(Don’t worry, Julian, at least this moment was not forever immortalized by the power of the internet. That would be *super* embarrassing.)
If BG’s recaps are any indication, this season’s The Ultimate Fighter appears to be void of most of the fabricated, frat boy drama that has plagued countless seasons before it, opting rather for a more straightforward, yet stylistic focus on the fights themselves. And while TUF has undoubtedly matured after some 17 seasons, that isn’t to say that the show has completely rid itself of the kind of unsightly characters reality television oft shines a light on. This season’s Julian Lane is none other than Robert “Bubba” McDaniel, a relentless a-hole who thus far has both bashed teammate Gilbert Smith for being mentally weak the day before he was scheduled to fight and unsuccessfully attempted to troll Kevin Casey into a fight using tactics usually saved for elementary school playgrounds (or the comments section of BloodyElbow).
So while a few of us were discussing McDaniel’s douchiness in the comments section of our latest recap, we (we being ReX) got to thinking: Who was the least likable fighter in TUF History?
After the jump lies a poll with the most obvious offenders (Browning, Lane, Koscheck the participant, Koscheck the coach, etc.) for you to choose from, along with an “Other” option in case you feeling like calling out some of the lesser-known but equally offensive jackwagons to enter the TUF household. I cannot stress enough that I have never entered the TUF household. I’ll announce the results at some point tomorrow, because I do what I want, when I want. OK, you can include me as an option for that statement alone.
RESULTS
With 33.9% of the vote, TUF 8 alum and terrorizer of Taiwanese townspeople Junie Browning shall henceforth be known as the most reprehensible scoundrel in the long line of reprehensible scoundrels to have paraded through the halls of TUF manor.
In a distant second place, none other than TUF 16′s Julian Lane with 25% of the votes, which just edged out the combination of coach/participant Josh Koscheck (24.9%).
In the “Other” category, TUF 1‘s Bobby Southworth collected 14 of 95 votes, somewhat ironically edging out “fatherless bastard” (his words, not mine) Chris Leben, who took in 10 votes. And to the scholar who wrote-in TUF 7′s Luke Zachrich for the sake of obscurity, congratulations. Game recognizes game.
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Sad Knockout of the Day: Gabe Ruediger Destroyed by Jason Ellis in Celebrity Boxing Match
(Props: 69hailey via CP reader Aaron B.)
When a delusional wannabe-fighter like Jose Canseco gets wrecked in a celebrity boxing match, it comes as no surprise to anybody. But when it happens to an actual former UFC fighter like Gabe Ruediger? I mean, how do you explain that? Sure, Gabe wasn’t exactly a successful UFC fighter — and radio host/author/adventurer Jason Ellis is a tough S.O.B. who knows how to throw them hands — but when the two met in a boxing exhibition at Ellismania 8 in Las Vegas last month, you’d assume that Ruediger would be the favorite. Instead, he got knocked out cold at the end of the round two. The fact that Gabe wore a t-shirt into the ring suggests that he might not have taken his training camp as seriously as he should have.
And yes, that’s Jason “Mayhem” Miller shouting on the mic; a few weeks later, he would be begging Dana White to kill himself. If only we could have held onto that moment, when Miller seemed happy, a packed arena was cheering Gabe Ruediger’s latest sad defeat, and everything seemed right with the world.
(Props: 69hailey via CP reader Aaron B.)
When a delusional wannabe-fighter like Jose Canseco gets wrecked in a celebrity boxing match, it comes as no surprise to anybody. But when it happens to an actual former UFC fighter like Gabe Ruediger? I mean, how do you explain that? Sure, Gabe wasn’t exactly a successful UFC fighter — and radio host/author/adventurer Jason Ellis is a tough S.O.B. who knows how to throw them hands — but when the two met in a boxing exhibition at Ellismania 8 in Las Vegas last month, you’d assume that Ruediger would be the favorite. Instead, he got knocked out cold at the end of the round two. The fact that Gabe wore a t-shirt into the ring suggests that he might not have taken his training camp as seriously as he should have.
And yes, that’s Jason “Mayhem” Miller shouting on the mic; a few weeks later, he would be begging Dana White to kill himself. If only we could have held onto that moment, when Miller seemed happy, a packed arena was cheering Gabe Ruediger’s latest sad defeat, and everything seemed right with the world.
The 15 Greatest Knockouts in ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ History
(No, no, not THAT kind of ultimate fighter.)
Seven years. Fifteen seasons. The Ultimate Fighter has been a part of our lives for nearly a decade, ladies and gentlemen, and not only is it still going strong, but it has spread at the rate of your average zombie apocalypse. With the first international installment of the hit reality show already under way, TUF has seemingly evolved beyond its counterparts, transcending even that of the sport in it’s ability to excite, and often inspire its audience. Sure, the next season of Jersey Shore will feature a piss drunk pregnant woman and a possible probable cokehead and will therefore rule the ratings from here to eternity, but The Ultimate Fighter has something better to bring to the table than fabricated drama. Mainly, sweet ass knockouts.
Seven years of sweet ass knockouts, to be precise. That’s the entire length of Tommy Callahan’s college career.
With these knockouts, we’ve seen underdogs pull off upsets, loudmouths get their comeuppance, and the emergence of future superstars. So in honor of what has already been a KO-ridden season of TUF, we decided to watch every season back to back, and determine the BEST knockout from its respective season. Enjoy.
(No, no, not THAT kind of ultimate fighter.)
Seven years. Fifteen seasons. The Ultimate Fighter has been a part of our lives for nearly a decade, ladies and gentlemen, and not only is it still going strong, but it has spread at the rate of your average zombie apocalypse. With the first international installment of the hit reality show already under way, TUF has seemingly evolved beyond its counterparts, transcending even that of the sport in it’s ability to excite, and often inspire its audience. Sure, the next season of Jersey Shore will feature a piss drunk pregnant woman and a possible probable cokehead and will therefore rule the ratings from here to eternity, but The Ultimate Fighter has something better to bring to the table than fabricated drama. Mainly, sweet ass knockouts.
Seven years of sweet ass knockouts, to be precise. That’s the entire length of Tommy Callahan’s college career.
With these knockouts, we’ve seen underdogs pull off upsets, loudmouths get their comeuppance, and the emergence of future superstars. So in honor of what has already been a KO-ridden season of TUF, we decided to watch every season back to back, and determine the BEST knockout from its respective season. Enjoy.
Season 15 – James Vick vs. Daron Cruickshank
We imagine many of you would prefer to have Justin Lawrence’s KO of Christiano Marcello snag the top spot for this year’s brief (albeit brutal) list of knockouts. But the simple matter is, James Vick’s sorta-knee-sorta-kick knockout of Daron Cruickshank earns its place for a multitude of reasons, the first being how unexpected it was. Not many of us had picked Vick to come out victorious after seeing how diverse a striking attack Cruickshank showcased in his preliminary match. Add to that the first couple minutes of the fight, which were completely controlled by said diverse striking attack, and Cruickshank seemed all but destined to advance. Then he got cocky, went for a takedown, and was promptly knocked the fuck out.
These are the costs of hubris.
Season 14 – Diego Brandao vs. Jesse Newell
Diego Brandao blew through TUF 14 in more devastating fashion than the monsoon that wrecked the set of Apocalypse Now. The main problem we had when deciding upon last season’s top KO wasn’t figuring out who deserved it, but rather which one of Brandao’s deserved it. Was it his steamrolling of Steve Siler? Or maybe his beatdown of Bryan Caraway? The correct answer was actually his flying forearm KO of that poor albino bastard Jesse Newell in episode 1. Our reasoning; it was eerily reminiscent of Dan Henderson’s “‘Amurica” KO of Michael Bisping at UFC 100, something that opposing coach Jason “Mayhem” Miller couldn’t help but notice himself. And anything that makes us recall perhaps the single most glorious moment in MMA history will always gets its just deserves here at CP.
Taylor Out of 138 Bout with Njokuani, Diabate/Perosh Bumped to Main Card
(At least there will always be this to tide us over.)
Bad news for any of you Brits out there planning on attending UFC 138 (because, let’s be honest, you will be the only ones doing so.) Word has it that Paul Taylor has suffered minor whiplash as a result of a recent rear-end collision he was involved in and will not be competing in his main card lightweight clash with Anthony Njokuani.
As you may or may not remember, this is not the first time Taylor has been forced to pull out of a fight at the last minute. Back at UFC 112, he was deemed medically unfit to compete just days before his bout with John Gunderson after suffering a severe migraine as a result of his weight cut. This marks the third total fight in Taylor’s UFC career that he has withdrawn from as a result of injury. One more, and he will be entering James Irvin territory, which is second only to Cabrini-Green in terms of places no one ever wants to find themself.
(At least there will always be this to tide us over.)
Bad news for any of you Brits out there planning on attending UFC 138 (because, let’s be honest, you will be the only ones doing so.) Word has it that Paul Taylor has suffered minor whiplash as a result of a recent rear-end collision he was involved in and will not be competing in his main card lightweight clash with Anthony Njokuani.
As you may or may not remember, this is not the first time Taylor has been forced to pull out of a fight at the last minute. Back at UFC 112, he was deemed medically unfit to compete just days before his bout with John Gunderson after suffering a severe migraine as a result of his weight cut. This marks the third total fight in Taylor’s UFC career that he has withdrawn from as a result of injury. One more, and he will be entering James Irvin territory, which is second only to Cabrini-Green in terms of places no one ever wants to find themself.
Taylor, who most recently shellacked UFC punching bag/Paris Hilton trainer Gabe Rudiger back at UFC 126, has gone 3-3 in his last 6 bouts, with all of those victories coming over now released fighters. Njokuani on the other hand, is coming off an impressive decision victory over TUF 9 finalist Andre Winner, but will now be forced to withdraw from the card due to a lack of a replaceable opponent.
Moving up to the main card as a result will be the light heavyweight bout between Australian submission specialist Anthony “Hippo” Perosh and French stiker Cyrille Diabate. After going 0-2 in his first UFC tour of duty, Perosh was called back to the big leagues at UFC 110, where he suffered a second round doctor stoppage loss to Mirko Cro Cop. Perosh was able to bounce back and earn his first UFC win at UFC 127 however, scoring a first round rear-naked choke over Tom Blackledge.
He is facing a tough test in Diabate, a lethal striker and PRIDE veteran who has gone 2-1 in his octagon career, scoring perhaps his most notable victory in his debut, where he knocked out Luis Cane in just over 2 minutes. After suffering a second round submission in his sophomore match to Alexander Gustafsson, “The Snake” will be looking to build on his most recent victory, a somewhat lackluster decision over Steve Cantwell at UFC on Versus 3.
UFC 138 is set to transpire on November 5th and will be broadcast live in the US on Spike.
-Danga
UFC 126 Undercard Predictions
Preliminary card Welterweight bout: Mike Pierce vs Kenny Robertson Mike Pierce is one of the most underknown and underappreciated welterweights. I’ve got Pierce winning this. Light Heavyweight bout: Kyle Kingsbury vs Ricardo Romero For whatever reason, Romero seems to pull out the victories at the end of the day. I lean towards Romero here in […]
Preliminary card
Welterweight bout: Mike Pierce vs Kenny Robertson
Mike Pierce is one of the most underknown and underappreciated welterweights. I’ve got Pierce winning this.
Light Heavyweight bout: Kyle Kingsbury vs Ricardo Romero
For whatever reason, Romero seems to pull out the victories at the end of the day. I lean towards Romero here in the underdog position.
Lightweight bout: Paul Taylor vs Gabe Ruediger
Taylor should eat Ruediger up as Ruediger is rather poor on his feet, but good on the ground and Taylor is excellent on the feet and mediocre on the ground. Taylor should win this fight via decision.
Preliminary card (Facebook Stream)
Bantamweight bout: Norifumi Yamamoto vs Demetrious Johnson
Kid Yamamoto against a guy I don’t know. I go with Yamamoto everytime.
Preliminary card (Spike TV)
Featherweight bout: Chad Mendes vs Michihiro Omigawa
I know Mendes is likely to win, but you can’t write off Omigawa so easily either. Mendes is -357 to Omigawa at Intertops. With crazy skewed odds I’ll go with Omigawa.
Lightweight bout: Donald Cerrone vs Paul Kelly
This is going to be a great fight. Kelly is tough as nails, Cerrone is as well. I don’t think Cerrone has faced someone as strong as Kelly yet. I think Kelly wears em down and takes the decision.
Main card
Bantamweight bout: Miguel Torres vs Antonio Banuelos
Miguell Torres is likely to win, but I’m avoiding this due to the odds being out of bounds.
Light Heavyweight bout: Jon Jones vs Ryan Bader
This is my favorite fight on the card. I got Jon Jones winning this fight. Intertops has it -357 for Jones and +240 for Bader.
Welterweight bout: Jake Ellenberger vs Carlos Eduardo Rocha
One of the best fighters to bet on is Ellenberger. However, this fight is tricky. Rocha is a absolute jiu-jitsu ace and has a ton of leg related sub victories. I’m passing here as I think Rocha could pull off an insane upset. However, the oddsmakers look like they are thinking like me and Ellenberger is not such a large favorite in this one.
The Cut List: Who Desperately Needs a Win at UFC 126?
Filed under: UFCAs former WEC fighters make their way into the UFC, it’s make-or-break time for some of the men who have just barely been clinging to roster spots.
If you’re a UFC lightweight with more losses than wins lately, you have to be looking …
Filed under: UFC
As former WEC fighters make their way into the UFC, it’s make-or-break time for some of the men who have just barely been clinging to roster spots.
If you’re a UFC lightweight with more losses than wins lately, you have to be looking over your shoulder and wondering how long you’ll have a job now that there’s suddenly a talent surplus in your division. If fighting in the UFC were like an office job, this is the point where you’d look up one morning and see a bunch of new hires standing around with cardboard boxes full of their stuff, sizing up your cubicle with their eyes.
Join me below as we take a look at the UFC 126 lineup and ask which fighters could find themselves out of work unless they can keep their place at the table with a victory on Saturday night.