply put steps in place to achieve that goal. I see myself in the same light.

Fighters.com: How does your karate background help you?

Ryan Jimmo: My Karate training has taught me not so much the fighting techniques but great discipline, focus and work ethic. It’s taught me to understand a system of fighting and understand how to learn it in a more efficient manner. The athleticism and physicality are great attributes. I found my kicks are a step above most MMA practitioners as well as my footwork. There are two sides to most karate systems, traditional and sport and both have attributes that warrant praise. My time in Karate has been invaluable in my life and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without it.

Fighters.com:  How did you get involved in TUF 8?

Ryan Bader:  My first experience with TUF was when I helped Jesse Forbes [6-2] get ready for his TUF 3 finale. I was a bit reserved with having the “TUF” label put on me but after I saw CB [Dollaway (7-1)] and his explosion onto the MMA scene it just made a lot of sense. I paid my dues at the small shows and I knew it was time to make the move to the UFC. [UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva has a ton of guys like me calling and asking to get in the UFC so TUF gives you a potentially alternate path.

So after TUF 7 wrapped I went to Las Vegas to celebrate with CB and got to meet a lot of the producers. When it came time to apply I sent in my application and audition tape and had a phone interview with the producers. A few weeks later we got a call from the producers and they asked me to come up to Las Vegas for medical and interviews.

Fighters.com:  Who are some of your heroes, in sports or otherwise?

Ryan Bader:  My family, they are very supportive and lead by example. As far at sports heroes, I think any athlete pursuing his or her dreams at all cost is very inspirational.

Fighters.com:  Where do you train? Who do you train with?

Ryan Bader:  I train at Arizona Combat Sports. My striking coaches are Todd and Trevor Lally, my BJJ is taught by Gustavo Dantes and wrestling by Aaron Simpson (who was also one of my coaches at ASU).

My training partners are a great group of guys. We have Ray [10-5] and Steve Steinbeiss [4-1], WEC Champ Jamie Varner [15-2], Matthew Riddle [1-0], Jesse Forbes, Gerald Harris [8-2], CB Dollaway, Kellan Flukiger [3-0], even Thales Leites [13-1] from time to time. We have a bunch of guys that are paid to train and do MMA full time. We have structured training classes and we are not just getting guys ready for fights we are all constantly improving our game and feeding off of each other’s strengths.

Fighters.com:  I read that you were in the limo when Jesse Taylor (6-3) kicked out that window. What were you thinking when it happened?

Ryan Bader:  DID THAT JUST HAPPEN! I did not think that he would get kicked out of the show for that but I knew for a fact I wanted distance between the incident and myself. You should know the first kick did not break the window and as we all grabbed him to try to get him out he kicked the window again and then went through it. I still can’t believe that happened.

Fighters.com: What do you like to do when you’re not training?

Ryan Bader:  We pretty much train all the time at Arizona Combat Sports. When not in the gym I like to chill out play a little Xbox maybe go to the lake things like that. I am a pretty laid back guy and time with my friends is almost always a good time.

Fighters.com:  What would you do if you weren’t a fighter?

Ryan Bader:  I have my degree but I do not really know. When I got out of college I was working for a marketing company and while it was not a terrible job it really did not feed my competitive juices. I was made to be a fighter and until I have that belt, I will focus on nothing else but getting it.

Fighters.com: Is there a story behind your nickname, “Darth” Bader?

Ryan Bader:  Aaron Simpson [3-0] started calling me Darth when I was at ASU and it just stuck. People on some wrestling message boards also called me “Darth.” So when I went into ACS they just started calling me “Darth” without prior knowledge so I knew I wouldn’t get away from it. Also it is a whole lot better than “Master”.

Fighters.com:  Who has helped you the most to get you where you are now?

Ryan Bader:  Wow I think the music would start playing like at the Emmys if I listed everyone. Obviously my family, my coaches (all of them), LG Sports Marketing, MTX, and my friends. If you belong on this list I think you know who you are! I try to thank people for all that they do for me; I am a very gracious person.

Fighters.com:  What do you love most about your life?

Ryan Bader:  The ability to compete and continually challenge my mind, body and soul. I am living my dream and fueling my passion.

Fighters.com:  What would you want others to know about you?

Ryan Bader:  I am just a regular hard working guy pursuing my dream. Also have to stick up for my boy CB, he is a great guy and do not let the editing fool you. He is one of my best friends and one of the best people you would ever want to have as a friend.

Fighters.com:  How did you get started in MMA?

Ido Pariente: I have been doing martial arts all my life, I started with karate and I hold a third degree black belt, when I was 18 years old I first saw the UFC and I knew right then that I have to fight there one day and now, 10 years after… here I am…

Fighters.com:  Who are some of your heroes, in sports or otherwise?

Ido Pariente:  Royce Gracie [14-3-3] was my first hero in this sport. I really look up to people that do things that seem impossible, like Randy Couture [16-8] holding the heavyweight title at his age and Anderson Silva [22-4] for not letting anyone pass the second round. Arnold Schwarzenegger is someone to admire, the guy came from a foreign country to the US with a dream, he became Mr. Olympia, then became the greatest action movie star and then a governor… all because he had a dream.  So people like that inspire me to keep dreaming and make my dreams come true…

Fighters.com:  Do you train full time or do you have another job?

Ido Pariente:  I train full time while having a job which is very hard! But my job is teaching BJJ and giving private class (BJJ and fitness) so I work my training schedule around my job.

Fighters.com:  Where do you train? Who do you train with?

Ido Pariente:  I train in Israel most of the time. I have build a strong BJJ group that keeps pushing me, and I have a Muay Thai coach, Itzik Franko, who is the best here in Israel, he has produced a world champion and two European champions and many other international competitors. Together we formed our team,TEAM FRANKO PARIENTE. Once a year I go to Brazil to train for about a month, but my direct teacher of BJJ is Patrick Bittan, a second-degree black belt under master Flavio Behring and he took second in the world championship in 2003 and 2005.

Fighters.com:  What are your biggest accomplishments so far?

Ido Pariente:  I was the VFC Lightweight Champion in 2001, Pankration World Champion 2003, European BJJ champion brown belt 2007, and Desert Combat Lightweight 2007 and still holding the title.

Fighters.com:  What did you learn from your fight with Jake Shields?

Ido Pariente:  Well I have a guy helping us get fights in K-1 and I have fought in two K-1 events before this fight. When I was offered the fight against Jake I have heard about him before but I didn’t exactly know who he was so automatically I said yes. About a week later I found out that he was a welterweight (and I’m a lightweight) so I turned to my contact and told him, and he said it’s this fight or no fight, well it’s K-1 Dynamite, of course I’m fighting. I was training to win, not just to show my face in the big show, and I thought I was going to beat him. But Jake is very good and now I know it from up close. He beat me in two minutes and I took it really bad at first. Until I saw his fight against Renato Verissimo (7-5), he did to him in four minutes what he did to me in two, so that made me feel a little better (not too much though).

Fighters.com:  Outside of MMA, what are some of your interests or hobbies?

Ido Pariente:  I have dedicated my life to this sport and to put Israel on the MMA map so I train a lot. Other than that I am one of the first teachers of BJJ here so I have a school with around 100 students where I teach four times a week and I give private classes in the morning, I’m also a fitness instructor so I give private classes for that as well. Other than that I love to go to the beach and just chill, I read books, and on weekends when I’m not preparing for any fights I love going to rave parties (BUT I DON’T DO DRUGS).

Fighters.com:  What would you do if you weren’t a fighter?

Ido Pariente:  That I really don’t know…

Fighters.com:  What was the biggest sacrifice you made to participate in the show?

Ido Pariente:  Well, there are two actually…
1. leaving my wife, but she was very supportive
2. leaving my academy , all my students and all my private classes not knowing what will happen when I come back.

Fighters.com:  Who has helped you the most to get you where you are now?

Ido Pariente:  Up until three years ago I did everything on my own, I worked, saved money and used it to go train somewhere or compete… that is really hard, I also trained myself all this time and I didn’t always have a corner in my fights. About three years ago I got together with Franko and learned what it is to have a coach and a good corner man. So I can say that he really helped me the most…

Fighters.com:  How did you get involved in TUF 8?

Wesley Murch:  I saw that the deadline to get videos in was coming up soon and so I thought stuff that when is the tryouts. I looked and they were the following week but in Boston so I went straight online and booked a flight for Boston and a hotel for 5 nights and decided to try out. When my dad heard what I was doing he booked himself a flight and came with me and we made a bit of a holiday out of it.

Fighters.com:  Who are some of your heroes, in sports and otherwise?

Wesley Murch:  Winston Churchill is a great hero of mine.  I love all his speeches and think he showed the courage and determination that I like to think I can follow.  Martin Luther King is also a hero of mine and I respect anyone who really stands up for what they believe is right and because of his courage the world is a better place for many people today.  Mike Tyson is also someone I respect immensely.  [So] is James “The Colossus” Thompson because I have seen him start at the beginning and work to the top, never duck anyone and train hard despite many critics.

Fighters.com:  Do you train full time or do you have another job?

Wesley Murch:  I now train full time.  I used to be a doorman for eight years and a debt collector but I want to be at the top of this sport and I am willing to make sacrifices to get there so I now train full time.

Fighters.com:  Where do you train? Who do you train with?

Wesley Murch:  I have trained all over the world and with many top fighters but recently started my own gym, Olympians MMA, and I am working hard to get that going.  I train with a few good guys local and in Kent where I travel for sparring, etc.: Paul Reid, Lee Johnstone [1-0], Damien Farr, Nigel King.
I used to train and fight at Trojan Freefighters and I owe a lot of my skill base to them.  They have great coaches and some awesome talent such as Zelg Galesic [9-3] and Ronnie Mann [16-1-1].

Fighters.com:  Outside of MMA, what are some of your interests or hobbies?

Wesley Murch:  I really try to stay as focused as I can on MMA now because I hate distractions.  I only have one hobby but I am passionate about it and that is falconry.  I own and fly birds of prey such as eagles.  Other than that my daughter keeps me very busy and I love that.

Fighters.com:  What would you do if you weren’t a fighter?

Wesley Murch:  I don’t want to think about it because I can’t imagine life without doing this.  I got offered a job training tigers once and that would’ve been very cool but I turned it down to keep fighting.  All my mates say you should be famous and I aim to do it through fighting.

Fighters.com:  How did you get your nickname, “The Immortal”?

Wesley Murch:  The nickname came when I was training in Thailand and I kept using the saying, “If it doesn’t kill me it will make me stronger” during training and one day our Thai coach said, “If you keep training here you will be immortal,” and it stuck from there really.

Fighters.com:  Who has helped you the most to get you where you are now?

Wesley Murch:  To be honest the people who have really helped are family.  I have a massively supportive family.  My mum and dad come to my fights and I actually missed my dad’s wedding to fight once and he got my friend to call him and he gave every guest at his wedding a play by play of the fight.  Also my friends are great, especially Nigel King, Wayne Humphries, Neil Rennicks and my brother, Ashley, who all go out of their way to help me train.  Trojan free fighters were a massive influence in getting where I am as well.

Fighters.com:  What does it mean to you to be the only fighter on the show from the UK?

Wesley Murch:  It was a bit daunting to be representing your country on the biggest show in the world for MMA and especially as the only Brit.  Mike Bisping [16-1] and Ross Pointon [6-10] went in the house together and obviously Mike has done very well but things are different when you’re alone and now you have to fight to get in the house which makes the pressure even harder but that’s what fighters do, they perform under pressure.  I like to think I could do my country proud and do well but foremost I’d like to be a good representative for the sport as a whole and hope to in the future with the UFC and MMA.

Fighters.com:  What would you want others to know about you?

Wesley Murch:  Really, I like my fighting to talk but people seem to assume that if you fight you are very one-dimensional and I really am not.  I am quite a deep person really.  I like to educate myself with a variety of things and especially nature.

I am also very anti-bullying and especially hate racism.  My daughter is mixed-race and so are many of my friends.  I hate bullies and I am at the moment getting involved with anti-bullying campaigns in schools.

I just hope people who see me fight realise that I do so with everything I have no matter where or when I fight.  I fight hard and love to be entertaining.

Fighters.com:  How did you get started in MMA?

Brandon Garner:  I started training jiu-jitsu while in high school at a Royce Gracie affiliate. I wanted to see if I could use my jiu-jitsu in the Octagon like Royce did and so I signed up for a fight and just kept doing it.

Fighters.com:  Where do you train? Who do you train with?

Brandon Garner:  I train in Raleigh, NC and Fayetteville, NC with Team ROC. Some other notable fighters who train with us include Tim Kennedy [9-2] and Jason Palacios [6-4].

Fighters.com:  Do you train full time or are you still training soldiers at Fort Bragg?

Brandon Garner:  I still mix my training with teaching soldiers.

Fighters.com:  How did you get started training soldiers?

Brandon Garner:  One of my instructors (Greg Thompson) got contracted to work at Ft. Bragg about 10 years ago. He started picking up new contracts and needed some extra help. About four years ago I was working at a bank and was very unhappy with my job. He called me and asked if I wanted to work for him and I jumped at the opportunity

Fighters.com:  Outside of MMA, what are some of your interests or hobbies?

Brandon Garner:  I played soccer in college so that is still a hobby of mine. I also like to travel whenever I have the time.

Fighters.com:  What would you do if you weren’t a fighter?

Brandon Garner:  If I wasn’t fighting I would probably be coaching soccer or going back to school for some type of higher education.

Fighters.com:  Who has helped you the most to get you where you are now?

Brandon Garner:  There are so many people that have helped me along the way that it’s really hard to narrow down. I would say the most helpful people have been my parents. They have always shown me endless support.

Fighters.com:  What do you consider to be your strengths?

Brandon Garner:  I would say that my biggest strength is my competitive nature. I am constantly hungry to improve and perfect my technique and learn new things.

Fighters.com:  What do you love most about your life?

Brandon Garner:  The thing that I love most about my life is that my job is also my hobby. Not many people can say they are passionate about what they do for a living. I also have great friends and family behind me.

Fighters.com:  What would you want others to know about you?

Brandon Garner:  I’m pretty quiet and shy until I get to know people. Some people misinterpret me as being arrogant or mean. I wish people wouldn’t be afraid to approach me more.

Clips of a reunion special filmed recently at the UFC Training Center in Las Vegas will air throughout the marathon.

TUF 1 cast members involved in the reunion are Fighters.com’s Light Heavyweight Champion and current UFC champion Forrest Griffin (16-4), Chris Leben (18-4), “American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar (11-4), Josh Koscheck (11-2), “Rock” Nathan Quarry (10-2), “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (10-3), “Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (19-2), Bobby Southworth (9-5), and “Quick” Mike Swick (12-2).

The reunion special will be hosted by Joe Rogan, and UFC President Dana White will also be on hand to discuss the impact the show has had on the UFC and on the sport of mixed martial arts.

The 16 lightweights and 16 light heavyweights will be coached by Fighters.com’s top heavyweight contender and interim UFC Champion “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) and former UFC Heavyweight Champ Frank Mir (11-3).

Lightweights

Jose Aguilar (0-0)
Fernando Bernstein (0-0)
Junie Allen Browning (1-0)
Rolando Delgado (0-0)
Joseph Duarte (0-0)
Efrain Escudero (10-0)
Brandon Garner (4-1)
David Kaplan (0-0)
Eric Magee (1-1)
Brian McLaughlin (0-0)
Wesley Murch (3-2)
Shane Nelson (9-3)
Phillipe Nover (5-0-1)
Ido Pariente (8-3)
John Polakowski (2-1)
George Roop (8-3)

Light Heavyweights

Ryan Bader (7-0)
Antwain Britt (3-1)
Jules Bruchez (0-0)
Charles Diaz (3-0)
Lance Evans (2-2)
Karen Grigoryan (6-1)
Jason Guida (17-17)
“Big Deal” Ryan Jimmo (6-1)
Kyle Kingsbury (7-1)
Tom Lawlor (4-1)
Ryan Lopez (4-4)
“Pezao” Vinicius Magalhaes (0-1)
Eliot Marshall (5-1)
Sean O’Connell (0-0)
Shane Primm (1-0)
Krzysztof Soszynski (15-8-1)

Among the international line-up are a Russian - Grigoryan, an Israeli – Pariente, a pair of Canadians – Jimmo and Soszynski, and a Brit – Murch.  The light heavyweight crew is more frequently battle-tested than the lightweights, including two fighters stepping into the house with more than 20 professional fights – Guida and Soszynski.

The action culminates 13 December, when SpikeTV airs the live finale.

The wrestlers will meet at Fight Night on 19 July in Las Vegas.

Taylor was kicked off The Ultimate Fighter for drunken antics after the show wrapped.  He was to face Amir Sadollah (1-0) in the finale.

Dollaway was Taylor’s replacement after winning a fight-off with Tim Credeur (10-2), but lost the finale match via first round armbar to the new TUF champ Sadollah.

Credeur, a TUF 7 semifinalist, tested positive for drug Adderall, which is often prescribed to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Credeur informed the NSAC before Friday’s weigh-ins that he had stopped taking the medication several days earlier.

Adderall “acts as a cardio-vascular restrictor and that’s the main reason it’s banned because it can cause athletes to have a cardiac episode with the stress they’re under when they’re in an athletic competition,” according to NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer.

“Secondly, it can have a performance-enhancing effect as well.”

No disciplinary action against Credeur will be taken.

The future shines brilliantly for The Ultimate Fighter’s newest blast into the mainstream consciousness, Amir Sadollah (1-0).

In his professional debut, Sadollah tapped “Doberman” CB Dollaway (6-1) in an armbar at 3:02 of round one to win the seventh season of the popular SpikeTV reality show contest.

“Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (19-2), one of the two original Ultimate Fighters, looked physically fitter than ever in his third-round TKO of American Top Team’s Luigi Fioravanti (12-4) at 4:07.

After back-to-back “embarrasing” losses, “Spyder” Kendall Grove (9-5), TUF 3 champion, recaptured past glory in a three-round split decision over former UFC titlist Evan Tanner (32-8).

The likeable young TUF walk-on from Virginia, Sadollah, versus the cocky All-American favorite, Dollaway, was a rematch of an exhibition fight fought on the final episode of last season’s The Ultimate Fighter.

Saturday’s finish was almost a replay of that fight’s end.

But, unlike the first fight, Dollaway made haste taking the samboist to his back and pounding him, opening a shallow cut on Sadollah’s forehead.

Sadollah flailed for position, eventually sucking up the “Doberman’s” left paw and swinging his legs over Dollaway’s head to secure the armbar.

Dollaway stood and remained standing as Sadollah worked the technique.

Finally, Dollaway ended the fight with a single tap causing referee Herb Dean to step in.

Sadollah leapt to his feet and threw his arms in the air.

Dollaway threw his hands out to his sides, complaining about the stoppage; but, replays clearly showed Dollaway tapping.

And, as “Kimbo Slice” Kevin Ferguson (3-0) famously said, Dollaway exhibited in his immature and ridiculous post-fight protest: “Tapping is for bitches.”

“Nightmare” Sanchez showed off a leaner physique and tighter striking game versus a pudgy and lethargic Fioravanti.

In his southpaw stance, Sanchez stalked with his right lead extended and left fist cocked, both of which he used to tag Fiorivanti, who was hesitant to engage on his feet or on the mat.

When Sanchez was able to down Fioravanti, “Nightmare’s” trademark G’n'P dominated.

But, it was Sanchez’s refurbed striking game, highlighted by a roundhouse kick, that won the fight.

In the third round, Sanchez snapped a left kick to Fioravanti’s head, sending Fioravanti backpedaling.  Sanchez followed with a flying knee flush to Fioravanti’s jaw before pounding out the stoppage with his fists.

It was do or die for both Grove and Tanner in the main event, both fighters coming off of knockout losses and at career lows.

However, 6’6″ Grove was just too physical for the former champion, Tanner.

At range, Grove launched long rights that split Tanner’s guard.

But, most of the fight was fought in the clinch, with Tanner, sporting a full beard, resembling a homeless mugger assaulting the Hawaiian for change.

Grove laid on Tanner, wearing Tanner down, while Grove split open Tanner’s head with elbows and peppered Tanner’s body with knees.

The judges ruled it a split decision “W” for Grove by scores of 30-26 twice for Grove and 29-28 once for Tanner; but, Al Lefkowitz, who scored the fight for Tanner, couldn’t have even been in the arena.

Fighters.com scored it 30-27 for Grove.

On the undercard, “McLovin” Dustin Hazelett (11-4) tapped “People’s Champion” Josh Burkman (9-6) in an armbar at 4:46 of round two.

Hazelett won “Submission of the Night”.

Lightweight brawler “King” Spencer Fisher (21-4) ground out a unanimous decision over fellow Iowan Jeremy Stephens (13-3).

TUF 7 contestant Matt Riddle (1-0) won his pro debut with a unanimous decision over Dante Rivera (10-3).

Middleweight Andrew McFedries (7-3) overwhelmed “Beastman” Marvin Eastman (15-8-1) from the bell to score a quick TKO at 1:08 of round one.

In a rematch from 2006, TUF 7 contestant Matt Brown (7-6) TKO’d TUF 6 “No Regard” Matt Arroyo (3-2) at 3:40 of round two.

Veteran “Boogieman” Dean Lister (11-5) submitted über-veteran “Gumby” Jeremy Horn (79-18-5) in a first-round guillotine choke at 3:52.

Similarly, Rob Kimmons (21-3) tapped Rob Yundt (6-2) in a first-round guillotine choke at 3:58.

Immediately, both fighters came out striking and spent the first part of the round striking and circling, feeling each other out.  Amir landed a left roundhouse kick to the body of CB, knocking CB to the mat. However, Amir moved in too quickly and CB was able to get a double leg take down that he turned into a slam.

Amir then pulled guard and attempted and arm bar as CB worked the ground’n'pound that has thus far been successful for him.  Amir was able to avoid most shots as well as stopping CB from passing his guard.

Eventually, Amir was able to sweep CB off of him and get to his feet where he landed a body shot that visibly shook up CB.  However, CB recovered and was able to get another take down.  He passed to half guard, then took Amir’s back with 15 seconds to go in the round.  The round ended with CB in mount on Amir.

Round two opened up with more striking.  Again, Amir got the better of it when he landed a front kick to CB that knocked him to the ground.  Amir again rushed in and CB scored another take down, this time ending up in half guard.

Amir was able to adjust, pull full guard and attempt an arm bar.  CB pulled out of it again, then landed a vicious elbow under Amir’s eye, opening up a large cut.

The fighters were soon after stood up.  CB looked exhausted and frustrated, but managed to get one more take down as the round expired.

Round three began with a show of respect, with both fighters touching gloves.  Immediately after, Amir unleashed a flurry of punches, sending CB into the fence.  CB was able to recover and reverse positions, pinning Amir to the fence instead.

Amir was able to avoid the first two take down attempts before CB was able to score the takedown and get into position to sink in a rear naked choke.  However, Amir was able to spin towards the choke and pull guard on CB yet again.

Amir immediately attempted an arm bar that ended with the fighters in north/south position. Amir then attempted a key lock on CB’s foot, which then switched into Amir being in inverted guard and attempting a triangle.

Again, Amir pulled guard and CB tried to stand and rain down some strikes.  Amir was able to control CB’s arm and swing his leg around CB’s head, securing an arm bar.  CB was forced to tap out.

It looked as though the finals were set for The Ultimate Fighter finale. And they were set, for about two days.

In that two days span, three unnamed fighters and finalist middleweight Jesse Taylor (6-2) decided to rent a limo and spend a few extra nights in Las Vegas after the show had ended.

Security footage released to Dana White from hotel security at the Palace Station Casino showed a stumbling drunk Taylor emerge from a limo after evidently kicking out a side window.  White then went on to explain that Taylor went into the hotel bar and harassed some of the female guests.

When security arrived, Taylor was confrontational and announced that he was a UFC fighter, perhaps trying to condone his actions.

White was not amused.

Fighters.com’s Ligh Heavyweight Champion“Rampage” Quinton Jackson (29-6) and eighth-ranked Forrest Griffin (15-4) were brought in to be appraised of the situation and confront Taylor.

When Taylor arrived he was not forthright in his admission; but, White pressed the issue and scolded Taylor for his behavior before announcing that Taylor was kicked off the show and the subsequent finale match against Amir.

It was then up to the two coaches and the UFC president to find a replacement for Taylor.

Enter Tim Credeur (10-2) and CB.

Both fighters were flown back in and told of what had happened.  They then had three weeks to prepare for their second chance at making the finals.

Amir was also brought back in and told that he would no longer be fighting Taylor at the final.  He and White were ringside to see who would come out between Tim, a grappler, and CB, a wrestler.

Round one opened with both men on their feet striking and stayed there.  Both fighters seemed to respect the other’s particular talents and opted to trade strikes.

Tim seemed to get the better of most exchanges working counter punches and landing combinations and flurries in response to CB’s jab and cross.  CB was able to land the most solid kicks, but they seemed to do little damage.

As the round came to the end, Tim landed a strike that knocked CB down and as he went into finish.  CB was able to reverse position and work a guillotine choke.  Tim was able to work out of it and both fighters stood.

With just two seconds left in the round, CB managed a double leg take down.

Round two began with more striking and CB going for, and getting, an early take down.  Tim attempted to counter with a heel hook as CB stood, but wasn’t able to grab CB’s foot and both fighters went back to their feet.

After trading a few more exchanges, Tim was caught with a right hook and slipped to his butt.  CB didn’t pursue and stayed standing.  Tim attempted a couple of up-kicks and kicks to CB’s knees with no results and again got back to his feet.

This time it was CB who unleashed the flurry that sent Tim into the cage and knocked him to the ground. Just as it seemed that the ref was about to step in, Tim managed to get to his feet and spin away from the cage.  Though visibly worn down, Tim stayed on the offensive, pressing the action.

CB was able to get another single leg take down and Tim pulled guard, where the fight stayed as time expired.

Round three opened with CB landing a strong right cross and following it up with a take down.  Again, Tim attempted a heel hook and managed to get back to his feet.

At that point in the fight, Tim continued to move forward, but it was CB that had more power and speed in his punches and landed them more often.

Twice more as the round went on, CB was able to take Tim to the ground, but either stood just out of reach of Tim, slowing the pace of the fight, or, as the round ended, staying low in Tim’s guard, landing shots with his head down.

This fight went to the score cards determining the winner by unanimous decision, “The Doberman” CB Dollaway.

But, business called on Wednesday night’s episode; and, both men looked to family and friends back home for some tear-jerking motivation.  (I promise I didn’t almost cry when Credeur was talking about his wife.)

Round one: Nah, let’s talk about Fighters.com’s eighth-ranked light heavyweight coach Forrest Griffin (15-4) first.

1. He can choke out ninth-ranked “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (16-3).

2. He can coach as good as anyone on the show thus far.

3. The man can play hoops.  And dunk!  Easily.

In a game of The Ultimate Fighter, Vegas’s version of H-O-R-S-E, Griffin pulled no punches when he slaughtered Fighters.com and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (29-6), who confessed, “I suck at basketball.  I’m probably the world’s worst basketball player.  I don’t play basketball.  I kick ass.”

After Griffin won the 10G’s offered by apparent money bags UFC President Dana White, each fighter on his team socked away two grand themselves, thanks to the traditional $1000 offering being doubled after Jackson nailed (okay, he banked it…) a three-pointer when White challenged the gameless champ.

Okay, now round one.  Actually…let’s talk about getting drunk and peeing on carpet.

When one thinks of the phrase “cerebral fighter”, one will never, ever think of Jesse Taylor.

While the man is sculpted like a Greek statue in body, his thought patterns could easily be drawn out on an Etch-A-Sketch.  He pretty much goes in one or two directions.

He combined famous quotes and scripture and came up with sentences like these: “In prayer and in steed (yeah, not deed, like one might think)…A flock of seagulls, waiting, watching, yearning…On fight day all shall be destroyed.”

He said all the above while getting several “$” emblems buzzed into his hair.  They didn’t look like “$”, they looked more like ”p”.  But Jesse was happy with his new ‘do.

And when he got drunk, he ran very fast across furniture, not unlike a water-walking lizard.  He busted the top off a glass beer bottle and attempted to mouth it.  He stood on plush carpet and watched yellow urine puddle beneath him.

He had a great time, and, breaking tradition in the TUF house, didn’t destroy much or challenge nine or so other guys to a fight, and didn’t once say anything about a “Fatherless Bastard”.  He was very likable, even when soaked in his own waste and literally trying to drown himself in the hot tub.

Okay, seriously, round one:

It started as expected.  Jesse tackled Tim. 

Tim did basically two things the entire round: closed guard and use the butterfly guard.  When he was closed, he got pounded hard.  When he put Jesse on his shins, he put Jesse off balance and suffered less.

But, he usually had it closed, in spite of his corner politely telling him repeatedly, “Open up, Tim, butterfly guard.”  And he paid for it, by losing the round with Jesse hitting him with three dozen or so shots to the face.

Round two: It was a twin of the first, almost.

Credeur suddenly got sweeps, submission attempts, even took the bigger wrestler’s back, after taking his corner’s advice.  But, Jesse is a brute and had nothing of it.  He muscled his way out of every attempt, scrambled out of every bad position and ended the round on top.

Round three: It was a “must submit” for Credeur; and, he put Jesse high in the air several times with the butterfly guard.  He even attempted the rubber guard, but his limited flexibility betrayed him.  In short, he threw everything he had, even some wild monkey-esque punches from the bottom at the end.  But, Jesse stayed in the center of the veteran fighter and never slowed.

He pounded out the round and, sure enough, won his semi-final fight by unanimous decision.

In the preview of next week, we got to see Dana White viewing footage from a security camera and declaring that one of the fighters is “out of the finals and out of the UFC.”

Check out next week’s fight right here when Amir Sadollah (0-0) takes on “Doberman” CB Dollaway (6-0) in their own semi-final bout.

Frank Mir (11-3), the other TUF 8 coach, has brought in Abu Dhabi Absolute Weight Champion Robert Drysdale and strength and conditioning coach Rafael Alejarra, of tenth-ranked light heavyweight “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva‘s (32-8-1) snorkel training fame, according to MMA Weekly.

The eighth season of SpikeTV and Zuffa’s popular reality TV contest is shooting now in Las Vegas.

Tim Credeur (9-2) versus Daniel Cramer (0-0) and “Doberman” CB Dollaway (6-0) versus Cale Yarbrough (0-0).

Just peep their records.

Fighters.com’s top-ranked light heavyweight “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-6) laid out Dollaway’s strategy for Yarbrough: “Whip his ass.”

Jackson reminded Dollaway before the fight that “[Yarbrough] aksed for everyone but you!”

At the first bell, Dollaway commenced Jackson’s strategy.  After a few half-hearted stand-up exchanges, Dollaway shot for a double-leg slam, passed to mount, and pounded Yarbrough.

Yarbrough rolled to his stomach, then turtled up as referee Herb Dean repeatedly warned him to fight back.

After the fight, Dollaway accused Yarbrough of doing what he had to do to end the fight.

“I hate that guy,” fifth-ranked Forrest Griffin (15-4) admitted about Dollaway.  Griffin explained, “He’s just so cocky.  And, he backs it up.  God bless him; but, I hate him.”

Before the fight, Jackson and Griffin took their teams to Pole Position for bumper car racing and Coach Jackson burned rubber around the track, beating Griffin and the other racers.

Cooped up for five weeks in the house, the few hours out was like someone forgot to lock the cages at the zoo.  When the fighters returned home, Dollaway lead a thorough thrashing of the house.

The episode had begun with a “Return of the Douche Bag” sequence starring Jeremy May (5-5).

May had walked in while Jesse Taylor (6-0) was spouting off choice synonyms for “Jeremy May”.

May plotted his revenge by pushing Taylor’s buttons to the point Taylor would hit him and be sent home early.

Remember, Fighters.com reported Taylor’s claim that he’s still undefeated after the show; so, there was a bit of drama when May began calling Taylor a bitch.

Taylor stood, but the house’s cooler heads held him back from taking a swipe at May.

The final quarter final match-up actually proved tougher for Credeur than one would’ve expected.

“Babyface” Cramer came out swinging and actually scored the first takedown on the submission fighter, Credeur.

Cramer quickly stood out of Credeur’s guard and pounced on Credeur with a barrage of strikes as Credeur stood up.

Credeur clammed up and absorbed a lot of punches before tripping Cramer to the mat and wrapping up Cramer’s leg in a hell hook as Cramer attempted to stand.

Credeur fulfilled his promise of “16-year old girls cry” by beating Cramer.

All that was left to do was choose the semi-final match-ups; and, Griffin had already decided he wanted Taylor to fight Dollaway, leaving Credeur versus Amir Sadollah (0-0).

It looked like Griffin would get his way when “Rampage” overslept and missed the matchmaking; but, UFC President Dana White had a different idea.

White matched Taylor versus Credeur and Dollaway versus Sadollah for the semi-finals.

Two were slated for the chopping block on Wednesday night’s episode with the winners moving on toward the prize of a six-figure contract.

Dante Rivera (10-2) was pitted against Jesse Taylor (6-2).

Matt Brown (9-6) scrapped with lanky amateur Amir Sadollah (0-0).

With the quarter finals looming, a coin was flipped to assign the coaches to the four fighters.

Jesse and Amir had Forrest Griffin (15-4) backing them.

“Rampage” Quinton Jackson(29-6) cornerd Dante Rivera and Matt Brown.

Jesse, who confessed he enjoys dipping microwaved cheeseburgers in ranch dressing, put on the rubber suit and, like fighters have done for years when they need to cut weight…played Ping Pong?

By the time Jesse left for the hot tub, the table and floor were splattered with pools of sweat.

He was courteous enough to step away from the hot tub where he politely urinated in his shorts, claimed it “feels good on my leg”, splashed his feet in the yellow puddle, and jumped back into the water.

His opponent joined him soon after and soaked in Jesse’s waste, a sign of things to come.

Just before the Octagon door was shut, Jesse offered his last words: “Dante, I love you man, you’re a great guy, but I’m gonna have to kick your ass.”

Rivera had his eyes on the money.  “I’d like to put $10,000 in my pocket.”

The horn blared and, within seconds, Rivera threw a looping and slow hook.  Jesse easily ducked and the takedown was almost a gi’me.

The mat was pretty much where the fight stayed.  Again and again, Jesse threw punches, elbows, and hammer fists, most of which connected somewhere on Rivera’s head or body.

Rivera managed to pull guard, but it was for naught.  Jesse pounded out a winning round with Rivera attempting the occasional impotent submission.

Round two was a mirror image of round one.  Rivera threw an easy to see loop of a punch, Jesse ducked for the takedown.

“Get up,” was Rampage’s main chunk of advice.  “You ain’t doin’ nothin’ on your back.”

Grammar aside, Rampage was correct.  Rivera, clearly outsized by cheeseburger-loving Jesse, was frustrated and mostly flat on his back, his hips rarely raised for an easily thwarted offense.

Jesse pounded down strikes to end the round.

Dana White chimed in with a scowl about Dante’s seeming lack of skill or effort.  “And Jesse, he didn’t look like a world-beater either,” White said, not impressed with the decision win by Jesse.

The second fight was, of course, expected to be a stark contrast to the slow pace of the first.

Stark indeed.

Brown and Amir admitted they had become good friends while rooming together.

“If you’re going to lose, it’s better to lose to a friend than an enemy,” Amir said, sporting a black eye going into the match.  “I don’t think I’m gonna fold.  I don’t think…”

Forest commented on Amir’s apparent lack of confidence and dare I say it, even fear?

“It’s exactly the feeling every fighter has,” Forest said, laughing.  “He’s just sissy enough to vocalize it.”

Jackson believes if Brown was in Japan, he would be a Samurai.

“I think Matt was born to be a fighter.  He has a fighter spirit.  I have that same spirit,” Jackson said about the former “Team Brown Nose” fighter in his corner.

The first minute showcased excellent stand-up work from both men.  Amir, the rangier fighter, used foot jabs to keep distance.  Brown’s punches were tight and accurate, at least touching Amir with nearly every attempt.

Amir responded with classic Muay Thai technique while against the fence.  A hard knee crashed into the rib cage of Brown, near the liver.  Brown moans and sinks a little.  He showed why everybody believes he’s made of the right stuff by staying clinched.  That body shot that would have dropped lesser men.

Amir showed great takedown defense as Brown tried to wrestle him to the ground.  Off the cage, the two threw almost an equal number of strikes, with both fighters hitting with regularity, though Brown started to edge ahead when the horn ended the violent round.

Brown came out in round two like a man on fire, but Amir withstood the attack and mounted his own offense, chasing Brown and throwing a flying kick (sure, it didn’t land, but it made it into the preview last week).

The action slowed a little, to the level where most fights peak.  Brown landed a knee on Amir’s head from the clinch.  Amir responded with a foot jab to Brown’s face.

Amir grabbed a body lock and tripped Brown to the mat.  Amir worked into mount, got pushed to guard, and worked to mount again.  Brown, turning on his side and hipping into Amir, pulled guard again.

After this position exchange again, a scramble ensued with Brown landing on top.  Amir, with no professional fights on his record and a “striker”, slipped a triangle around Brown and the Cincinnati fighter tapped.

Amir and Jesse moved on to the quarter finals.

UFC President Dana White began this week’s The Ultimate Fighter episode explaining what many people have had on their minds since last week’s episode: Why didn’t the fight between Cale Yarbrough (0-0) and Patrick Schultz (5-1-1) go to a third round?

Simple.  Round two was scored 10-8 in favor of Yarbrough.

While Schultz has a legitimate beef, it was Fighters.com’s top-ranked light heavyweight “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-6) who took his aggression out on fifth-ranked light heavyweight Forrest Griffin (15-4), telling Griffin that there upcoming title fight won’t go to a decision.

Forrest then had what he referred to as a “man period”, smashing through one of the doors in the training center and shadow boxing while a very confused White was left to wonder exactly what was happening to his coaches.

Meanwhile, the remaining fight was set between “Doberman” CB Dollaway (6-0) and Nick Klein (4-0).

CB is a former All-American wrestler at Arizona State University and entered MMA because he lacked options after college wrestling.  His strength and skill have made him a dangerous fighter, as Rampage found out first hand.

After being mocked by Rampage for getting caught in a kneebar in practice, CB delivered a light kick to Rampage’s side, provoking his coach to strip off his socks and go toe-to-toe with CB.

Rampage shot for a double-leg takedown which CB turned into a guillotine choke, submitting the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champ.

While Klein had received praise from his coaches for his jiu-jitsu and all-around ability, he seemed to be a bit self-deprecating, referring to himself as the “weak link” on the team.

Back at the training center, Forrest found a way to release some of the tension he was carrying from Rampage’s earlier comments.

Griffin found a net gun and proceeded to shoot Rampage as he sat against the cage after a sparring session.

Rampage took it all in good spirits, seeming to be more concerned that his family saw him “get netted” on national television, than anything else.

As for the fight between CB and Nick, it was fast, intense, and technically advanced.

The fight opened with CB attempting a leg kick, which Nick caught and turned into a takedown.

CB rolled with the takedown and attempted a guillotine choke.  Nick escaped and turtled up.  CB rotated to the back, but made no attempts to sink his hooks in.  Nick went for a knee bar escape from turtle and almost sunk it before CB was able to twist free.  Nick countered by rolling to guard and attempting an arm bar, which CB muscled out of.

CB then began reigning down punches inside Klein’s open guard while attempting to pass to side control several times.  After finally passing Nick’s guard, CB maintained side control only for a moment as Nick was able to pull half-guard again and attempt another arm bar.

Once again, CB passed the guard and Nick rolled to turtle position.  CB continued to reign down punches, most of which landed on the back of Nick’s head, opening a small cut.

Again, Nick rolled to guard, attempting one final arm bar that failed just as time expired in the round.

Round two began with Nick coming out and working his jab.  CB countered with leg kicks that seemed to upset Nick.  So, Nick returned the leg kicks before attempting a few more jabs.  Then, to the dismay of his corner, Nick pulled guard and took the fight to the mat.

Nick was able to keep CB’s posture broken for a short time while he tried to land blows from the bottom; but, CB began to pass and Nick again rolled to turtle.  Klein then attempted another knee bar escape.

Unfortunately for Nick, CB seemed prepared this time and rolled with the attempt, ending up in guillotine position.  CB then pulled half-guard and sank the choke.  Nick was forced to tap out.

Winner by second-round guillotine choke submission: CB Dollaway

With the final preliminary fight out of the way, it was time for the semi-final match-ups to be set.

Fighters were called in one at a time and asked whom they would most like to fight.  Most fighters were ambivalent about their next opponent, except CB who only wanted to fight Cale.

Cale’s mocking comments had been piling up on CB and finally tipped the scale when Cale made a comment questioning CB’s sexuality and choice of sunglasses.

The semi-final match-ups were set:

Jesse Taylor (6-2) v Dante Rivera (10-2)

Amir Sadollah (0-0) v Matt Brown (9-6)

Daniel Cramer (0-0) v Tim Credeur (9-2)

CB Dollaway(6-0) v Cale Yarbrough (0-0)

Yundt said, “I’m gonna be the reason the UFC sends his ass packing after I whoop his ass!”

Yundt lost his Octagon premier in February to “Cachorrao” Ricardo Almeida (9-2) by first-round guillotine choke submission.

Despite ups and downs, Sakara has been a UFC fixture the passed three years.

“Legionarius” dropped to 185-pounds in March, but was TKO’d by “Crippler” Chris Leben (18-4) in his division debut.

Yundt was originally told he would fight a TUF 7 cast member.

“That’s not the case anymore,” Yundt said.

The Alaskan told Fighters.com on 5 May that he had been training with ninth-ranked light heavyweight “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-5-1) at Big Bear.

“I’m training hard and feel great.  I’ve been in Big Bear with Tito for four of the last six weeks and am heading back Sunday for another two weeks.  I’ll be ready for sure.”

CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights will be the North American broadcast television unveiling of our sport.

“This is more than a spectacular opportunity for Kimbo to be in front of a potential audience of 100-million plus eyeballs,” said EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw, also on Thursday.

“I think it sucks,” White concluded.  “Kimbo Slice isn’t a mixed martial arists.  This is a guy who was fighting in your back yard three months ago.  Now he’s headlining on CBS.”

For those behind White, the argument runs: MMA has gone from groin strikes to Unified Rules since UFC 1, from Kevin Rosier (2-6) to “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (16-2).  Kimbo Slice erases the last 15 years of the sport’s evolution.

How many years does Brock Lesnar (1-1) erase?  At least 12, back to the beginning of the powerful Hammer House era.

Lesnar headlines the UFC’s August card in Minneapolis versus Hammer House’s original “Hammer” Mark Coleman (15-8).

But, an argument that either Slice or Lesnar is going to convince the mainstream that MMA peaked in 1996 is misguided.

That’s what they already think.

We’re blinded inside the MMA bubble to the reality that Slice and Lesnar still represent what the mainstream thinks MMA is.

A backyard brawler or former pro wrestler sell tickets and PPV buys because that’s still the mainstream expectation of MMA.

Despite the last three years of North America  MMA eruption, the mainstream still considers MMA a blood-thirsty, no-holds-barred duel of brutes.

Few minds will be changed, but continued mainstream ignorance may be encouraged.  There’s still so many to educate about the sport.

Notes From Around MMA

* Last Wednesday on TAGG radio, “El Matador” Roger Huerta (20-1-1) became the latest UFC fighter to complain about his compensation, saying, “It’s kind of sad, you know, when the company comes out on the cover of Forbes, and then you definitely just know where all the money is going to. It’s kind of like, ‘What the hell?’”

* TUF 7 cast member Jesse Taylor (6-2) told the North County Times, “”Let’s just say I’m undefeated so far,” about his record on the SpikeTV reality competition show.

* When asked by Eastside Boxing what his most satisfying moment was, “Stitch” Jacob Duran said, “For MMA the most satisfying moment came during the Forrest Griffin/Mauricio Rua fight.  I was working Forrest’s corner during this fight when he received a lightning bolt gash on the center of his forehead.  It was a really bad cut and the fight was close to being stopped.  I managed to get it under control for about four minutes, and Forrest went out and submitted Rua.”  Fifth-ranked light heavyweight Forrest Griffin (15-4) thanked Duran with a card and gift certificate to an upscale restaurant.

* “The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1) is urging UFC President Dana White to make a fight between UFC Welterweight Champion St. Pierre and UFC Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (21-4), the top-ranked welterweight and middleweight respectively.  “If Dana can make that fight, I’ll be in the line to buy a ticket,” Silva told Yahoo!Sports.

* “Techno Goliath” Hong Man Choi (1-1) was discharged from the South Korean military two days after reporting for mandatory service.  Officials cited Choi’s brain tumor pressing against his optic nerve as the reason for his dismissal.

Team Jackson drafted Gerald Harris (6-2) to face Team Forrest’s Amir Sadollah (0-0) in what Rampage dubbed “the classis wrassler” versus kickboxer match-up.

Rampage was high on Harris, with whom he shares fight styles.  They like to slam opponents and pound them.

Fifth-ranked light heavyweight Forrest Griffin (15-4) had questions about Amir’s confidence before the match.

 Gerald Harris (6-2) v Amir Sadollah (0-0)

Ding, ding!  Harris immediately shot in and drove Sadollah to the fence for a double-leg takedown.

From Amir’s half-guard, Harris landed a few punches and short elbows.  Amir controlled his posture to minimize the damage.

Sadollah was able to stand back up and Harris clinched him up looking for another takedown.  Again, Harris brutally slammed Amir like a child.

After some light G’n’P, Gerald once again slammed Amir and fought from Sadollah’s open guard.

Working to their feet again, Amir threw a big knee, but missed, setting up Gerald for the low single.  Gerald grabbed on to Amir’s leg; but, Amir managed to reverse the position before Gerald could take him down.

Amir was trying to get Harris in the crucifix position, popping Harris with two elbows to the body in the process.  Gerald escaped as Amir tried to take his back and Harris drove Sadollah against the fence to finish the round.

Amir began round two determined to keep his feet.  He connected with a couple of sharp leg kicks before Harris pushed him against the fence again for the takedown.

From the top, Gerald landed a wide-arcing elbow before standing again.

Amir, who had been getting dominated to this point, responded with a knee that looked like it stunned Harris.  Gerald looked immediately for another takedown and shot in low, grabbing Amir’s leg near the ankle.

Refusing to the let go of the leg, Gerald eats a few body shots from Amir, who tries to take his back.  Harris escaped the ensuing scramble and took Amir down against the fence.

The fighters stand back up; and, Amir, sensing defeat landed a right knee to the jaw of Harris that dropped him for a flash knockout.

Harris turtled-up and grabbed Amir’s leg instinctually.  Sadollah threw a few punches before the referee stopped the fight.

Winner by technical knockout: Amir Sadollah

Rampage was depressed because Gerald was one of his favorites.  Harris was crushed and enraged.  Neither had time to lament on the loss as the final fight pairings for the first round were quickly named.

Team Forrest selected Cale Yarbrough (0-0) to face Team Rampage’s replacement fighter, Patrick Schultz (5-1-1), leaving Team Forrest’s Nick Klein (3-0) versus Team Rampage’s top pick, CB Dollaway (6-0)

Both Yarbrough and Schultz are stand-up specialists and make a “no jiu-jitsu” truce. 

Forrest said Yarbrough could beat anyone in the house as long as they stayed away from “that hippie stuff”, referring to wrestling and jiu-jitsu.

Patrick said he was looking forward to having a kickboxing match ending in a knockout.

Cale Yarbrough (0-0) v Patrick Schultz (5-1-1)

Early on, the fight between Yarbrough and Schultz looked exactly as hyped.  Yarbrough threw a high kick that Schultz caught and used to send him to the mat; but, Schultz allowed Cale to stand right back up.  They wanted to bang!  The boxing match continued and Schultz was effectively working his jab, mixing in a few power punches.

Both men were content to strike and neither would capitalize on the many openings for takedowns.  Schultz appeared to have a more technical boxing game and was getting the best of the stand-up.

Finally, with 1:45 left in the round, Cale realized he was getting picked apart.  He shot in for a double-leg takedown and, with no defense from Schultz, got in Schultz’s guard, pounding him with hammer fists.

After about a minute, the fighters stood and Cale scored another easy takedown, ending the round with some light G’n’P inside Schultz’s guard.

Fighters.com scored this round 10-9 for Schultz.

Schultz, looking gassed, wanted no part of the ground game.  He came out swinging to start the second round.

Cale got another takedown into Schultz’s half-guard.  The fight stayed on the mat the entire round; and, Yarbrough was dominant.  He connected with punches and a few elbows while keeping Schultz’s back on the mat.

Cale looked like he was getting stronger and gaining confidence as the round wore on.

Schultz, however, was gassed out.  He wasn’t trying to escape, just trying to avoid the stoppage.

Fighters.com scored the round 10-9 for Yarbrough.

When it was announced that a third round wasn’t necessary, everyone knew the outcome.

Winner by decision: Cale Yarbrough

Rampage was upset, thinking Schultz had won round one.

Forrest offered Yarbrough for another round.

Schultz told Forrest, “Go back to your corner.  I can’t wait until you fight Rampage.”

Forrest countered with a “Who the fuck are you?” stare.

Rampage warned Forrest, “I bet my whole purse our fight doesn’t end in a decision,” then stormed off.

The next season will begin production at the end of May and will premier 17 September.

Nogueira and Mir will battle for Nogueira’s share of the UFC title on a PPV card after the 13-episode season concludes.

Nogueira won his half of the championship in February by submitting fourth-ranked “Maine-iac” Tim Sylvia (24-4) in a guillotine choke.

The other UFC co-titlist is second-ranked “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-8).

In what was considered his last chance in the UFC, Mir spoiled Brock Lesnar‘s (1-1) UFC debut in February by submitting him in a kneebar in the first round.

Former UFC champ Mir is 3-2 since defending his title from Sylvia in June 2004, after which he suffered severe injuries in a motorcycle accident and was forced to vacate the title.

With respect to MMA’s classiest act, I disagree.

The UFC’s stranglehold over the top of the sport has ensured the best fighters fight each other.

The best match-up in boxing right now is WBC welterweight titlist Floyd Mayweather, Jr. versus WBA and IBF welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto.

For those not in the boxing know, it ain’t happenin’.

Mayweather is ducking the young bull Cotto for more lucrative, less competitive rematches with Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton.  Those happen to be match-ups Mayweather is more likely to win.  Hell, he’s already beat them both.

It’s the UFC’s umbrella over the sport that has made sure champions fight contenders, not pretenders who allow champions to hold on to belts maximizing the marketability of their reign.

You see, when free agent fighters and their management pick their opponents, whether in boxing or MMA, they tend towards safe fights.

Exhibit A:  Everyone’s favorite MMA ducker, sixth-ranked heavyweight “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (27-1).

While a showdown with third-ranked “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (21-5) has been an option, Emelianenko has picked fights against middleweight “The Law” Matt Lindland (20-5) and kickboxer “Techno Goliath” Hong Man Choi (1-1).

Such is matchmaking when managers and free agent fighters seek to prolong their marketability versus the safest reasonable opponents.

I mean, Lindland and Choi are both world champions, right?  Nevermind that their championships were in a different weight class and sport respectively than Emelianenko.

I’m not advocating for the UFC.  I could care less about which promoter logo is atop a fight card.  It’s the card itself that interests me.  The fact is, the UFC’s centralized organization of the sport has produced the best fights and, by definition, avoided “becoming a fractured sport the way boxing has.”

Notes From Around MMA

* Top Strikeforce lightweight contender “The Punk” Josh Thomson (14-2) maintains “The Carpenter” Clay Guida (23-9) oiled up before their March 2006 title fight, won by Guida by UD.  Thomson claims, “I mentioned it to Clay’s brother one time.  I said, ‘Clay was really slippery in that fight…’  He just looked at me, shrugged, and said, ‘You do what you have to do to win.’  I just thought, ‘Whatever, douche bag.’  But, Clay…I think his career has leveled off.  He got a few big wins, but he’s taken some losses the last couple of years.”

* Couture (16-8) told IGN he’s pursuing a video game deal with EA Sports.  He also claimed, “I don’t care where the fight happens,” in response to a question about fighting sixth-ranked Emelinanenko in the UFC.  Couture had previously expressed his desire not to fight Emelianenko in the UFC.

* UFC middleweight Rob Yundt (6-1), who lost his UFC debut in February to “Cachorrao” Ricardo Almeida (9-2), will return to the Octagon 21 June on the TUF 7 finale versus one of the TUF contestants.  The UFC won’t reveal Yundt’s opponent to him until that fighter is eliminated on the show.

* The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a bill to legalize and sanction MMA in the state by a vote of 95-2.  The bill is held-up in the Senate by Senators Dewayne Bunch of Cleveland and Bo Watson of Hixson.  The two southeast Tennessee legislators have attached an amendment earmarking the profits from MMA events for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Division I wrestling team.  According to the Nashville Post, the amendment may violate NCAA rules.  Tennesseans are urged to contact their state Senators and urge the passing of the bill next week without the earmarking amendment.

* Fourth-ranked welterweight “The Terror” Matt Serra (9-5) and UFC light heavyweight “The Hammer” Matt Hamill (4-1), both New York state residents, and UFC executive Marc Ratner were lobbying New York state Senators Tuesday to legalize and regulate MMA in the state.  A bill legalizing and regulating the sport in New York has passed the state’s assembly, but is opposed in the senate.

* Canadian kickboxer “Black Sniper” Michael McDonald (1-1), 2002 and 2004 K-1 North American Grand Prix Champion, won a decision over American kickboxer “The Jet” Rick Roufus (1-1) in an MMA bout fought under the radar in Romania last month.

* “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-5) and “Kimbo Slice” Kevin Ferguson (1-1) will go head-to-head 31 May in a ratings battle.  SpikeTV will air Ultimate Iceman to compete directly with CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights at 9:00 PM EST.  SpikeTV will air an entire day of UFC programming on 31 May, beginning at 11:00 AM EST.

* Star magazine reported that actress/singer Mandy Moore has a crush on top-ranked welterweight “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (16-2).  Moore was in the UFC 83 crowd last month when St. Pierre claimed the UFC welterweight title from Serra (9-5).

* You know it’s a slow MMA news cycle when eighth-ranked lightweight “The Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (32-2-1) testing negative for steroids in a Nevada State Athletic Commission test is a headline.  Of course he tested negative!  The headline is if he had tested positive…again.

* As I concluded after the first episode of this season’s The Ultimate Fighter, Jeremy May (5-5) is a douche bag and nothing could’ve made me happier than seeing him get smashed by fellow-Cincinnatian Matt Brown (9-6) last night.

The night before the fight, eliminated fighters Brandon Sene (2-0) and Matt Riddle (0-0) were doing shots and it appeared May was doing some with them.  He claimed he had “twelve or thirteen” shots, which upset the other fighters.

Apparently May had filled up a vodka bottle with water and was only pretending to be drunk, trying to play some mind games with Brown and Team Forrest.

It was nothing new for May as we learned he had been nursing a knee injury that held him out of the majority of Team Rampage’s conditioning and sparring sessions.  May himself admitted he faked the severity of the injury to pace himself during training.  Jeremy rode the bike while his team completed grueling conditioning sessions.

That dishonest approach and his cocky attitude angered everyone in the house, including the other fighters on Team Rampage.  Teammate Matt Riddle was so disgusted with May that he revealed Jeremy’s knee injury to Matt Brown the night before the fight.

 Matt brown is no joke.  He revealed his colorful past that includes plenty of drugs, alcohol, fighting, and even a few stints in jail.  By all accounts, he is a serious individual.  He didn’t trash talk much before the fight and was just happy to finally get Jeremy and his mouth into the Octagon.

 Matt Brown (9-6) v Jeremy May (5-5)

May came out swinging, managing to land a few punches and a knee on Brown.  May tried a head kick and Brown sent him to the canvas with a straight right.

May, wanting to get the fight to the ground, did not attempt to stand up.  Brown hit a few leg kicks before dropping a right hand on Jeremy’s face and taking side control.

Brown moved to the mount and looked for submissions.  May sensed this and fed Matt an armbar.  Brown took the bait; and, Jeremy was able to slam out of Matt’s armbar attempt and wound-up standing in Brown’s open guard.

Jeremy landed a few punches from the top before Matt turned the tables and got on top in May’s closed guard.  Matt transitioned to side control, then knee-on-stomach and connected with a few shots before both fighters stood back up.

May, with his hands dropped, looked gassed.  Brown hit him with a jab and then a right cross that sent Jeremy to the mat again.

Brown punched May’s face twice from his open guard before both fighters stood again.  At this point May’s tank was empty.  He could barely stand up straight.  Brown smelled blood and landed a nice knee to set up a beautiful left head kick to the hunched over May, knocking him out and forcing referee Herb Dean to stop the fight.

 Winner by knockout:  Matt Brown

The loss didn’t humble Jeremy May.  Even though lying about his injury and skipping conditioning obviously contributed to him gassing out, he still said Brown got lucky and, that if they fought again, the result would be different.  

Fighters’com’s first-ranked light heavyweight “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-6) was frustrated after losing the first fights and was even more so when sixth-ranked Forrest Griffin (15-4) revealed he was picking the match-ups by flipping a coin.  After the next coin flip at Team Forrest’s training session, it was determined Luke Zachrich (7-1) would take on Team Rampage’s Dan Cramer (0-0).

Neither man had the rugged look common of fighters, but they produced the most exciting fight so far this season.

Luke Zachrich (7-1) v Dan Cramer (0-0)

Cramer landed two punches immediately and the fighters clinched up.  Dan threw some more shots and attempted a trip that ended up pushing Luke against the fence.  They separated and Luke landed a straight left that seemed to stun Cramer for a second before he was able to tie Luke up again, land a knee to his face, and execute the trip for a takedown.

After a brief scramble, both men got back to their feet.  Cramer tried to walk through a few of Luke’s punches to get the tie up, but decided to stop after a few of them connect solidly to his chin.  He backed off and then charged in throwing long looping punches, sticking his chin out begging for Luke to connect.

The fighters clinched against the cage and engaged in some dirty boxing.  Cramer landed punch after punch on Luke’s face.  Zacharich landed a few clean shots of his own, but couldn’t match Dan’s pace.

After eating about twenty punches, Luke got the trip for a takedown and got to the mount.  Dan rolled and Luke took his back with just under a minute left.  Zacharich looked for the rear naked choke, and initially appeared to have it locked in pretty deep.  Dan, nearly punched out from his barrage on Luke, wasn’t doing much to defend the choke.  Luke, tired from eating all of those punches, had no energy to finish the choke; and,  both fighters were happy to finish the round with Luke on Dan’s back.

Round two started with Luke and Dan trading punches and clinching.

Cramer got a trip for a takedown and took the mount on Zacharich.  He landed some punches and elbows; and, Luke gave up his back to stop the onslaught.  Two more punches from there and Luke was under the mount again.  Dan rained down punches with a few elbows mixed in.  Luke couldn’t escape the mount or defend the punches; so, referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped the fight.

Winner by TKO: Dan Cramer.     

Finally, Team Rampage won a fight and gained the matchmaking rights for the next fight.  Rampage was giddy after the win and to have control over the next match-up.

Bisping talked to the fighters about his experience on the show.

“It changed my life” said Bisping.  He reminded the fighters what a great opportunity they had in front of them, and told them, “Don’t slack on your training.  Don’t get drunk at the house.  Get your sleep.  Eat right…everything I didn’t do.” 

 We got to hear what the house thought of Matt Brown (5-6); and, he seems like someone you would not want to mess with.  He trains extremely hard!  So much so that Forrest had to remind him not the hurt his training partners during sparring.  He wasn’t there to make friends.  This no-nonsense attitude earned him the moniker Matt “Mother-Fuckin’ Brown” from his teammates.

So, who better to play a prank on than Brown?  Jeremy May (5-5) couldn’t think of anyone, so he decided to stir the pot a little and put lime juice in Matt’s chewing tobacco.

Matt heard from another fighter what May had done, and he was pissed.  Brown confronted Jeremy and told him to get ready to fight.  He wanted blood.

Just when we thought the Brown/May fight would be announced, team Forrest selected veteran Dante Rivera (10-2) to lock horns with MMA neophyte Brandon Sene (2-0), who’s fighting experience came on the battlefield as a Marine Corps Sniper. 

Brandon Sene (2-0) v Dante Rivera (10-2)

The match started with a few range-finding punches from each fighter.  Dante pushed Brandon into the fence and tried to control him there.  Sadly, this would the theme of the fight.  Sene threw a few knees before Dante managed to trip him and score the takedown.

Rivera got side control; but, Sene was able to explode back to his feet before Dante could do any damage.

Dante again pushed Sene up against the cage; and, Brandon began landing knees to the thighs of Rivera.  Sene defended another takedown attempt.  He connected with a few more knees before referee Steve Mazzagatti separated the fighters and restarted them in the center of the Octagon.

Dante looked again to tie up and push Brandon against the fence.  This time he slammed Brandon to the mat for the takedown.

From his closed guard, Brandon landed punches and elbows on Dante’s face, and was able to keep Rivera from passing his guard.  Rivera went for a dangerous-looking achilles lock before Brandon escaped.  Dante recaptured side control in the closing seconds of round one.

Fighters.com scored the first round 10-9 for Sene.

Round two continued the trend of round one when Rivera immediately pushed Sene against the fence.  Brandon landed some punches as Dante continued to control him on the fence.  Just as Mazzagatti was about to separate the fighters for a second time, Dante got another takedown and looked to try some ground and pound in Brandon’s half guard.  This strategy seemed promising until Sene stood up after Dante had landed only a few punches.

Once again, Rivera pushed Sene up against the fence and got the trip for a take down.  He was on top in Sene’s half guard; but, it was Brandon who was landing the shots.  With one minute left, Brandon executed a half guard sweep and tried some ground and pound of his own from the top.  He ground some elbows into Dante’s face and finished the round on top.

Fighters.com scored the second round 10-9 for Sene.

After two rounds, the fight was tied; so, we got to see the first fight of the season to go the full three rounds.  Not deviating from his game plan, Rivera pushed Sene against the fence and took some body shots from Brandon before Mazzagatti separated the two. 

After the restart, Rivera threw a big shot with the right hand before driving Sene to fence for the final time.  Brandon landed some punches that Dante powered through to get a double leg takedown.

From Sene’s guard, Dante looked to control the position while Brandon continued to punch and elbow from the bottom.  Dante landed some punches and knees from the top as Brandon tried to escape.  Dante was able to maintain control of the position and spent the last two minutes of the round countering escape attempts from Sene.

Fighters.com scored the third round 10-9 for Rivera.

Brandon did a good job of avoiding Rivera’s submissions, but all of his offense came with his back against the fence or on the mat.  UFC President Dana White was not impressed with either fighter, but felt that Sene was more active and did more damage.  The judges saw otherwise, giving the fight to Rivera based on his takedowns and control.

Winner by decision: Dante Rivera

Rampage was furious about the decision; and, we learned next week’s episode will open with Jeremy May taking on Matt Brown to settle their grudge.

Next week, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (29-6) and Forrest Griffin (15-4) will be choosing fighters for their team.  Assuming you’ve watched the first two episodes, who would you choose?

Would you choose fighters who’re rough, but you think have a higher upside; or, fighters who’re already more complete?

Would you choose fighters with styles most like yours?  Or, would you try to fill out a well-rounded squad?

UFC President Dana White was right tonight when he stated, “There are no pussies here.”  The elimination round has held some of the best fights of any TUF season.

The episode opened with Dan Simmler (0-0) versus Mathew Riddle (0-0); and, Riddler came to battle.  He scored a sweet toss early and worked inside the jiu-jitsu fighter’s guard.  But, Riddle gassed shortly into round one and Simmler had the mo’ going into the second.

That mo’ was floored almost immediately in what “Rampage” called, “The gruesomest knockout I’ve ever seen.”

As Simmler launched a kick, Riddle decked him with a right hook, followed by two vicious hammerfists after Simmler hit the floor.

Simmler moaned for several minutes, then woke-up repeating, “Was this a real fight or practice?”  He was carried away by ambulance.

Brutal.  Riddle takes a bed.

In the next fight, Patrick Schultz (5-1-1) looked mean at the bell and piled on Cincinnatian Luke Zachrich (7-1); but, Zachrich woke-up after taking a few shots and rolled Schultz into a guillotine to take another bed.

Erik Charles (2-5) bragged before his fight with Timothy Credeur (9-2) that he was “one of the fastest guys out here.”  He was right!  Charles tapped out in a Credeur armbar quicker than any other fighter in the competiton.  Credeur takes a bed.

In highlights, “Mohawk” Brandon Sene (2-0) beat Aaron Meisner (2-0) by rear naked choke.

Gerald Harris (6-2) was all over Mike Marrello (7-1-1) with G’n'P for a unanimous decision. 

Jeremiah Riggs (1-0) “put Mississippi on the map”, but Daniel Cramer (0-0) put “Mississippi” on the mat for a first-round G’n'P TKO.

Jesse Taylor (6-2) had a quick night taking down, mounting, and wrapping Nick Rossborough  (8-3) in a rear naked choke submission.

Finally, Cincinnatian Matt Brown (5-6) weathered the early pressure of wrestler Josh Hall (1-2), who escaped two tight triangle chokes only to succumb to a G’n'P stoppage.

My team picks, in alphabetical order:

Matt Brown
Timothy Credeur
CB Dollaway
Gerald Harris
Nick Klein
Matthew Riddle
Dante Rivera
Cale Yarbrough