Author: McKinley Noble

TUF 17 Final Episode Recap: One Major Upset, One Amazing TKO Shakes Up Finale

Ladies and gentlemen, we have our two Ultimate Fighter finalists: Uriah Hall vs. Kelvin Gastelum.Both members of Team Darkside did Chael Sonnen proud in the semifinals, trouncing Dylan Andrews and Josh Samman to wrap up the finals and send Team Jo…

Ladies and gentlemen, we have our two Ultimate Fighter finalists: Uriah Hall vs. Kelvin Gastelum.

Both members of Team Darkside did Chael Sonnen proud in the semifinals, trouncing Dylan Andrews and Josh Samman to wrap up the finals and send Team Jones home, eight wins to six.

(Read the full episode play-by-play for all the details.)

Overall, Fox and FX really made a big difference this season.

But let’s not give them all the credit, as the UFC found an exceptional level of talent to bring to the show, yielding several great fights with plenty of highlight-reel finishes to boot.

• Uriah Hall is a beast, and it’s going to be a tall order for Gastelum to challenge him. Throughout Hall’s entire fight with Andrews, the tournament favorite dished out punishing, painful-looking kicks to the body and head seemingly at will, bloodying up Andrews over two long rounds.

• In this case, it wasn’t Hall’s power that was scary, but the calm pace that he set as he slowly wore Andrews down. Hall gave up control of the Octagon, yet constantly set the tone with hard strikes, quick footwork and solid combinations, making it hard for Andrews to close the gap.

• Even when Andrews did get the takedown, Hall didn’t freak out or lose his head, either. Instead, he showed surprising jiu-jitsu awareness by locking down Andrews in a Kimura choke before using a butterfly guard to beat up his opponent from the bottom. Trying to get powerful punches off from the bottom isn’t easy, but it was enough to turn the tide. Again, scary.

• There’s less to say about Gastelum vs. Samman, but it’s fair to say that many of us have been sleeping on the younger fighter all season. But Kelvin’s heavy hands can’t be ignored. Unlike Jimmy Quinlan, Gastelum never let Samman regain control once the fight turned into a grappling match, which was the right attitude. He dodged submissions extremely well, and took Samman out via rear-naked choke when he saw a chance. 

• It’s worth saying again, but this has really been a fantastic season. Interestingly enough, it didn’t have many of the usual TUF staples some of us have grown to hate—no huge beef between the coaches and only one house prank.

• That just goes to show that better production values and UFC-worthy talent can make a huge difference in the season, especially in the cage. Think about it—there really weren’t that many decisions, with most of the matches ending in knockouts and submissions.

• In the end, we didn’t learn anything new during The Ultimate Fighter 17 about Jon Jones. From the first episode to the last, the champion pretty much came off on camera the same way he does with the press and the public.

• What did prove to be surprising was Chael Sonnen. He largely bagged his professional wrestling persona and showed himself to be a capable, sensible, charming coach.

• It’s good that all of the TUF 17 cast got another shot in the UFC, and if you watched UFC on Fuel 9, you already know know that Tor Troeng already manhandled Adam Cella. It’s going to be extremely interesting to see whom everyone else faces in their debut with the promotion, especially the top eight of the season, like Luke Barnatt and Josh Samman.

• Luckily, we won’t have to wait very long to see who’s coaching the next season, since Miesha Tate and Cat Zigano are battling it out this weekend for a spot on The Ultimate Fighter 18 opposite of UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. For women’s MMA fans, there’s frankly no better time to be watching the sport.

• For the record, this author hopes that Miesha Tate wins. Rousey and her (other) arch-nemesis on the same show week after week is money.

• Another upside to the next season is also the fact that many of the women on TUF 18 will likely be known names, so the hardcore MMA fans out there will most likely recognize some of the fighters that picked out before the qualifying rounds in the season premiere. Plus, the co-ed nature of the show means it’ll be drama-packed. That’s a win for all sexes that will be watching the next season.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania & The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

TUF 17 Final Episode Live Play-by-Play: Uriah Hall and Josh Samman Finals-Bound?

Season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter concludes Tuesday (9 p.m. PT/ET on FX) with the middleweight tournament between Team Jones and Team Sonnen—and we’re officially in the final four.Beginning with 28 potential competitors at the…

Season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter concludes Tuesday (9 p.m. PT/ET on FX) with the middleweight tournament between Team Jones and Team Sonnen—and we’re officially in the final four.

Beginning with 28 potential competitors at the start of the latest season, the last episode in the show now features the best of the bunch—heavy favorite Uriah Hall vs. Dylan Andrews and the villainous Josh Samman vs. surprise knockout artist Kelvin Gastelum.

(Check out the team rosters and the list of quarterfinalists.)

In fact, so much focus has been placed on the actual fights, coaches Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen have largely taken a back seat as the TUF cast battled for a chance in the UFC.

Can Andrews survive against Hall? Does Gastelum, the youngest fighter in TUF history, have the power to put down Samman in a huge upset?

UPDATE: Check out the full episode recap and results right over here, with full impressions and thoughts on the Hall vs. Andrews and Samman vs. Gastelum semifinals matches.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC: Matt Mitrione Suspended for Fallon Fox Rant, ‘Code of Conduct’ Breach

Matt Mitrione may have won his most recent heavyweight bout in the UFC without an injury, but he won’t be fighting again in a hurry.Bloody Elbow reports that the UFC has suspended the former NFL player and The Ultimate Fighter alumnus for a “signi…

Matt Mitrione may have won his most recent heavyweight bout in the UFC without an injury, but he won’t be fighting again in a hurry.

Bloody Elbow reports that the UFC has suspended the former NFL player and The Ultimate Fighter alumnus for a “significant” breach in the promotion’s code of conduct on Monday, when he insulted transgender fighter Fallon Fox during an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.

As such, the UFC issued the following statement to Bleacher Report regarding Mitrione, who called Fox a “disgusting freak” for fighting in the women’s division:

The UFC was appalled by the transphobic comments made by heavyweight Matt Mitrione today in an interview on [The MMA Hour].

The organization finds Mr Mitrione’s comments offensive and wholly unacceptable and – as a direct result of this significant breach of the UFC’s code of conduct – Mr Mitrione’s UFC contract has been suspended and the incident is being investigated.

The UFC is a friend and ally of the LGBT community, and expects and requires all 450 of its athletes to treat others with dignity and respect.

Several UFC personalities (including color commentator Joe Rogan) do not believe that Fox—a 37-year-old male-to-female transgendered athlete—should be competing against women.

However, Mitrione is the first UFC fighter to verbally attack Fallon with insults on a widely broadcast show like The MMA Hour.

Aside from insinuating that Fox had “mental problems” for fighting in the women’s MMA division, Mitrione also joked that Fox’s fights were akin to infamous rapper Chris Brown beating up his current girlfriend, Barbadian pop star Rihanna:

He’s chromosomally a man. He had a gender change, not a sex change. He’s still a man. He was a man for 31 years. Thirty-one years. That’s a couple years younger than I am. He’s a man. Six years of taking performance de-hancing drugs, you think is going to change all that? That’s ridiculous.

That is a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak. And I mean that. Because you lied on your license to beat up women. That’s disgusting. You should be embarrassed yourself. And the fact that Florida licensed him because California licensed him or whoever the hell did it, it’s an embarrassment to us as fighters, as a sport, and we all should protest that. The woman that’s fighting him, props to you. I hope you beat his ass, and I hope he gets blackballed and never fights again, because that’s disgusting and I’m appalled by that.

According to an ESPN profile by MMA journalist Loretta Hunt, Fox began “gender reassignment, breast augmentation and hair transplant surgeries” during a 2006 stay in Thailand, where she was treated by the Bangkok National Hospital.

Because she is transgender, Fox is currently licensed to compete in women’s MMA by the Florida State Boxing Commission.

Several groups in the MMA community believe that Fox has unfair physical advantages in combat due to her original gender, but like all UFC fighters, Mitrione is contractually obligated to observe the company’s conduct guidelines.

Hence, “Meathead” will be suspended for an as-of-yet undetermined amount of time.

It’s also unknown if Mitrione will be punished further for his remarks, but according to UFC COO Lawrence Epstein, any “discriminatory comment” about members of a certain community can result in the responsible fighter being “required” to perform public service for that community.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania & The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC’s Matt Mitrione Says Transgender Fighter Fallon Fox Is a ‘Disgusting Freak’

Although many people in the MMA community have strong opinions about transgender MMA fighter Fallon Fox, UFC heavyweight competitor Matt Mitrione isn’t shy about his opinion.During an interview with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, th…

Although many people in the MMA community have strong opinions about transgender MMA fighter Fallon Fox, UFC heavyweight competitor Matt Mitrione isn’t shy about his opinion.

During an interview with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, the former NFL player launched a verbal tirade against Fox, whom he labeled a “freak” with “mental issues” for wanting to fight against women:

He’s chromosomally a man. He had a gender change, not a sex change. He’s still a man. He was a man for 31 years. Thirty-one years. That’s a couple years younger than I am. He’s a man. Six years of taking performance de-hancing drugs, you think is going to change all that? That’s ridiculous.

That is a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak. And I mean that. Because you lied on your license to beat up women. That’s disgusting. You should be embarrassed yourself. And the fact that Florida licensed him because California licensed him or whoever the hell did it, it’s an embarrassment to us as fighters, as a sport, and we all should protest that. The woman that’s fighting him, props to you. I hope you beat his ass, and I hope he gets blackballed and never fights again, because that’s disgusting and I’m appalled by that.

Mitrione is currently riding high on his recent 19-second knockout win against Phil De Fries at UFC on Fuel 9, marking his sixth career victory in eight UFC bouts since competing on Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter.

Mitrione isn’t the only UFC talent to express apprehension at Fox’s license to compete in mixed martial arts, as UFC color commentator Joe Rogan also expressed that Fox was simply “a man without a dick” despite her gender reassignment.

Former welterweight champion Matt Hughes has also been critical of Fox, simply referring to her as an “it” during a UFC 158 Q&A session.

Notably, UFC title contender Miesha Tate contributed to the overall discussion earlier this year in an interview with ESPN, saying that she probably wouldn’t fight a transgender fighter like Fox for “safety” reasons.

Regardless, Fox’s manager states (via MMA Fighting) that his 37-year-old client hopes for a chance to fight in the UFC or Invicta FC.

Controversy aside, Fox will indeed continue to compete in MMA, as the Florida State Boxing Commission has formally closed its investigation against her. Unless the FSBC intervenes, Fox’s next fight is currently set for the Championship Fighting Alliance on May 24, where the promotion’s $20,000 women’s featherweight tournament enters its semifinals.

UPDATE: In response to Mitrione’s appearance on The MMA Hour, the UFC has issued the following statement to Bleacher Report:

The UFC was appalled by the transphobic comments made by heavyweight Matt Mitrione today in an interview on [The MMA Hour].

The organization finds Mr Mitrione’s comments offensive and wholly unacceptable and – as a direct result of this significant breach of the UFC’s code of conduct – Mr Mitrione’s UFC contract has been suspended and the incident is being investigated.

The UFC is a friend and ally of the LGBT community, and expects and requires all 450 of its athletes to treat others with dignity and respect.

Although the length of Mitrione’s suspension has not been determined, it’s unlikely that the Blackzilians team member will be seeing a swift return to the Octagon despite winning his UFC on Fuel 9 heavyweight bout uninjured.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania & The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC’s Pat Barry Goes Nuts Over Girlfriend Rose Namajunas’ Invicta FC Armbar Win

Several UFC fans have come to know and like Pat Barry for his electric attitude toward his life as a fighter, but the kickboxing star was just as hyped for his girlfriend, Rose Namajunas, and her amazing win at Invicta FC 5.Moreover, the fierce st…

Several UFC fans have come to know and like Pat Barry for his electric attitude toward his life as a fighter, but the kickboxing star was just as hyped for his girlfriend, Rose Namajunas, and her amazing win at Invicta FC 5.

Moreover, the fierce strawweight remains undefeated in six amateur and professional MMA bouts.

Namajunas sealed her second Invicta FC victory in Kansas City during the all-women’s fight card on Friday, pulling off a stellar flying armbar to put away fellow strawweight prospect Kathina Catron in the very first round.

As shown in a mobile video recorded from the event by That MMA Show (via MiddleEasy), an estatic Barry scaled the Invicta cage as the 12-second bout came to end, dangling off the edge as Namajunas celebrated the stoppage.

That scene was very reminiscent of Namajunas’ professional debut at Invicta FC 4 last January, where the 20-year-old female fighter notched a third-round rear-naked-choke victory against the more seasoned Emily Kagan, a Greg Jackson’s MMA team member.

(See the full fight right over here.)

During that bout, Barry was filmed bombastically shouting critical corner advice to his girlfriend, as Namajunas reversed a clinch from Kagan to score a standing submission win.

“Hype or Die” Barry and “Thug” Namajunas are regarded as a solid “power couple” in mixed martial arts, often posting videos online for their fans and social media followers.

Barry and Namajunas will attempt to keep their undefeated run in 2013 alive, as Barry is currently scheduled to face another Greg Jackson’s MMA fighter in Shawn Jordan at UFC 161. Barry has yet to score back-to-back wins since joining the UFC in 2008, although he holds a notable four post-fight bonuses in his career with the promotion.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on Fuel 9: Swedish Commission Under Internal Review on Gustafsson’s Cut

Several parties are extremely unhappy with the way the Swedish MMA Federation killed the original Alexander Gustafsson vs. Gegard Mousasi main event at UFC on Fuel 9, with an internal review hitting the commission.That’s the latest word on the event fr…

Several parties are extremely unhappy with the way the Swedish MMA Federation killed the original Alexander Gustafsson vs. Gegard Mousasi main event at UFC on Fuel 9, with an internal review hitting the commission.

That’s the latest word on the event from The Telegraph, as MMA journalist Gareth A. Davies highlights the issues surrounding the medical staff:

George Sallfeldt, president of the Swedish MMA federation, told Telegraph Sport after the event: “We will be looking into the situation that happened, and the way it happened. We’ll be asking the medical committee how they arrived at their decision [on the Tuesday night] and why it was made when it was.”

But he added: “It someone contacts the federation it is difficult to do anything different to what happened. But I have to say that this situation has never happened before.”

Just a handful of days before the event in Stockholm, Sweden, news broke (via Swedish MMA news site MMANYTT) that Gustafsson would most likely be medically unfit to compete at UFC on Fuel 9 against Mousasi due a cut over his left eye, suffered in training.

UFC president Dana White and his staff was forced to scramble to find a late replacement in local Swedish fighter, Ilir Latifi—Gustafsson‘s training partner.

Although he had just a few days to prepare and cut weight, Latifi lasted 15 minutes in a one-sided decision to Mousasi.

While the crowd seemed to want more action from the former Strikeforce and two-division DREAM champion, Mousasi admitted in his post-fight interview that he was ill and suffering from an injured knee as he handily improved to 34-3-2 in his UFC debut.

White posted a picture of Gustafsson on Twitter roughly three days before the card, where the light heavyweight’s cut seemed healed, calling it the “worst decision” he had “ever” seen to pull a fight.

Gustafsson is expected to be medically cleared for an upcoming bout soon enough. But his next opponent is unclear, although many UFC fighters in his division are currently awaiting upcoming event contracts and announcements.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania & The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com