Well, that was unexpected.
Despite being one of the highest-ranked fighters on the show and hosting a nine-fight experience edge against his opponent, Swedish bruiser Tor Troeng was knocked out cold by Team Jones’ No. 2 pick, Josh Samman.
There was a lot expected of Tor, who is lauded as one of the best middleweights in Europe, but Samman’s win definitely switches things up a bit.
(Read the full episode play-by-play here.)
• It was surprising to see the fight end in Round 1, although the heavy pace that Tor and Samman were setting looked rough. Samman was the first to find a home for his stand-up game, though, as he backed up Tor with a hard flurry to start the fight.
• From that point on, it was clear that giving Samman space to work his boxing would be bad for Tor, as both men gamely tussled back and forth in a grueling clinch fight against the cage. Unfortunately, Tor’s best chance to win the fight faded as he lost control of Samman on the ground.
• Once Samman hit a great sweep from the bottom, he was able to pressure Tor against the fence and beat him up a little. Tor definitely made it a fight, though, pushing Samman when possible and hitting solid strikes and knees.
• But the minute a visibly-tiring Tor lowered his hands, Samman pounced, clocking Tor clean with a hard hook, flurrying for the finish and dropping Team Sonnen’s No 4. pick to the mat (and it took Tor a while to wake up). With that match in the books, here’s how the roster looks so far.
Team Jones:
1. Clint Hester (7-3)
2. Josh Samman (9-2)3. Robert “Bubba” McDaniel (20-6)4. Gilbert Smith Jr. (5-1)
5. Collin Hart (4-1-1)6. Adam Cella (4-0)
7. Dylan Andrews (16-4-1)
Team Sonnen:
1. Luke Barnatt (5-0)
2. Uriah Hall (7-2)
3. Zak Cummings (15-3)4. Tor Troeng (15-4-1)
5. Jimmy Quinlan (3-0)6. Kevin Casey (5-2)
7. Kelvin Gastelum (5-0).
[Note: Winners are in bold, losers are scratched off the list and the next competitors’ names are in italics.]
• Man, Uriah Hall isn’t being shy about the fact that he’s already getting into an “every man for himself” mentality. Much of the show was devoted to him ruffling feathers on both teams, with his most heated exchanges coming against Luke Barnatt and Josh Samman.
• That said, this author really hopes that Hall fights Samman at some point during the show. The animosity between those two is palatable, and it looks like they’d both have some major chips on their shoulders.
• Another good match that could come up is Luke Barnatt vs. Uriah Hall, as both teammates’ obvious distain for each other made for the most drama-filled moment in the season so far. While Barnatt does have a point about Hall needing to be a team player, Hall is justified in looking out for himself.
• Surprise, surprise! Chael Sonnen and Jon Jones actually had some conflict on the show! Sure, it was just a friendly bowling match, but it was nice to see the two coaches on camera actually doing something competitive against each other.
• Jones losing the match was pretty funny, but not as funny as Sonnen’s bowling form.
• Seriously, Sonnen just freakin’ chucks the bowling ball down the lane like it’s a spear—it barely even touches the ground.
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