Jake Ellenberger vs Martin Kampmann Ellenberger is of course the guy that keeps on coming. Kampmann also keeps moving forward as well. Both fighters have more than 40 fights combined and only 9 wins via decision. These guys finish their fights. Ellenberger is favored -210 at 5Dimes with Kampmann sitting at -175. Kampmann is going
Jake Ellenberger vs Martin Kampmann
Ellenberger is of course the guy that keeps on coming. Kampmann also keeps moving forward as well. Both fighters have more than 40 fights combined and only 9 wins via decision. These guys finish their fights.
Ellenberger is favored -210 at 5Dimes with Kampmann sitting at -175. Kampmann is going to get taken down, but if he can avoid the take downs, Kampmann is the better striker. Kampmann is not a bad bet here in the underdog position as he recently beat Thiago Alves with a surprise punch and guillotine combo that shocked everyone as he was losing the entire fight. That could happen again here IF Kampmann can stop the takedowns from Ellenberger. I’ve got Ellenberger winning.
Jonathan Brookins vs Charles Oliveira
Jonathan Brookins always in good in the top game as well as the wrestling department. He has a good fight IQ, but is not a great finisher. Oliveira is good on the feet and on the ground (although hes been beat there before). Oliveira has been up and down in the past, but possesses incredible all around skills.
I’ve got Oliveira winning.
Justin Lawrence vs John Cofer
Justin Lawrence is an interesting talent. He’s like an American Denis Siver. I think Lawrence is going to win.
Myles Jury vs Chris Saunders
Another good fight.
Daron Cruickshank vs Chris Tickle
Tickle is tough, while Cruickshank is skilled. I think Cruickshank is going to showcase is striking skills in this coming out party of a fight. Tickle is a brawler with mediocre at best ground skills. However, he packs heat with his punches and Cruickshank doesn’t protect his chin well. However, like I said previously, I think Cruickshank will win.
Cristiano Marcello vs Sam Sicilia
Marcello possesses terrible standing game, while Sicilia has poor ground game. If Marcello can’t get this fight to the ground Sicilia is going to win. If this hits the ground, Marcello will win in short fashion.
We’ve got two quarter final match ups today so let’s jump right in. From Coach Dominick Cruz’ team we have Vinc Pichel taking on Coach Urijah Faber’s Chris Saunders. After that, Team Faber teammates Al Iaquinta and Andy Ogle lock up. At the end of the episode, injured Cruz’ replacement to face Faber at UFC 148 for the interim bantamweight title will also be announced.
We’ve got two quarter final match ups today so let’s jump right in. From Coach Dominick Cruz’ team we have Vinc Pichel taking on Coach Urijah Faber’s Chris Saunders. After that, Team Faber teammates Al Iaquinta and Andy Ogle lock up. At the end of the episode, injured Cruz’ replacement to face Faber at UFC 148 for the interim bantamweight title will also be announced.
Vinc Pichel vs. Chris Saunders
Rd 1
Both men exchange leg kicks, no major punches landed. Pichel presses in on Saunders and looks for a double leg takedown against the cage. Saunders reverses position and looks for his own takedown against the fence.
Saunders gets the takedown and ends up in Pichel’s full guard. Both men throw strikes at one another from there for about a minute before Pichel is able to get back to his feet and in a free standing range.
Pichel finds his range with a jab and a cross, moving forward, and shoots in for another double leg attempt against the cage. He doesn’t get it and the two stay against the fence for a few moments, exchanging knees and elbows.
Pichel goes for another takedown, appears to get it but Saunders hits a switch and momentarily lands on the side of a turtle up Pichel, raining down punches. Pichel gets up to his feet. Pichel lands another jab-cross combination and Saunders returns fire with a left hook.
With ten seconds left, Saunders presses Pichel against the cage and works for another takedown. Pichel defends and lands an elbow to the head from the clinch right before the horn sounds.
Rd 2
Pichel follows up another straight right with by pushing Saunders against the cage and looking for a double leg. They fight there for some time before Pichel pulls Saunders down to the ground. Saunders pops back up immediately and gets, first, to the side and then to the back of Pichel but Pichel stands back up.
Saunders keeps his grip around the waist of Pichel while they are on their feet as Pichel tries to break free. Pichel’s nose is bloodied. Saunders attempts a suplex but Pichel lands on his feet.
Saunders gives up on the grip and they are back to a free standing position. Saunders shoots for a single leg takedown and does not get it. They break and Pichel goes on the attack.
He lands a right cross then left knee to the head. Pichel has Saunders reeling, but still composed, as he works knee after knee into his gut. Pichel changes levels and gets a double leg takedown with a minute and a half left in the round. Saunders gets back to his feet thirty seconds later but is immediately pulled back down.
Saunders reverses position and gets on top of Pichel, then jumps to his back. Pichel is on his feet but bent over, defending chokes from Saunders. Eventually Pichel is able to turn in to Saunders and begin work from inside his full guard. Saunders gets back up to his feet.
Pichel doesn’t slow his attack at all and he ends the round landing a cross, left hook and knees to the body.
Decision time!
Pichel wins by majority decision. Two judges saw it his way and one judge scored it a draw.
An elated Pichel gives Saunders credit in his post-fight interview with Jon Anik. “You go in here thinking, ‘I’m just going to whoop his ass,’…but it was definitely a battle.”
Back to the tape, we see how Coach Faber dealt with having two of his teammates prepare to fight one another. He tells All Iaqunita that on the day of the fight he will randomly assign assistant coaches to his corner to avoid it being “weird.” Faber also announces that he is going to stay out of the coaching.
Ogle’s plan against Al is to stick and move and Iaquinta is confident that he is the hardest working guy on the show, and that will make the difference. Time to get it on.
Fight Time!
Al Iaquinta vs. Andy Ogle
Rd. 1
Both men cautiously measure each other out, with spurts of glancing punch combinations and low kicks for about a minute and a half. Iaquinta then lands a high kick and follows up with a punch combo to the head of Ogle.
Ogle becomes more aggressive but Al finds a regular mark with rear leg low kicks. Ogle lands an overhand right. Al stalks Ogle around the cage.
Al lands an uppercut and then a rear push kick. In another exchange, Al lands a right uppercut followed by a left hook to the head. Ogle gets back at All with a left upper cut, overhand right combination.
Ogle gets dropped hard by a punch with under a minute left but survives the follow-up ground striking and gets back to his feet. Its clear he doesn’t have his legs under him yet, though, and when Al hits him again, this time with a nasty elbow, he drops even harder. Al follows up with a couple ground strikes before Referee Steve Mazzagatti can get to him to stop the fight with just seconds left in the round.
Al moves on to the semi-finals. The usual outburst of cheering is absent out of respect and worry for Ogle’s safety from he and Al’s Team Faber teammates.
Next week’s matchups plus the announcement of Faber’s opponent are next!
The first semi-final matchup will be James Vick vs. Mike ChiesaAl and Pichel will also square up.
And for the interim bantamweight title belt, Urijah Faber will face…cut to highlight film of Renan Barao. The highlight is scary, showing Barao knocking out and submitting fools, but when they cut back to Faber he is laughing.
I doubt it’s at Barao, but that was just good timing. Dana White apologizes to Faber, presumably for not telling him earlier who he would be fighting, saying that they didn’t want the news to leak out. Barao enters the gym.
The two square up and the injured Cruz has to watch all this shit, inches away. He can’t be happy. Dana asks him if he’s alright as the show fades out.
If Team Cruz’ Sam Sicilia was freaking out over the pressure of being a #2 pick, it may have intensified this week as he was set to face the last pick overall, Chris Saunders. At least Sam had an extra world champion along to help him prepare.
Dominick Cruz brought in Strikeforce 135 pound champion Ronda Rousey to the UFC training center to teach his team some of her devastating Judo techniques. Ronda admits to being nervous about going in to teach the guys but they all seem receptive, as they should be, to learning from the champ – even though she’s a girl.
Oh yeah, Chris Tickle says that Ronda damn near broke his ribs while demonstrating a throw on him. The chick is rough, for sure.
Dana White allows the fighters to watch Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans at the TUF mansion and Ronda joins them. Once more, her nervousness proves unfounded.
“There are going to be a lot of guys to fend off at once,” she laughs while being hot.
If Team Cruz’ Sam Sicilia was freaking out over the pressure of being a #2 pick, it may have intensified this week as he was set to face the last pick overall, Chris Saunders. At least Sam had an extra world champion along to help him prepare.
Dominick Cruz brought in Strikeforce 135 pound champion Ronda Rousey to the UFC training center to teach his team some of her devastating Judo techniques. Ronda admits to being nervous about going in to teach the guys but they all seem receptive, as they should be, to learning from the champ – even though she’s a girl.
Oh yeah, Chris Tickle says that Ronda damn near broke his ribs while demonstrating a throw on him. The chick is rough, for sure.
Dana White allows the fighters to watch Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans at the TUF mansion and Ronda joins them. Once more, her nervousness proves unfounded.
“There are going to be a lot of guys to fend off at once,” she laughs while being hot.
Except the guys seem way too intimidated by her presence after months away from companions and society and no one sits near Rousey or even sparks up conversation with her. Hell, they don’t even answer her when she asks what they are cooking.
Mike Chiesa says that he isn’t “too” intimidated by Ronda and that he would have totally sat next to her, except he already had a comfy seat. Ok.
Cruz is surprised that no one talked with Ronda. Urijah “The California Player” Faber is more succinct.
“These guys kinda blew it,” Faber says.
Back at Team Faber’s practice, we learn that Chris Saunders idolizes Faber. That’s why he nicknamed himself the “SoCal Kid.” Faber doesn’t get what all the fuss is about but says he continues to be impressed by Saunders.
Dumb Pranks
At the house, Tickle is up to pranks again. He put saran wrap on the faucet…because that will show them.
There is some anxiety, however, among some of the fighters that pranks will get out of control as they have in past seasons. Cruickshank hopes that no one will “poop” on his pillow. Mike Rio says that he’ll fight anyone who messes with his long locks.
We learn more about Chris – how he had a rough childhood without the presence of either parents. Sam talks about recommitting himself to MMA. Last year he fought eleven times. Dang.
Dumb pranks, again
So, Urijah Faber tells members of his team to take off their clothes (save for their underwear), oil one another up and then workout in Team Cruz’ locker room.
And they do it. This is supposed to show Cruz.
We can’t really explain how strange the scene was, or why it happened. But be thankful that you are reading this instead of watching. You know, unless the thought of these guys with even less clothing on than usual, oiled up and sweating and engaging in (for reals) water squirting fights, Zoolander style, appeals to you. In which case (and there’s nothing wrong with that), jackpot homie. Get your slow motion and rewind remote buttons warmed up.
“Basically we wanted to violate Team Cruz’ space,” Faber “explains.”
Well, he definitely violated the American viewer. Cruz is probably right when he mocks Faber. “’I’m Urijah Faber and I want to be on camera with my shirt off.’”
Weigh in Time
Both Sam and Chris come in at 155lbs exactly. Time to lock ‘em up.
Fight Time!
Rd 1
Sam comes out swinging with power, backs up Saunders on the cage. Sam lands a couple knees to the body from the clinch with both underhooks in but Saunders lands more knees from body there while also preventing the takedown.
They break, Sam connects partially with a couple of big hooks. Saunders gets the takedown against the fence. Sam is up to his feet quickly.
More action in the clinch, with Saunders landing body knees over and over with double over hooks. Sam briefly gets a takedown but Chris is up to his feet fast.
Saunders lands a shin on Sam’s head flush and appears to knock him out as Sicilia drops face first on to the mat. The ground wakes him up and he scrambles back towards Chris.
Chris smells blood and unloads on Sam with kicks to the body and legs, punches and elbows. Sam keeps coming forward like a cyborg and swings back hard, getting a couple brief takedowns before the horn sounds.
Close round, Chris had to have clinched it with his knocking Sam the fuck out before the Italian stallion came back to life.
Rd 2
Sam pushes the pace from the onset and lands a number of monster hooks to the head. Chris takes Sam’s back on the feet and takes him down but Sam is up instantly. Sam lands huge body knees.
Sam gets a single-leg takedown on Chris but Chris hits a switch and puts Sam on his back. Chris hits him with a knee to the body on the ground then takes Sam’s back. Sam turns in and ends up in Chris’ guard.
Sam is up and still raging. He lands a big knee to Chris’ chin, followed by a left hook. Chris answers with his own uppercut, left hook combo but Sam counters that with a left hook that drops Chris on his ass!
Chris gets back to his feet and Sam works for a choke. Chris escapes and is in Sam’s full guard. Chris throws slow elbows and punches but stays active.
Chris works to pass, gets into half guard then take’s Sam’s back. Sam turns in and puts Chris on his own back. Chris stands up and Sam goes on the attack, landing two overhand rights and a knee to Chris’ chin.
The horn sounds just after Chris lands his own knee then right, left hook combo to Sam’s head.
Best fight yet of the season. You have to imagine that Sam took round two by dropping Chris and that we will head to a sudden-death round.
Nope. The judges render a split decision in favor of Chris.
Wow.
Next week’s fight is set by process of elimination. Ogle and Rio will get it on.
