Tag: The Ultimate Fighter

Watch: Chad Laprise Brutally KOs Teammate Kajan Johnson on TUF Nations

(The brutal knockout takes place at the 9:58 mark).
 
The Ultimate Fighter: Nations featured a nasty, bone-breaking knockout Wednesday evening, as Canadian teammates Chad Laprise and Kajan Johnson squared off in semifinals action. 
After each…

(The brutal knockout takes place at the 9:58 mark).

 

The Ultimate Fighter: Nations featured a nasty, bone-breaking knockout Wednesday evening, as Canadian teammates Chad Laprise and Kajan Johnson squared off in semifinals action. 

After each man won his opening-round fight in dominant fashion, the matchup between Laprise and Johnson was highly anticipated.

Fans felt they would be in for a treat; they got one. 

The two fighters spent the majority of two rounds engaging in a stand-up war. 

While Laprise seemed to have a better jab and a slight speed advantage, Johnson worked his kicks well, and he mixed things up by attempting a takedown in Round 1. Laprise shrugged it off, however, and the momentum seemed to swing back his way. 

In Round 2, Laprise continued to find his range, and he began to fish for a ferocious overhand right. He whiffed two or three times, but as Johnson moved in to attempt an attack of his own, Laprise threw another one, and it landed flush, sending Johnson face-first into the canvas. 

While Johnson’s limp body tumbling to the mat offered a scary sight for viewers, the sound of this knockout makes it truly vicious and unforgettable. 

The crack of Laprise’s hand connecting with Johnson’s jaw (or was that the sound of Johnson’s jaw splitting into pieces?) and the subsequent smash into the floor by Johnson was deafening, and it brought another dimension to the brutality we often see inside the Octagon. 

Like we have seen—and heard—on previous seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, the serene, no-crowd, no-applause nature of the show’s fights allows you to hear everything that happens inside the cage, making these fights seem realer than ever. 

After the knockout, things did not get better for Johnson (or the viewers’ emotions). 

Sitting on a stool, he slurred his words and mumbled through a bloodied mouth, a result of the broken jaw he sustained during the knockout. 

Since the two were teammates, emotions flowed for the entirety of Team Canada and its coaches, including head coach and UFC welterweight Patrick Cote. 

This is the nature of the game; this is the risk they inherit when they sign up for the show. 

Let’s hope Johnson can heal up and rebound quickly. He was definitely one of the few bright spots in a relatively slow and forgettable season of The Ultimate Fighter. 

Thanks to this devastating finish, Laprise will represent Team Canada in the TUF: Nations Finale on April 16 in Quebec City. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

TUF Nations: Luke Harris Fighter Blog, Episode 9

Note: All quotes and material were obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report through a one-on-one between Luke Harris and Bleacher Report’s Riley Kontek.
Since last week was a recap, I had the week off from writing this blog. Thanks for tuning back in…

Note: All quotes and material were obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report through a one-on-one between Luke Harris and Bleacher Report’s Riley Kontek.

Since last week was a recap, I had the week off from writing this blog. Thanks for tuning back in and rejoining me this week.

Episode 10 starts out with showing my busted-up face and the ride back from the fights. Man, I’m glad that I’m already married, I’m getting ugly! 

I talk about my disappointment with the loss. Really, I’m more disappointed in my performance and that I didn’t get a chance to show my ability. A fight is a fight, and there always has to be a winner and a loser. I take some solace in the fact that I really just got caught before I was able to implement my game plan.

Love it or hate it, it’s just my style of fighting. I have 14 fights and I’ve never gone out of the first round…and I don’t ever plan to. On to the next one!

In this episode, guys in the semis got to make their fight picks to Dana White. I have to admit that it would have been way cooler to do this in person rather than Skype. It kind of made us feel that we were the ugly redheaded stepchild of The Ultimate Fighter rather than the TUF series.

Dana tells the guys to pick the easiest path. It’s a bit ironic because I think TUF is actually one of the most difficult ways into the UFC. All of us could have easily just continued our careers fighting in smaller shows and ended up there, but we chose to put it all on the line and go way out of our comfort zone. Props to every guy on the season for that. So, here are the picks…

  • Kajan picks Richard, mainly because he doesn’t want to fight a teammate.
  • Richard picks Kajan, saying it’s because of his big mouth and that he beat his teammate (Badger).
  • Oli picks Richard, but afterward, Kyle Noke tells everyone that Oli picked someone from Team Canada (maybe just to cause some drama).
  • Elias picks his stepbrother Tyler.
  • Tyler picks Elias.
  • Sheldon picks Vik.
  • Vik picks Sheldon.

Patrick Cote and Kyle Noke announce the fight picks, and first up is Kajan Johnson vs. Chad Laprise. Damn. This doesn’t sit well with me. These are two of my favorite teammates, and they need to fight each other.

Elias gets Tyler. Tyler predicts that he will KO Elias. Elias says that Tyler can’t handle his pace.

Oli gets matched up with Richard. Oli says TKO, but I don’t believe him! He’s gonna go for the submission!

Sheldon gets Vik, who makes fun of Sheldon’s neck injury during the faceoff. The joke is on Vik, as there is no injury!

It’s time for Kajan and Chad to prepare for their fights. Kajan is quick to ask Fabio Holanda to corner him. Great move, as Fabio could have possibly really helped Chad in his corner. Kajan knows that Kru Ash is tight with Chad and that he will probably corner him. Cote is off limits, as he’s the coach of Team Canada, although this episode shows which guy Cote would probably rather corner.

Chad asks Team Australia’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach Tussa for help, as he could use a BJJ guy in his corner and doesn’t want to ask teammates to choose sides. The whole situation is just strange.

Kajan mentioned to me that he would like me in his corner along with Nordine, but I had to tell him that I couldn’t choose between teammates. The way things played out, I really feel bad about that, but I truly really like both guys and could never choose one over the other.

Kajan tells his story. He really had a difficult path to get here. He’s a pioneer of MMA in Canada, and we’ve crossed paths many times over the years fighting on the Canadian circuit. Kajan has more metal in his face than Iron Man and is still living fight to fight in pursuit of his dream.

You really have to respect that.

Chad opens up and tells his story about growing up in an abusive household. He turned his anger into love for God, and he devotedly practices what he preaches. He’s a good person. Love both these guys and really hate to see them fight each other. Everyone has a different fight path that has led us here.

Both guys are 100 percent genuine.

It has to be very hard to fight a teammate, especially because these guys are friends. They were going to flip a coin to see who got the Canadian change room, but Kajan gave it to Chad.

Richard gives his reasoning for wanting to fight Kajan. Simply, the Australians don’t like him. Kajan speaks his mind, and this rubs some people the wrong way. Team dynamics have changed a lot. It’s not team vs. team anymore. It’s every individual for himself. Some guys have been this way all along, but for the majority of us, it’s a very strange feeling.

I can’t choose between the two guys. I won’t be in either corner. I will help them make weight if they need it, but when fight time comes, I will remain silent. Kajan says it’s a good matchup stylistically. Olympic wrestler David Zimmerman jumps into Chad’s corner as the third man. My count is three to one, which doesn’t seem very fair.

Cote gives Chad some advice, which is his prerogative. He’s staying neutral by not going in either corner. Kajan asks David Zimmerman to be in his corner, and David responds that he’ll be in Chad’s corner. It was really an awkward situation. Chad says 15 minutes of business, but I know his heart is heavy fighting a friend.

The fight commences, and Chad and Kajan start to exchange. Lots of cheering for Chad but nothing for Kajan. I am silent watching the fight.  It was mostly the Aussies cheering, as Team Canada was quiet. Chad stuffs a takedown, but I see the first round as very even. In Kajan‘s corner, Fabio says 40 seconds then 30 seconds, and that’s the first we’ve heard from him. It’s a very close round.

At the end of the round, Yves Lavigne tells Chad that he will deduct a point next time he grabs the cage. Between rounds, Fabio tells Kajan to go for the takedown.

In Round 2, the guys begin to exchange. Kajan throws some head kicks. He’s got so many tools. Chad is really timing Kajan and is a very accurate striker. Chad then lands a big overhand right that drops Kajan and follows up with a couple of more punches. It’s so hard to watch. My friend just got KO’d, and my other friend just KO’d him to make it to the Finale. What a weird mix of emotions.

Then I find out out Kajan is hurt, which is the worst-case scenario. I lost my fight, but luckily all I had were superficial cuts. Kajan is seriously injured. Chad feels guilty about being happy, and Kajan feels alienated and alone. It’s just a messed-up situation.

At times like this I feel like we’re just pawns who are being sacrificed for the amusement of the king. Kajan has been through so much—so many injuries and so many years of hard life. This sport is unforgiving, but glory is forever. Next up is Elias vs. Tyler.

 

*Tune in next week to hear Luke’s thoughts on the continued tension between teams, more in-depth stories from the house, and his thoughts on the fight between Elias Theodorou and Tyler Manawaroa. Follow Luke on Twitter@HayabusaHarris and follow his gym @Hayabusa_TC.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

TUF Brazil 3 Episode 1 Results and Recap: Wanderlei, Sonnen Evaluate Talent

The third season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil debuted late Sunday night on UFC Fight Pass.
The head coaches for the season are Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen. Their rivalry has been the driving force behind the anticipation of the season, and it h…

The third season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil debuted late Sunday night on UFC Fight Pass.

The head coaches for the season are Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen. Their rivalry has been the driving force behind the anticipation of the season, and it has been featured prominently in the UFC’s video packages for this season of TUF.

Prior to the show’s premiere on UFC Fight Pass, the hashtag “#TUFBrasil” was trending worldwide. A promising sign for the new season of the show.

Interestingly, the season has a slogan: “In Search of Champions.”

The debut episode of the season opened with a video about Silva and Sonnen‘s rivalry. After the brief video played, their rivalry was not the focus. They took their positions behind the table to evaluate the talent. Eight of the 16 bouts took place on the first episode.

A small addition to the season is that each team will have one female assistant coach joining their staff from outside of the world of MMA. Team Wanderlei will be assisted by former volleyball star Isabel Salgado, and Team Sonnen will be assisted by former basketball star Hortencia Marcari.

There will be 32 fighters, 16 in the heavyweight division and 16 in the middleweight division, battling it out for spots in the TUF house.

This is what you need to know from the first eight bouts of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil season 3.

  • The first bout featured heavyweights Goncalo Salgado (7-2) and Job Kleber (3-1).
  • Soccer megastar Cristiano Ronaldo was featured prior to the bout. He sent in a video of encouragement to his friend and former bodyguard, Salgado.
  • Kleber defeated Salgado in the first round. He rocked Salgado with a punch and landed a kick to the head as he was falling face first to the canvas. It was a spectacular and brutal knockout to kick off the season.
  • Middleweights Jose Roberto (5-0) and Paulo Costa (3-0) were up next.
  • Costa, nicknamed “Borrachinha,” looks the part of a serious prospect. He is a big middleweight who looked to be in prime shape. He dominated Roberto in the first round and continued that into the second frame before finishing with a guillotine choke. He will be one of the fighters to watch develop on the show.
  • Heavyweights Everton Rocha (3-1) and Jollyson Sosatleta (2-0) were up next.
  • Rocha, a riot policeman, had nothing for Jollyson on the canvas. Francisco locked in an arm-triangle and got the tap.
  • Middleweight Douglas Moura (4-1), husband to female fighter Duda Yankovich, squared off against Joilton Santos (9-2) in the next fight.
  • Only highlights were shown of the fight, but it appeared to be a back-and-forth bout. After two rounds, Silva stated in the talking head interview, “We decided for another round.” I assume he did not decide that unilaterally, and it followed previous TUF regulations of going to sudden victory. However, it’s taking place in Brazil so who really knows? I wouldn’t be surprised if the former Pride champion decided that on his own. Regardless, Santos picked up the split-decision win after the third round to advance to the house.
  • Edgard Castaldelli (12-4) vs. Felipe Dantas (6-0) was next up in the heavyweight division.
  • Once again, only highlights were shown. Castaldelli advanced with a second-round TKO.
  • Cristiano Ferrugem (4-1) met Wagner Silva (3-0) next in the middleweight division.
  • Silva wasted no time in taking the fight to the ground. It wasn’t long after that in which he sunk in the rear-naked choke for the tap. An easy preliminary bout for Silva to advance in the competition.
  • The next bout was also in the middleweight division. It featured Willian Steindorf (3-0) against Silva’s training partner, and world champion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Ricardo “Demente” Abreu (4-0).
  • Abreu got Steindorf to the mat and dominated the fight. He had a good armbar attempt, but Steindorf got out of it. Silva’s assistant coach Salgado said to Silva, “When you said it was about to break I was going to leave.” The bout went into the second round where Abreu got a TKO from ground-and-pound.
  • Sonnen noted Abreu’s talent and said that he is a front-runner to take the crown this season.
  • The final bout of the episode was in the heavyweight division between Guilherme Viana (4-1) and Antonio Carlos Jr. (3-0).
  • The fight initially hit the canvas where Carlos controlled the action. They got back to their feet, and Carlos nailed Viana with a looping overhand right. Viana staggered around the cage, out on his feet, as Carlos went for the finish. The referee intervened before Carlos could do any more significant damage.

That was it from the first episode of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil season 3. The customary airing of what to expect next week showed clips of the remaining eight fights. The teams will also be selected at the end of next week’s episode. The most interesting bit pulled from the highlights of next week came from Silva himself. In an apparent spat with rival Sonnen he said, “He either apologizes, or I quit the show.”

The drama between the coaches seems to heat up next week, and that will be what most fans will want to watch. It was an entertaining start to the season, and business continues next week.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Ultimate Fighter China Finale: Kim vs. Hathaway Fight Card, Live Stream and More

The most recent international version of The Ultimate Fighter is set to wrap up with the finale on Saturday from the Cotai Arena in Cotai, Macau. The venue has become a hotbed for combat sports over the past year.
It hosted Manny Pa…

The most recent international version of The Ultimate Fighter is set to wrap up with the finale on Saturday from the Cotai Arena in Cotai, Macau. The venue has become a hotbed for combat sports over the past year.

It hosted Manny Pacquiao’s return bout against Brandon Rios and a few Zou Shiming fights. 

The UFC will supply the entertainment this time around. The card is headlined by a welterweight scrap between South Korean Dong Hyun Kim and John Hathaway from England. The card also features the finale bout from the welterweight tournament from the show.

The featherweight class had its finale postponed due to an undisclosed injury, per Tristen Critchfield of Sherdog. 

Still, it should be an exciting night of fights. There won’t be any television coverage of this event, but it will be viewable via UFC Fight Pass.

Here’s how you can watch.

 

When: Saturday, March 1, 5:45 a.m. EST

Where: Cotai Arena in Cotai, Macau

Live Stream: UFC Fight Pass (subscription required)

 

Main Bouts

  • John “The Hitman” Hathaway (17-1) vs. “Stun Gun” Dong Hyun Kim (18-2-1)
  • Welterweight Final: Wang Sai (6-4-1) vs. Lipeng Zhang (6-7-1)
  • Matt Mitrione (6-3) vs. Shawn Jordan (15-5)
  • Hatsu Hioki (26-7-2) vs. Ivan Menjivar (25-11)

Preliminary Bouts

  • Kazuki Tokudome (12-4-1) vs. Yui Chul Nam (17-4-1)
  • Nam Phan (18-12) vs. Vaughan Lee (13-9-1)
  • Zak Cummings (16-3) vs. Alberto Mina (10-0)
  • Albert Cheng (2-2) vs. Anying Wang (1-0)
  • Jumabieke Tuerxun (14-0) vs. Mark Eddiva (5-0)

 

Most Intriguing Matchups

Phan vs. Lee

Phan has made a habit out of participating in exciting bouts. His bout with Leonard Garcia won Fight of the Night at UFC 136.

He was well on his way to another FOTN honor at the UFC Fight Night in Australia after losing to Takeya Mizugaki in December. Then Mark Hunt vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva happened, and everyone forgot about every other fight on the card.

Despite the excitement of his bouts, Phan has lost two fights in a row, three of his last four and five of his last seven. He’ll be fighting with a sense of urgency in this one.

Lee is also coming off a loss, but it came at the hands of the very impressive Raphael Assuncao. The 31-year-old still has an opportunity to make a mark in the UFC, but he needs to beat Phan to be taken seriously.

 

Mitrione vs. Jordan

Neither Mitrione nor Jordan will ever be serious contenders for the heavyweight title, but both are big, strong and athletic guys who can thump.

If for no other reason than to witness what might be the Fight of the Night, or a memorable KO, this one is worth watching. E. Spencer Kyte of UFC.com couldn’t have been more accurate in describing this bout. He writes:

It’s a pairing of two of the more explosive athletes in the heavyweight ranks, and one that will surely be listed in the traditional pre-fight “Hot Seat” pieces that detail which fighters are presumed to be battling to stay in the MMA big leagues.

 

Sai vs. Zhang

Sai looked phenomenal during the TUF season and of all the fighters involved, his future could be the brightest. During the tournament, he showed his submission and striking ability. He’ll have to be wary of Zhang on the ground, though. The contrasting styles make this another candidate for FOTN.

 

Hathaway vs. Kim

The man they call the Stun Gun is one of the most underrated welterweights in the world. He’s ranked just 11th in the UFC in his weight class despite his only convincing loss coming at the hands of Carlos Condit in 2011.

He did technically lose to Demian Maia in July 2012, but the bout was stopped when Kim suffered an abdominal injury. It’s debatable whether Maia would have won that fight had Kim been able to finish.

In Kim’s career, he’s beaten Matt Brown, TJ Grant, Nate Diaz, Paulo Thiago and most recently Erick Silva. He is a real contender for the 170-pound title.

His opponent is young, well-rounded and on a hot streak. He’s 7-1 with his only slip-up coming against Mike Pyle in 2010. He’s building his resume for a shot at the title at 170, but he has a significant challenge ahead of him.

After reading his tweet, you can clearly see he is excited about the opportunity to continue his ascension up the 170-pound rankings. 

Can he or Kim come away with the signature win of the event? Get up early on Saturday morning to find out.

 

Follow me. I dig combat sport.

@BMaziqueFPBR

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Gilbert Melendez Says He Never Wanted to Leave the UFC

When the UFC pushed him into a corner, Gilbert Melendez took the most significant gamble of his career, a choice that ultimately paid major dividends for the 31-year-old former title challenger.
Melendez, who in the midst of a contract dispute with the…

When the UFC pushed him into a corner, Gilbert Melendez took the most significant gamble of his career, a choice that ultimately paid major dividends for the 31-year-old former title challenger.

Melendez, who in the midst of a contract dispute with the UFC agreed to a deal with Bellator MMA earlier this month, accepted a handsome matching offer from the UFC on Sunday night.

Because of his brazen choice to improvise in the negotiation process, the UFC, fearing that it would lose one of its most talented and entertaining fighters, offered “El Nino” a deal that he couldn’t refuse.

The agreement stipulated that Melendez will not only square off with lightweight champ Anthony Pettis in his next bout, but in the buildup to the fight he’ll coach opposite “Showtime” on season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter, which begins filming in May.

Before the ink had even dried on his new UFC deal, Melendez explained to MMAJunkie’s Ben Fowlkes why he made the risky decision to agree to a multi-fight contract with Bellator MMA.

It’s a tough thing to do, but I never wanted to walk away. I never wanted to leave the UFC. It’s the best organization in the world, has the best fighters in the world, it’s where I wanted to be, but I had to put that aside to think about my family and my future. I had to weigh it out and I had to explore my options. I got to a point where I had a good plan for my future, and I just had to hope that the UFC would come along with me so I could get to that point and still be with them.

The last Strikeforce lightweight champ, Melendez turned to Georges St-Pierre’s manager, Rodolphe Beaulieu, when he couldn’t come to terms on his own with UFC President Dana White. 

White eventually removed himself from the negotiation and allowed UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, a more cool-headed businessman, to smooth things over with Melendez.

With Beaulieu‘s help, Melendez got what he wanted and more. Not surprisingly, though, Melendez remained humble and took little credit in the wake of his strategic gamble.

“I have a great team and I left most of it to them,” Melendez told Fowlkes. “They’re a great management team. I voiced my opinion, and they helped me keep my emotions in check. When it comes to stuff like this, you have to take your emotions out of it and think of your family. It’s about more than just the title shot.”

El Nino has tasted defeat just twice since 2008, a split-decision loss to Benson Henderson at UFC on Fox 7 and a unanimous-decision loss to Josh Thomson at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson. Both fights were lightweight title scraps.

Melendez is the UFC’s second-ranked 155-pounder. Henderson is ranked first, and Thomson is ranked fourth.

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Chael Sonnen, Wanderlei Silva and the 5 Best TUF Coaches’ Rivalries

The Ultimate Fighter has a long history of featuring up-and-coming prospects in a competitive tournament format. It also has a history of utilizing coaches who are feuding with each other with the intent of creating good television.
Over the years, we …

The Ultimate Fighter has a long history of featuring up-and-coming prospects in a competitive tournament format. It also has a history of utilizing coaches who are feuding with each other with the intent of creating good television.

Over the years, we have seen some great coaching rivalries and some duds. For every awesome coaching rivalry, we have had Brock Lesnar-Junior dos Santos or Shane Carwin-Roy Nelson.

So, what are the best five coaching rivalries in the show’s history? Let’s take a look.

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