Another tough fight to call, but I’m going with the Skyscraper.Struve is still so young (23) that he should be adding strength at a rapid clip and polishing his skills with ease. Considering the Dutch youngster already has some impressive wins on his r…
Another tough fight to call, but I’m going with the Skyscraper.
Struve is still so young (23) that he should be adding strength at a rapid clip and polishing his skills with ease. Considering the Dutch youngster already has some impressive wins on his resume, he’s gonna be a handful when his power catches up to the rest of his skills.
Oh, and he looks like he has added a substantial amount of weight without compromising his fluidity or flexibility. We obviously won’t know for sure until the gloves drop, but he’s looking physically primed.
Travis Browne is no slouch, but he was probably lucky to escape with a draw from his last affair with Cheick Kongo due to a point deduction suffered by the latter.
Kongo was Browne’s toughest opponent to date and it’s not like Struve is a world-beater…yet.
Nevertheless, I expect to see vast improvement from Holland’s own and another victory for the kid.
Quite an action packed final five minutes, wouldn’t you say? I’ve got to imagine it’s a bad sign when NOBODY in the house is willing to defend Tony Ferguson’s antics. I mean, we’ve seen some genuinely boorish behavior from cast members before…
Quite an action packed final five minutes, wouldn’t you say?
I’ve got to imagine it’s a bad sign when NOBODY in the house is willing to defend Tony Ferguson’s antics. I mean, we’ve seen some genuinely boorish behavior from cast members before, but there’s always been at least one thick-as-thieves buddy who’s been willing to go to the plate for his wayward friend.
Not this time.
Clay Harvison, Nordin Asrih, Chuck O’Neil (no surprise there), Shamar Bailey, Ramsey Nijem, Chris Cope and I’d bet a few others had harsh words for Tony.
Harsh from one side, charitable from another considering that shamefully classless display.
What will be particularly interesting is the live finale at the Palms—Tony Ferguson might not be vying for the six-figure contract, but I’ve gotta believe he’s shown enough to earn his way onto the card one way or the other.
I’ll go out on a limb and say the crowd won’t welcome Tony into its warm embrace.
Anyway, if that doesn’t get your blood pumping for the finale before the finale, I’m not sure what will. See you next week.
Well, well, I guess it’s never too late for idiocy on a reality-television show. If the promos are to be believed (and they should be), we’ve got some old-fashioned drunken destruction on the horizon in tonight’s episode. I won’t tip my TUF han…
Well, well, I guess it’s never too late for idiocy on a reality-television show. If the promos are to be believed (and they should be), we’ve got some old-fashioned drunken destruction on the horizon in tonight’s episode. I won’t tip my TUF hand any more than to say you’ll want to see the ruckus.
In other news, all of the fighters still left in the competition—Chris Cope (semifinalist), Ramsey Nijem (semifinalist), Ryan McGillivray (quarterfinalist), Tony Ferguson (quarterfinalist), Chuck O’Neil (quarterfinalist) and Zach Davis (quarterfinalist)—appear to be genuine prospects. That is, they’ve all still got some work to do and still might never materialize, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see any of the above in bright lights eventually.
Nijem and Ferguson have an obvious edge on the others, but all six appear to have the necessary well-rounded foundation.
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos has been almost completely derailed.Not only has the reality show’s 13th season failed to live up to the not inconsiderable hype that Brock Lesnar’s involvement engendered, but it’s also lost its ma…
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos has been almost completely derailed.
Not only has the reality show’s 13th season failed to live up to the not inconsiderable hype that Brock Lesnar‘s involvement engendered, but it’s also lost its main jewel. And I’m not talking about Chris Cope’s upset of Junior “Cigano” dos Santos’ top pick Shamar Bailey.
That stung, but Bailey never really proved he was worthy of the No. 1 distinction. Even his wrestling didn’t seem all that incredible, and his striking was rudimentary at best.
Nope, I’m talking the Vanilla Gorilla’s second struggle with diverticulitis that’s knocked him out of his June 11th bout with dos Santos before Cigano got a chance to do the same. Even without the usual spectacle of stupidity that is a reality television staple, TUF could’ve coasted along on the momentum of a clash between Lesnar and dos Santos.
That’s the power of the sport’s biggest draw and the publicity-friendly Brazilian, as well as a fight for the right to be the top contender to UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez’ belt.
But Lesnar’s illness scrapped all that.
With a relatively tame TUF season and no culminating battle between the coaches, it’s safe to say that the Brock Lesnar spotlight has worked against the UFC this time around.
Oh well, nobody’s perfect.
With only a couple episodes left, we’re getting down to the hombres who have a shot to be legitimate players in the UFC game. One of those left standing will win the contract, but several competitors from the quarterfinal group traditionally make a few waves in the organization.
So join us at 9 p.m. EDT/6 p.m. PDT for tonight’s episode and live reactions.
Although the wild card is kind of a purgatory fight, I guess it’s technically part of the first round so now we’re officially on to Round 2 aka the quarterfinals. In the season’s first small miracle, we’ve got four representatives from Team Lesnar and …
Although the wild card is kind of a purgatory fight, I guess it’s technically part of the first round so now we’re officially on to Round 2 aka the quarterfinals. In the season’s first small miracle, we’ve got four representatives from Team Lesnar and four from Team dos Santos so no breaking ranks quite yet.
Forgoing any pomp and circumstance, Dana White simply announces the matchups he (presumably) picked and they are as follows:
Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos
Clay Harvison vs. Ramsey Nijem
Chris Cope vs. Shamar Bailey
Chuck O’Neil vs. Zach Davis
Tony Ferguson vs. Ryan McGillivray
Some interesting pairings in there including the grudge match between Chris “Cock-a-Doodle-Do” Cope and Shamar “Sleeping Beauty” Bailey plus a rematch between O’Neil and Davis. Although that first contest might not be much of one considering this gem from Brock Lesnar: “Should be an interesting fight, a wrestler versus…Chris.”
Meanwhile, the other two bouts might just feature the most dangerous fighters in the house. All in all, some quality material right there.
Tune in next week when we’re back live for the first two quarterfinal clashes.
Nothing spectacular to report from the weigh-ins other than some dudes in skimpy clothing so let’s just breeze on by that.Dana White doesn’t have many nice things to say about Javier Torres based on the competitor’s first fight and I can’t say as I bla…
Nothing spectacular to report from the weigh-ins other than some dudes in skimpy clothing so let’s just breeze on by that.
Dana White doesn’t have many nice things to say about Javier Torres based on the competitor’s first fight and I can’t say as I blame the UFC prez. He was dutifully impressed by Chuck O’Neil, though, so it’s easy to see where he’s going with this bout.
A back-and-forth first round establishes Torres as the more fluid and comfortable striker, and seemingly the stronger of the two fighters based on the ease with which he was able to fend of O’Neil’s clinches/takedown attempts.
Nevertheless, it’s Cold Steel who is the constant aggressor while Javier looks very pretty dancing and juking around, but is mustering little-to-no offense. Consequently, I’d give the first to Chuck, 10-9.
The second is far easier to score as Torres continues to get the better of the striking in the early going and then scores a nice trip. But he can’t keep O’Neil on the ground and, as soon as he scrambles back to his feet, Team Lesnar’s entrant (O’Neil) finally scores his own elusive takedown.
From there, it’s clear Javier is a fish out of water—O’Neil sits in half guard and alternates between pounding on Javier’s ribs, then working his left arm for a kimura. This goes on for a couple minutes until Torres finally thrashes free.
And rolls right into a fatal D’Arce choke that ends the bout.
Chuck O’Neil defeats Javier Torres by submission (D’Arce choke) at 4:30 of the second round.
