Tag: Chris Cope

Hey, This TUF 13 Finale Looks Pretty Good

Dammit, who are all you guys again?

Say what you will about The Ultimate Fighter (not like you need an invitation), but the finale shows tend to be pretty damn fun. This season, we actually have two fairly solid finalists, a dynamite co-main in Pettis-Guida, plus a handful of other matchups calibrated for striking showdowns and crowd amazement.

Here’s a quick and dirty rundown of the fights scheduled for this weekend, with a few of those fancy moving pictures that you like so much. Who ya got?

Ramsey Nijem

VS

Tony Ferguson

Well, either this fight is the one you’ve been waiting for, or you’re just wondering what these two nobodies are doing on your UFC card. Tune in to find out which guy gets a contract with the UFC. (Spoiler Alert: It’ll be both of them.)

Dammit, who are all you guys again?

Say what you will about The Ultimate Fighter (not like you need an invitation), but the finale shows tend to be pretty damn fun.  This season, we actually have two fairly solid finalists, a dynamite co-main in Pettis-Guida, plus a handful of other matchups calibrated for striking showdowns and crowd amazement.

Here’s a quick and dirty rundown of the fights scheduled for this weekend, with a few of those fancy moving pictures that you like so much.  Who ya got?

Ramsey Nijem

VS

Tony Ferguson

Well, either this fight is the one you’ve been waiting for, or you’re just wondering what these two nobodies are doing on your UFC card.  Tune in to find out which guy gets a contract with the UFC.  (Spoiler Alert:  It’ll be both of them.)

Anthony Pettis

VS

Clay Guida

If you aren’t looking forward to this fight, you just go ahead and get the hell out of our website.  Neither dude is capable of being in a boring fight.  Guida is confident that he’ll handle Pettis; meanwhile we’ve gotten reports that Showtime is practicing something called a “Shaolin-McTwist bicycle kick.”  Now, maybe we made that up, but maybe not.

Fabio Maldonado


VS

Kyle Kingsbury



Maldonado (18-3) made his UFC debut in October last year, when the Brazilian boxer TKO’d James McSweeney in his hometown.  Maldonado has hands of stone and a chin to match – he’ll want to sleepify Kingsbury standing.  Kingsbury (10-2) has been tearing up the undercard scene ever since he lost to Tom Lawlor in the TUF 8 finals, plus he’s been getting some high-tech training.  This one has flown under the radar, but it should be a good scrap.  We got Kingsbu.

Ed Herman

vs

Tim Credeur


It’s been almost two years (and two surgeries) since Ed Herman’s injury TKO loss to Aaron Simpson. Of course, Short Fuse (19-7) is coming back better than ever — they all say that. His opponent will be Tim Credeur (12-3), who is taking a step up in competition after nearly two years away from the cage himself. We’re leaning toward Herman here, but after that long away from the cage, it comes down to who knocks off the ring rust better.

Chris Cope

VS

Chuck O’Neil

The two guys who lost in the semis will mix it up for third place, presumably for a smaller etched-glass thingie and a nice TapouT watch.

Danny Downes (8-1) v Jeremy Stephens (19-6)

Danny Boy Downes steps in on short notice to replace Jonathan Brookins for his UFC debut after going 2-1 in the WEC. He’ll look to match firepower with Jeremy Stephens in a knockout race, which we are totally fine with. Why yes, we would like some popcorn. Thank you.

George Roop (11-7) vs Josh Grispi (14-2)

George Roop has lost to the cream of the crop at 145 and 155, including Eddie Wineland, George Sotiropoulos, and Mark Hominick, so try not to focus on the numbers too much. On the other hand, his opponent is 22 year old Josh Grispi, who was in line for a shot at Jose Aldo before losing to Dustin Poirier at UFC 125.  Expect Grispi to return to form Saturday night and finish the fight in the first round.

Scott Jorgensen (11-4) v Ken Stone (9-2)

Damn, Ken Stone gets Slampaged at the last-ever WEC show, and his return fight is Scott Jorgensen? That just doesn’t seem right. Jorgensen is going to make an impression in his UFC debut, especially after that frustrating loss to Dominick Cruz. We’re looking for Jorgensen to score a submission win over Keith Stone’s little bro.

Clay Harvison (6-1) vs Justin Edwards (6-0)

Justin Edwards didn’t last long in TUF, suffering a KO loss to Tony Ferguson in the first round of fights.  That’s the risk you run when you’re an offense-first kind of guy.  Edwards has never been to a decision, and a fight with Clay Harvison is likely to be the first.  Expect a brawl … and a knockout.  We’re thinking Harvison, if only because he seems to have a better chin.

Shamar Bailey (13-6) vs Ryan McGillivray (11-4)

McGillivray is the guy that Mike Russel referred to as “the Canadian guy”, while Shamar Bailey has a vanity website.  The Canadian guy lost to finalist Tony Ferguson in the quarterfinal round, while Sham-Wow got sniped off by Chris Cope.  If one of them pulls of a spectacular finish, you can expect to see him around.  Otherwise, expect them to pick up some wins in the minors before getting an invite back.

Francisco Rivera (5-1) v Reuben Duran (7-3-1)

Both coming off losses in their debut fights under the Zuffa banner, Rivera and Duran both need to impress some people if they want to stay on at the big show.

[RX]

‘TUF 13? Episode 10 Recap: The Morning After


(Ramsey jacks Chris’s swagger before their semi-final match. Props: IronForgesIron.com)

Following last week’s “Where’s your kid?” fiasco, Tony Ferguson is persona non grata in the TUF house. He tries to strike up a conversation with Chuck O’Neil in the kitchen and gets brutally cold-shouldered. “He’s burnt every last bridge in this house,” Chuck explains. “He’s burnt a bridge with everybody.”

Tony finally gets a clue and apologizes to everybody — or at least tries to — claiming that he drank too much, blacked out, and doesn’t really remember what he said. Chuck ain’t having it: “I was disgusted by what you said last night. For you to put Charlie’s kid’s name in your mouth, and for him not to hit you in the face, that shows what kind of person he is, because all of us wanted to fucking kill you.” The other guys aren’t interested in making up with Tony either, and he eventually gives up. On the bright side, he didn’t come here to make friends, so at least he succeeded on that level.

Both semi-finals are slated to go down on this episode, starting with Chris Cope (Team Lesnar) vs. Ramsey Nijem (Team Dos Santos). They “woo!” at each other during the weigh-in. And it’s already time for somebody’s dreams to be crushed…


(Ramsey jacks Chris’s swagger before their semi-final match. Props: IronForgesIron.com)

Following last week’s “Where’s your kid?” fiasco, Tony Ferguson is persona non grata in the TUF house. He tries to strike up a conversation with Chuck O’Neil in the kitchen and gets brutally cold-shouldered. “He’s burnt every last bridge in this house,” Chuck explains. “He’s burnt a bridge with everybody.”

Tony finally gets a clue and apologizes to everybody — or at least tries to — claiming that he drank too much, blacked out, and doesn’t really remember what he said. Chuck ain’t having it: “I was disgusted by what you said last night. For you to put Charlie’s kid’s name in your mouth, and for him not to hit you in the face, that shows what kind of person he is, because all of us wanted to fucking kill you.” The other guys aren’t interested in making up with Tony either, and he eventually gives up. On the bright side, he didn’t come here to make friends, so at least he succeeded on that level.

Both semi-finals are slated to go down on this episode, starting with Chris Cope (Team Lesnar) vs. Ramsey Nijem (Team Dos Santos). They “woo!” at each other during the weigh-in. And it’s already time for somebody’s dreams to be crushed…

Round 1: Ramsey and Chris circle around each other for a moment, then Ramsey storms forward like a madman, winging punches and making Chris immediately retreat. Ramsey clinches up with Chris, pulls back to fire some more shots, then drops low for a takedown. Chris is as crafty as ever and stays upright. He starts punching down on Ramsey’s head. They trade knees. Ramsey connects with a sharp one. They separate and Ramsey goes apeshit with the punches again. He lands a knee then shoots. Chris sprawls, and they’re locked against the cage again. Ramsey drops even lower, grabbing for a foot; Chris pounds the top of his head but doesn’t go down. Ramsey gets up and there’s more knees from each side. Chris gets in more punches to Ramsey’s noggin. A knee from Chris. Ramsey returns one. Steve Mazzagatti breaks ‘em. Chris sticks the jab. Ramsey misses a 1-2, but lands a follow-up jab. Teep-kick from Ramsey. Leg kick Chris. Ramsey jabs to the body. Chris lands another leg kick. Ramsey tries to rush forward with punches but Chris dodges. Another combo from Ramsey and the horn sounds. Chris did well blocking the takedowns and working his dirty boxing, but I’d still give it to Ramsey 10-9 for aggression.

Round 2: Sharp leg kick from Chris to open the round. Ramsey comes in with a 1-2-shoot and finally gets a takedown, but Chris quickly escapes to his feet. Ramsey kicks him in the ribs as they separate. Stiff jab frim Ramsey as Chris advances. Ramsey throws a wide overhand right. And again. He clinches up. Chris scores with a knee and punches. Chris rolls out and gets mobbed by Ramsey’s punches and knees. A couple more straight punches make Chris wilt to the mat and Ramsey pours it on until the ref pulls him off. Ramsey Nijem def. Chris Cope via TKO, and advances to the finals of TUF 13.

…which brings us to the Tony Ferguson vs. Chuck O’Neil grudge match. Brock considers Ferguson to be his best guy, while O’Neil is Dana White’s underdog pick. “I’ve become a Chuck fan,” DW says. “He’s tough and gritty and really wants to win.”

“I don’t respect Tony as a person,” Chuck says before the fight. “I respect him as a fighter and that’s where the line stops.”

“If he brings emotion to a fight, that’s not the best way to do it,” Tony says. “When you bring emotion to a fight you don’t think clear.” But enough talk…

Round 1: They both land punches right away. Leg kick Tony. Chuck returns it. Tony jabs, Chuck counters. It’s a very tense, evenly pitched opening. Tony with another leg kick. Chuck lands a high kick, and counters with a right after Tony misses a punch. 1-2-left kick from Chuck. A hard hook from Tony. Tony jabs, and takes a quick leg kick from Chuck. Chuck jabs, Tony fires the straight. Chuck lands a couple shots moving backwards. Leg kick Chuck. Another straight from Tony, but Chuck counters harder. Tony shoots for an ankle, misses it. But he follows up with a superman punch and lands it flush. Chuck tries one of his own but misses. Leg kick Chuck. Jab Tony. Chuck throws a leg kick and Tony charges in with strikes. Tony catches a body kick and dumps Chuck on the mat, but doesn’t follow him down. Tony with a wide hook. Chuck throws a body kick. He lands a jab. Tony lands a clean straight right before the bell. Close round, with both guys trading shots back and forth.

Round 2: Inside leg kick from Chuck. Tony responds with his own. Tony catches a body kick and drives Chuck back. Leg kick Tony. Tony stalks forward, gets in a left hook. Leg kick Chuck. Tony lands his jab, and then a hard right. Tony on the attack. He scores with a leg kick. Chuck pops a jab. Two more leg kicks from Tony; he’s focusing on the inside of Chuck’s left leg now. Chuck gives one back. Tony landing some precision strikes. Chuck throws 1-2-leg kick. Tony with a leg kick. He throws at the body, chases Chuck down, punishes his leg some more. Chuck’s nose is bloodied. Tony works his jab, Chuck returns a straight. Leg kick Tony. Chuck tries a spinning back kick but whiffs. Chuck retreating, Tony lands a flying knee to the body at the bell. It’s a clear 10-9 for Tony, and Chuck looks beaten down. But hey, anything can happen in the third, right?

Round 3: Chuck throws an uppercut, eats a jab, then a leg kick. Tony fires again at that leg, then throws a straight punch. Chuck lands a body kick and rolls away. Tony chasing with the leg kicks and punches. He lands the leg kick again, and Chuck is really feeling them now; his leg is getting blasted off the mat with each one, and he’s setting it back down gingerly. Tony with a hard hook to the body, and Chuck returns a punch to the head. Another leg kick from Tony. A jab, and two more leg kicks. Chuck returns some punches, but he’s walking backwards the whole round. Tony fires high and low with his punches. Chuck tries a push kick. Tony lands a hook and a right straight, and Chuck has clearly had enough. He drops to the mat, almost welcoming a finish — but it doesn’t come. Tony backs off after a few hammerfists and makes Chuck stand, which is not an easy thing to do at this point. Tony almost changes his mind and launches back on as Chuck gamely hobbles to his feet, but Herb Dean allows Chuck to get up cleanly. Another leg kick from Tony, and a hook, a hard right, and another leg kick. One more leg kick, followed by a long straight and a body shot and Chuck crumbles to the mat once again. Herb has seen enough and puts Chuck out of his misery. Tony Ferguson def. Chuck O’Neil via TKO, and advances to the finals of TUF 13.

And so, this Saturday’s TUF 13 welterweight final will be Tony vs. Ramsey — two guys who have sliced through this season’s bracket, scoring three-straight stoppages apiece. It’s a striker vs. wrestler matchup…Tony is just slightly scarier, that’s all.

At the end of the episode, we get a segment about Brock Lesnar’s withdrawal from the Junior Dos Santos bout due to diverticulitis. “You focus on getting healthy, all that other bullshit I’ll handle,” Dana says.

Following last night’s show, three more matchups were announced for the TUF 13 Finale (which we’ll be liveblogging, by the way):

– Chris Cope vs. Chuck O’Neil. The third-place bout between the season’s losing semi-finalists, both from Team Lesnar. This bout will be aired on the live Spike TV main card, which kicks off at 9 p.m. ET.

– Justin Edwards vs. Clay Harvison. Justin “Small Randy” Edwards was the Team Dos Santos member who got knocked out by Tony Ferguson in the preliminary round and couldn’t come back in the wild card fight because of his resulting medical suspension. Harvison (Team Lesnar) defeated Mick Bowman by decision in the preliminary round, but was subbed by Ramsey in the quarter-finals.

– Shamar Bailey vs. Ryan McGillivray. Bailey (Team Dos Santos) outpointed Nordin Asrih in the preliminary round, but lost a decision to Chris Cope in the quarter-finals. McGillivray (also Team Dos Santos) eliminated Len Bentley via decision in the opening round, but was TKO’d by Tony Ferguson in the quarters.

(BG)

‘TUF 13? Episode 8 Recap: Screwin’ the Pooch


(“New episode of ‘Coal’? YEAH, BABY! GET SOME!” / Gif via IronForgesIron.com)

The quarterfinal round kicked off in last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bellyache vs. Team Stare Directly at the Camera While Being Interviewed by Megan Olivi, and Shamar Bailey’s not feeling a personal best. The gray-team standout tweaked his back, and direct pressure ain’t comfortable. As he discusses it with Justin Edwards, Chris Cope lurks by, as if on cue, and screams “Woo!”

“I’mma choke that voice box out,” Shamar says.

But before he gets a chance to do that, Ramsey Nijem and Clay Harvison will square off. Dos Santos feels Ramsey is the best wrestler on his team. Ramsey says that his Palestinian heritage helps him be the fighter he is. He’s seen the road-stops, the walls, the guns; he feels grateful to be fighting in a controlled environment, and not for his life.

Dana White brings UFC middleweight contender and war hero Brian Stann to the gym. Stann tells the guys about being a Marine Corps captain, the lifestyle of discipline, how success breeds success…wait a minute. Is this just an ad for the Marines? This is like those segments on The Biggest Loser where they teach the contestants how to cook with Jennie-O-brand turkey. Come on, you know what I’m talking about. I can’t stand that crap. Anyway, Brock tells some of these long-haired punks to fill out an application.


(“New episode of ‘Coal’? YEAH, BABY! GET SOME!” / Gif via IronForgesIron.com)

The quarterfinal round kicked off in last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bellyache vs. Team Stare Directly at the Camera While Being Interviewed by Megan Olivi, and Shamar Bailey’s not feeling a personal best. The gray-team standout tweaked his back, and direct pressure ain’t comfortable. As he discusses it with Justin Edwards, Chris Cope lurks by, as if on cue, and screams “Woo!”

“I’mma choke that voice box out,” Shamar says.

But before he gets a chance to do that, Ramsey Nijem and Clay Harvison will square off. Dos Santos feels Ramsey is the best wrestler on his team. Ramsey says that his Palestinian heritage helps him be the fighter he is. He’s seen the road-stops, the walls, the guns; he feels grateful to be fighting in a controlled environment, and not for his life.

Dana White brings UFC middleweight contender and war hero Brian Stann to the gym. Stann tells the guys about being a Marine Corps captain, the lifestyle of discipline, how success breeds success…wait a minute. Is this just an ad for the Marines? This is like those segments on The Biggest Loser where they teach the contestants how to cook with Jennie-O-brand turkey. Come on, you know what I’m talking about. I can’t stand that crap. Anyway, Brock tells some of these long-haired punks to fill out an application.

Clay still can’t bend his dislocated finger completely, but he’s gonna throw down anyway. Brock works with Clay and Chris on their wrestling — which they’ll need, since their opponents both specialize in it — and shows them the whizzer defense that Shane Carwin pulled on him in the beginning of their fight last year.

Ramsey shows up to weigh-ins in classic Palestinian style, with some jacked-ass hip briefs. He gets in Clay’s face in a very loving way, then bends over to complete the Nick Ring impression. Unfortunately, Ramsey feels sick before the fight, and he’s not one of those dudes who normally get sick before fights. Could be an issue, but there’s no time to worry about it…

Round 1: Brock screams for the whizzer before Ramsey even tries his first takedown. Ramsey fires an overhand right. Clay launches forward with a 1-2. Ramsey grabs him coming in and takes him down easily. Clay tries to get up and Ramsey takes his back. Clay nearly rolls out, but Ramsey stays in control. Ramsey flattens Clay out on the mat and sinks the rear-naked choke. Clay taps. God damn, that didn’t last long. Ramsey Nijem is TUF 13′s first semi-finalist.

DW: “That was the fastest and most decisive finish of the season…Junior might be right, this kid might be the kid to beat.”

Dos Santos: “That’s how you fight when you get sick? WOOOOW!”

Clay is pissed at himself, obviously. “Stripper Ramsey, what the fuck. That’s how you screw the pooch, ladies and gentlemen.”

Brock: “Clay just got outclassed in wrestling. Giving up your back like that to a wrestler is just self-destruction.”

Moving on. Shamar wants to make Chris Cope pay for the constant screaming thing. His plan is to meet Chris in the middle of the Octagon, make him move backwards, beat him up on the feet, and take him down when he feels like it.

Coach Brock realizes that Cope is a big underdog here: “The first 30 seconds of this, you’re just gonna have to weather the storm,” he says. He calls the fight a classic matchup of “wrestler vs…Chris.” Once again, they drill the whizzer, hoping it might actually work this time. Brock points at the ad in the middle of the cage. “Do whatever you need to do to own Burger King. This is your house right here, Burger King.”

In the face-off, Chris smiles and nods while Shamar mean-mugs and shakes his head. Could they be any different?

The night before the fight, Cope tries to get some tips from Nordin Asrih, who previously lost to Shamar by decision. “His game plan is easy,” Nordin says. “To put you down and hold you down. He doesn’t want to fuck with you.” Nordin gives Chris some angry notes on his guillotine setup, which seems to leave him open for punches. “There’s no time bro,” Nordin says. “I’m fighting tomorrow, don’t be an asshole,” Chris says.

Shamar is mad intense before the fight: “He made a mistake, he woke up a beast.”

Says Chris: “Shamar, the ‘woo’ that you get so angry about? Win, lose, or draw, I’m still gonna do it.” And then he does.

Round 1: Shamar starts out as the aggressor, pushing forward, chasing Chris around the cage. He lands a left straight. Chris throws some punches but doesn’t land anything worthwhile. Shamar shoots from too far away, Chris defends it and slugs him in the head while pressed against the fence. Chris turns him around. Shamar puts Chris’s back against fence. Chris escapes. Shamar comes in with punches and a clinch. They trade knees to the legs. Cope escapes again. Left straight and a clinch from Shamar. Knee to the ribs from Chris, and some dirty boxing exchanged between the fighters. Another knee from Chris, and he escapes. Shamar with a left overhand/right low grab/clinch, which will become his trademark for the rest of the fight. Chris grabs a headlock and uses it to escape. Shamar does his hi/lo/clinch trick again, and works hard to drag Cope to the mat but he can’t pull it off.

“Let your fuckin’ hands go kid,” Dana shouts at Chris. Brock tells his fighter the same thing.

Round 2: Shamar stalks forward and lands a jab. Chris brushes him back with counter-punches. He’s throwing more now. Shamar fires to the body. Chris jacks a short hook. He lands the jab while Shamar is coming in. Shamar with that hi/lo/clinch. Chris gets out after some dirty boxing. He lands a couple on the feet, and seems to be gaining some momentum. No big shots, but he’s making Shamar respect him. Shamar shoots, settles for the clinch, and lands an uppercut on the exit. Shamar comes in to engage and they clash heads. Chris jabs. Shamar lands a clean punch combo. Both guys throwing now. Shamar shoots, Chris puts him against the fence. Shamar reverses the position. Chris escapes. They slug it out. Shamar shoots and puts Chris’s back against the fence. Chris fires some punches to his head. Chris turns Shamar around and escapes as the horn sounds.

The way I saw it, Shamar won the first round with his takedown attempts and pressure, and Chris out-boxed Shamar by a slight margin in the second. Chris’s takedown defense was really the story of the fight, but he was a little hesitant to throw in the first frame. This one should go to sudden victory. But it doesn’t. All three judges score it 20-18 for…Chris Cope? Damn. The fact that all three judges scored the first round for Chris is kind of absurd. Junior shouts “what?” Brock says that Chris wowed him and — you guessed it — made chicken salad out of chicken shit.

Shamar talks to Dana afterwards, and says he wanted to show that he could do more than wrestle. DW is like, “well, it looks like you tried to take him down.” (Burn!) Shamar tells Dana he sprained his back. And now Shamar is going to be haunted by that Woo! for the rest of his life.

On the next episode: Tony Ferguson goes apeshit into a glass coffee table, two more quarterfinal fights, and the semi-final announcements. We’re moving along nicely, here.