Tag: Shane Carwin

‘The Ultimate Fighter 16? Preview: A Whole Lot More of What You Hate [VIDEO]

If you asked a longtime UFC fan what he — or she! — thinks of The Ultimate Fighter, they would likely tell you that the series has gotten stale. (Damn, have we really been complaining about this for over three years now? Time flies when you’re bitching.) It’s not that we won’t tune in to watch up-and-coming fighters slug it out for a spot in the UFC — although that Friday night time-slot is still a pain in the ass — but all the “house drama” officially got old around the Junie Browning era, and highlighting the contestants’ dumb frat-boy behavior makes the sport look worse.

So it’s unfortunate when you watch this new teaser for “Ultimate Fighter Fridays” (known to regular folk as TUF 16), and you realize that the show is actually doubling down on the stupid. Let’s run through the checklist…

– A dude getting up in another dude’s face in the kitchen. (check)

– A prank involving flour. (check)

– A prank involving a bed being moved outdoors. (check)

– An idiotic piece of trash-talk, made worse due to silly delivery. (“You got more stories than Dr. Seuss, ho-mee.” –> check)

If you asked a longtime UFC fan what he — or she! — thinks of The Ultimate Fighter, they would likely tell you that the series has gotten stale. (Damn, have we really been complaining about this for over three years now? Time flies when you’re bitching.) It’s not that we won’t tune in to watch up-and-coming fighters slug it out for a spot in the UFC — although that Friday night time-slot is still a pain in the ass — but all the “house drama” officially got old around the Junie Browning era, and highlighting the contestants’ dumb frat-boy behavior makes the sport look worse.

So it’s unfortunate when you watch this new teaser for “Ultimate Fighter Fridays” (known to regular folk as TUF 16), and you realize that the show is actually doubling down on the stupid. Let’s run through the checklist…

– A dude getting up in another dude’s face in the kitchen. (check)

– A prank involving flour. (check)

– A prank involving a bed being moved outdoors. (check)

– An idiotic piece of trash-talk, made worse due to silly delivery. (“You got more stories than Dr. Seuss, ho-mee.” –> check)

– An obviously intoxicated dude trying to destroy the house. (check)

– At least one dyed mohawk. (check, see above)

– Dana White unable to believe what he’s hearing/seeing. (check)

Meanwhile, footage of coaches Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin is kept to a minimum, except for brief moments when Roy is swearing and Shane is telling one of his fighters to “BREAK IT!” — in other words, the moments that make two of the UFC’s brightest heavyweights look like meatheads. So either this is the most lunkheaded season of TUF yet, or FX thinks that making their show look like a Jackass out-take reel will help them bounce back. Whatever. Let me know who wins, I guess.

TUF: Breaking Down the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Coaches

The Ultimate Fighter will be coached by Shane Carwin and Roy Nelson this season, which will end in a fight between the two rivals at the finale.Both men have been vocal about their displeasure of one another. Whether it has been through Twitter or thro…

The Ultimate Fighter will be coached by Shane Carwin and Roy Nelson this season, which will end in a fight between the two rivals at the finale.

Both men have been vocal about their displeasure of one another. Whether it has been through Twitter or through MMA media, it is obvious that neither man is fond of one another.

Here are the strengths and weaknesses of both Shane Carwin and Roy Nelson.

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‘The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson’ Fighter Roster Released

(This is your promo, for real? It’s like the UFC gives even less of a fuck than we do at this point.)

FX has released the list of 32 welterweights who will be competing on the 16th season of The Ultimate Fighter, which debuts on Friday, September 14th, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. You can check out the names after the jump, though not a lot of these guys jump out, besides Bristol Marunde, who lost to Jacare Souza in Strikeforce earlier this year. On the other hand, we do have at least one terrible nickname, and one terrible actual name.

The premiere of “Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson” will be a two-hour elimination episode, in which the 32 TUF hopefuls are immediately cut down to 16, who will then be divvy’d up by coaches Shane Carwin and Roy Nelson (a former TUF winner himself). From the press release: “Carwin and Nelson are two guys who just can’t stand each other and Roy and I haven’t exactly seen eye to eye either — he’s been a nightmare for me to work with on this show with all his stupid BS,” said UFC president Dana White. Oh God, Dana. Please tell me you didn’t eat the special sushi.

Carwin and Nelson will fight each other at the show’s live finale on Saturday, December 15th, on FX.


(This is your promo, for real? It’s like the UFC gives even less of a fuck than we do at this point.)

FX has released the list of 32 welterweights who will be competing on the 16th season of The Ultimate Fighter, which debuts on Friday, September 14th, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. You can check out the names after the jump, though not a lot of these guys jump out, besides Bristol Marunde, who lost to Jacare Souza in Strikeforce earlier this year. On the other hand, we do have at least one terrible nickname, and one terrible actual name.

The premiere of “Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson” will be a two-hour elimination episode, in which the 32 TUF hopefuls are immediately cut down to 16, who will then be divvy’d up by coaches Shane Carwin and Roy Nelson (a former TUF winner himself). From the press release: “Carwin and Nelson are two guys who just can’t stand each other and Roy and I haven’t exactly seen eye to eye either — he’s been a nightmare for me to work with on this show with all his stupid BS,” said UFC president Dana White. Oh God, Dana. Please tell me you didn’t eat the special sushi.

Carwin and Nelson will fight each other at the show’s live finale on Saturday, December 15th, on FX.

Bristol Marunde, 30, Las Vegas, Nev.
Cameron Diffley, 27, Las Vegas, Nev.
Colton Smith, 25, Fort Hood, Texas via Ankeny, Iowa
Cortez Coleman, 30, Hugo, Okla.
David Michaud, 23, Pine Ridge, S.D.
Diego Bautista, 26, Lakewood, Calif.
Dom Waters, 23, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Eddy Ellis, 29, Olympia, Wash.,
Frank Camacho, 23, Camp Springs, Md.,
George Lockhart, 29, Atlanta, Ga.
Igor Araujo, 31, Albuquerque, N.M. via Patos De Minas, Brazil
James Chaney, 25, Klamath Falls, Ore.
Jason South, 34, West Jordan, Utah
Jerel Clark, 23, Reno, Nev.
Jesse Barrett, 26, Tempe, Ariz.
Joey Rivera, 32, Tucson, Ariz.
Jon Manley, 26, Ludlow, Mass.
Julian Lane, 25, Mansfield, Ohio
Kevin Nowaczyk, 23, Chicago, Ill.
Leo Kuntz, 28, Bismarck, N.D.
Lev Magen, 25, Las Vegas, Nev.
Matt Secor, 25, South Glens Falls, N.Y.
Max Griffin, 26, Sacramento, Calif.
Michael Hill, 25, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Mike Ricci, 26, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Neil Magny, 24, Chicago, Ill.
Nic Herron-Webb, 22, Anchorage, Alaska
Ricky Legere Jr., 26, Corona, Calif.
Saad Awad, 23, San Bernardino, Calif.
Sam Alvey, 26, Murrieta, Calif.
Tim Ruberg, 30, Harrison, Ohio
Zane Kamaka, 23, Klaianae, Hawaii

5 MMA Fighters Whose Talents Will Help on a Deserted Island

With the recent cancellation of UFC 151 and the residual onslaught of finger pointing by media and management alike, I felt that a lighthearted article was due.The summer is coming to a close and if you are not blessed to live in Southern California, y…

With the recent cancellation of UFC 151 and the residual onslaught of finger pointing by media and management alike, I felt that a lighthearted article was due.

The summer is coming to a close and if you are not blessed to live in Southern California, you may dread the upcoming months when the temperatures begin to plummet and the snow begins to fall.

Dreaming of a deserted island as a mental escape is one way to cope with the freezing temperatures, the gusty winds, the sour moods and the desperate hope for spring.

Honestly, on a deserted island, I would not last three days.

I do not possess the survival skills of Bear Grylls, nor do I have the mechanical know-how to engineer housing, or create an effective weapon for protection, or how to hunt, or what, if anything, is a substitute for toilet paper in the wild.

I would obviously need some help.

Scouring the MMA talent, being deserted on an island with these five fighters would definitely increase my chance of survival.

First, I will need someone to build housing

Secondly, a fighter who knows how to hunt is essential.

Third, someone to serve as protection if I am converted from predator to prey.

Fourth, a source for morale.

And lastly, the intangible. The fighter just in case.

These are the top five fighters I would choose to be stranded on an island with based on their individual skill sets and talents outside of the Octagon.

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TUF 16: Who Will Snap on Roy Nelson First, Dana or Carwin?

The forthcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter promises to be the most intriguing series in years. It will pit one of the UFC’s most-hated fighters, Roy “Big Country” Nelson, against the former interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwi…

The forthcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter promises to be the most intriguing series in years. It will pit one of the UFC’s most-hated fighters, Roy “Big Country” Nelson, against the former interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin.

The two heavyweights have had a personal rivalry percolating over the past year, but they may not be the only source of fireworks. Dana White himself has made no secret of his distaste for Nelson and early indications show that he’s already set to snap on the Nevada native.

As MMA Junkie reported back at the start of the month:

“The first day, as soon as we start filming, he starts shooting his mouth off and saying dumb [expletive],” White said.

White has been butting heads with “Big Country” since way back in 2009 when Nelson, much to the UFC president’s annoyance, won the TUF Heavyweights season. Back then White said: 

“Roy Nelson is a moron. Interview him sometime, you’ll find out. Roy Nelson is an idiot, he’s a complete [expletive].”

And the invectives didn’t stop despite Nelson making a successful UFC debut against Stefan Struve. After losing to Frank Mir in 2011, White said of “Big Country”: 

“People talk about him making 205—listen, that would be a huge life change and a tough thing for him to do, how about 240? Let’s make 240, Roy. The fat thing was funny for a while, it’s not funny anymore. It’s not funny when you’re the co-main event in a big fight like that and the fight looks the way that it did tonight.”

Clearly one of White’s biggest problems is that Nelson is difficult for the promotion to market, and the fighter isn’t afraid of rubbing that fact in his bosses’ face. Since graduating from TUF, “Big Country” has gone on to style his hair into a mullet and often appears at fight night with a grotesque beard.

Considering this history between White and Nelson, it’s not hard to imagine that tensions would appear between the two from the first day of filming.

But the question is who hates Nelson more, the UFC president, or his opposite number on TUF 16, Shane Carwin?

Nelson is perhaps the most vocal anti-steroids protesters in the UFC and has been quick to jump on the fact that Carwin’s name appeared on a list of customers held by a busted steroids manufacturer.

When it was announced that Nelson and Carwin would be opposing coaches on TUF this summer, “Big Country” was quick to bring up Carwin’s alleged steroid use. 

“Why wait tell December we can see if we can get on (UFC 151). Is this enough time to cycle off?” said Nelson – referring to the time it takes to test clean after a steroid cycle.

However, Nelson’s actions in the run-up to the show must have incensed both White and Carwin in equal measure. 

His early choices for assistant coaches included Kurt Angle (another man linked to the same steroid bust as Carwin), former Strikeforce champ Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (who tested positive for steroids earlier in the year), and convicted steroid dealer turned anti-steroid advocate Victor Conte.

None of these men will be allowed to appear on TV.

It almost seems as though Nelson is trying to get fired from the promotion. During the filming of the show, he sent a Tweet criticizing White’s stance on testosterone-replacement-therapy, which some people consider as unfair steroid use. 

“The Juice is good @Danawhite says so as long as you don’t over do it Retweet @ufc . Now I know why Overeem is OK NOW! I feel like some OJ.”

It’s clear that “Big Country” has a big mouth and he’s not afraid to be vocal on the most controversial topics. He’s made it his mission to rub both White and Carwin up the wrong way and it’s likely that both will snap on him by the time the season is over.

The first episode airs on FX on Sept. 14.

 

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Don’t Worry, We Can Look Forward to Plenty of Bickering on This Season of TUF


(Dana White only has three looks: The “Life is Good”, The “Bouncer”, and the “Fuck You and the Horse You Crushed With Your Obesity”, displayed here.) 

If there of any of you left who haven’t grown tired of the, for lack of a better word, tiresome formula that The Ultimate Fighter has devolved into over the years, which is to say, fighters argue–>training montage–>coaches argue–>fighters argue–>actual fight, then boy do we have good news for you. Not only are you going to be treated to the verbal back-and-forth of one Roy Nelson and one Shane Carwin throughout the season, you are more than likely going to see “Big Country” and UFC President Dana White at each others throats as well, as both men have basically been taking a fat steaming dump on the others chests via various MMA media outlets lately. Metaphorically, of course.

TUF 16, which is set to debut on September 14th on FX (yep, that’s a Friday), will showcase 32 welterweights attempting to battle their way to the next interim championship of the world, but it seems the real firefight will be between Nelson and White, who just can’t seem to get along on anything. Take for instance, the TUF 10 winner’s recent interview with MMAJunkie, where he basically calls Dana a lying wannabe fighter:

[The onset tension is] probably because he wants to be a fighter, and he’s not. I think we were talking about coaching or something like that, and [White’s] not a coach. There’s an understanding of being a fighter, and I don’t think he understands. 

I’m always at the back of the bus when it comes to the UFC. I’m just trying to further MMA to the next level, hold journalism up to higher standards, holding fights to higher standards, holding promotions to higher standards, holding athletic commissions to higher standards, and even holding the fans to higher standards. 

You never know with Dana. Dana will tell you guys one thing, and then five minutes later tell you another. Last week, ‘Shogun’ and Brandon Vera were fighting for the title, and now all of the sudden, Machida and Ryan Bader are, too. Next thing you know, he’s going to say Randy Couture gets the next title shot when he comes back.


(Dana White only has three looks: The “Life is Good”, The “Bouncer”, and the “Fuck You and the Horse You Crushed With Your Obesity”, displayed here.) 

If there of any of you left who haven’t grown tired of the, for lack of a better word, tiresome formula that The Ultimate Fighter has devolved into over the years, which is to say, fighters argue–>training montage–>coaches argue–>fighters argue–>actual fight, then boy do we have good news for you. Not only are you going to be treated to the verbal back-and-forth of one Roy Nelson and one Shane Carwin throughout the season, you are more than likely going to see “Big Country” and UFC President Dana White at each others throats as well, as both men have basically been taking a fat steaming dump on the others chests via various MMA media outlets lately. Metaphorically, of course.

TUF 16, which is set to debut on September 14th on FX (yep, that’s a Friday), will showcase 32 welterweights attempting to battle their way to the next interim championship of the world, but it seems the real firefight will be between Nelson and White, who just can’t seem to get along on anything. Take for instance, the TUF 10 winner’s recent interview with MMAJunkie, where he basically calls Dana a lying wannabe fighter:

[The onset tension is] probably because he wants to be a fighter, and he’s not. I think we were talking about coaching or something like that, and [White’s] not a coach. There’s an understanding of being a fighter, and I don’t think he understands. 

I’m always at the back of the bus when it comes to the UFC. I’m just trying to further MMA to the next level, hold journalism up to higher standards, holding fights to higher standards, holding promotions to higher standards, holding athletic commissions to higher standards, and even holding the fans to higher standards. 

You never know with Dana. Dana will tell you guys one thing, and then five minutes later tell you another. Last week, ‘Shogun’ and Brandon Vera were fighting for the title, and now all of the sudden, Machida and Ryan Bader are, too. Next thing you know, he’s going to say Randy Couture gets the next title shot when he comes back.

Woah, woah, there Roy, put on the brakes for a second. Now, where some of what you are saying undoubtedly rings true (because Couture did fight for the title when he came back last time, remember?), we fail to see how really any aspect of your career falls into the “higher standards” you are describing. Aren’t you the guy who refuses to lose the weight he clearly should because of a stupid gimmick? The guy who was only willing to consider it if you got a bunch of friend requests of Facebook? Making fun of your boss to his face is something that not many of us are able to do, so please spare us the vague justification for doing so and just admit that you and Dana don’t get along.

And besides, White’s problems with Nelson, not unlike his problems with Jason Miller, seem to come out of his desire to see fighters take their living seriously (at least in my opinion). Nelson’s belly rubbing, Burger King-eating antics don’t really come across as that, no matter how good or entertaining of a fighter he is. But aside from the constant stream of ham wrapped donuts and mayonnaise going into Nelson’s mouth, it is apparently the stuff coming out of it that really irks The Baldfather, who lamented his issues with Nelson following the UFC 150 post-fight press conference:

Him saying sh*t like that goes along with what I said about the stupid sh*t that comes out of this guy’s mouth. The difference is I have to hear it three days a week. When he fights randomly three times a year, I have to hear it in small spurts. Now I’ve got to listen to dumb sh*t three days a week.

Do you think that going into this that I didn’t think Roy Nelson was going to annoy the sh*t out of me? I mean, that’s what he does – he’s annoying. He’s annoying, and the stuff that comes out of his mouth makes no sense. He’s Roy Nelson, that’s why. 

Understandable, Dana, but this only leads us to ask once more why the UFC decided upon the Nelson/Carwin pairing over the Griffin/Bonnar pairing for this season, especially considering that way more people would appear to be interested in the latter matchup. Or is this drama simply being fabricated in order to hype us up for another season of fabricated drama? Is this season a reality show inside another reality show? If a fighter loses this season, does he end up in limbo? Hold on, my nose is bleeding again.

In either case, let’s just hope that the shenanigans of Pat Barry can help elevate this season from the stagnant pond water that was TUF Live. Tune in on September 14th to find out. Or don’t, we don’t care.

–J. Jones