TUF 12.6 Recap: Boom, It’s Gonna Be a Disaster

(The Stevens vs. McKenzie "fight," if you can call it that. Props: TheMMAResource)
Still giddy from his squad’s first victory, Josh Koscheck starts picking on Team GSP’s Michael Johnson, telling him he looks heavy, he gassed out in his fight …

(The Stevens vs. McKenzie "fight," if you can call it that. Props: TheMMAResource)

Still giddy from his squad’s first victory, Josh Koscheck starts picking on Team GSP’s Michael Johnson, telling him he looks heavy, he gassed out in his fight against Aaron Wilkinson, and he would have lost if not for that beast-like surge at the end. Kos’s entire team is equally assholish, continuing their celebration into the night, screaming in the house like complete jackasses. Koscheck shows up with burgers and Johnson asks him why he has to be such a dick. Josh denies he’s a dick; he just loves yellow. You can’t really fault a man for that.

Koscheck also loves being in the power-position for the first time in the season. He finally has control of the matchups, and during a team discussion, the idea of Marc Stevens (his #1 pick) vs. Cody McKenzie (GSP’s #6 pick) is floated. They figure that as long as they stay away from Cody’s famous guillotine choke, it’s a good matchup for them. Since this is one of those two-fight episodes, we know that whatever happens, it’s not gonna last long.

Kos announces Stevens vs. McKenzie as his match selection, and the two lightweights face off for the first time. "You don’t have to puff your chest out like that," Stevens says to McKenzie. "Exhale…it’s not very friendly." Cody mean-mugs Stevens, but then grins and chin-checks Koscheck again before walking off, just like he did last episode. Koscheck has to be reminded that this should piss him off. "Cut his fingers off the next time he does that to you," Sako says. "We can’t even understand you," Cody deadpans to the Armenian. It’s personal now. Yellow doesn’t like Cody McKenzie, no sir.

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The 9 Greatest Supporting Characters in ‘Ultimate Fighter’ History

Sure, we tune in for the fights at the end of each episode, the trash-talk between the coaches, and Dana White occasionally showing up to kick somebody’s ass out of the house. But over 12 seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, it’s the peripheral characters that are responsible for the show’s best moments. Take this season, for example — would it be nearly as interesting if Coach GSP didn’t bring in a special guest every week to shake up his team? With that in mind, here’s our tribute to the under-appreciated minor players that have kept TUF on its toes for the last six years…

#9: Willa Ford
Willa Ford model Ultimate Fighter UFC

In an effort to inject some eye candy into their new reality show, the UFC cast model/singer/actress Willa Ford as the host of The Ultimate Fighter‘s first season. (Her main duty was to introduce those weird elimination challenges that marked the show’s early days.) Willa was gone by season two, leaving us with fond memories of a time when TUF‘s non-stop sweaty dudeness was occasionally broken up by a pretty face.

#8: Jean-Charles Skarbowsky

Dude flies in from Paris, shows up to the TUF gym drunk, and gives GSP’s entire team the worst beating of their lives. What’s not to like?

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Sure, we tune in for the fights at the end of each episode, the trash-talk between the coaches, and Dana White occasionally showing up to kick somebody’s ass out of the house. But over 12 seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, it’s the peripheral characters that are responsible for the show’s best moments. Take this season, for example — would it be nearly as interesting if Coach GSP didn’t bring in a special guest every week to shake up his team? With that in mind, here’s our tribute to the under-appreciated minor players that have kept TUF on its toes for the last six years…

#9: Willa Ford
Willa Ford model Ultimate Fighter UFC

In an effort to inject some eye candy into their new reality show, the UFC cast model/singer/actress Willa Ford as the host of The Ultimate Fighter‘s first season. (Her main duty was to introduce those weird elimination challenges that marked the show’s early days.) Willa was gone by season two, leaving us with fond memories of a time when TUF‘s non-stop sweaty dudeness was occasionally broken up by a pretty face.

#8: Jean-Charles Skarbowsky

Dude flies in from Paris, shows up to the TUF gym drunk, and gives GSP’s entire team the worst beating of their lives. What’s not to like?

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TUF 12.5 Recap: Sore Winners

(Hick-Jitsu is no match for Drunken French Muay Thai.)
Alex Caceres has gone full heel. For some reason, he decides to put bleach in Nam Phan’s fabric softener. Michael Johnson borrows it to do a load of delicates, and freaks out when he learns the t…

Cody McKenzie Jean Charles Skarbowsky
(Hick-Jitsu is no match for Drunken French Muay Thai.)

Alex Caceres has gone full heel. For some reason, he decides to put bleach in Nam Phan‘s fabric softener. Michael Johnson borrows it to do a load of delicates, and freaks out when he learns the truth. "Why would you run the risk of fuckin’ up someone’s whole wardrobe like that?" he asks. Caceres explains that it was meant for Nam, which begs the question — what the hell did Nam Phan ever do to you, bro? "I got a love/hate personality," Caceres says later. "That’s why I don’t have many friends." 

As Team GSP rides to practice, Cody McKenzie spits dip-juice into an empty Red Bull can. It’s the most country thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

GSP brings in another special guest for his guys. Very special. Jean Charles Skarbowsky is a French kickboxing savant who sleeps three hours a night and gets drunk before every practice. Georges advises the guys that if you respect him, he’ll respect you; if you go hard to prove a point, he’ll kill you. "Please be careful, he had a long ride from Paris to get here," GSP says. Hmm, he doesn’t look like much. But there he is, tossing around the entire team and dropping everybody with liver shots. "You cannot have the same lifestyle as Jean Charles and be an MMA fighter. In Thailand they smoke and drink and fight every day." And let’s not even get into the transsexual thing…

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The Ultimate Fighter Aftermath: "Love to Hate," With Kyle Watson and Dave Camarillo

In case you haven’t checked it out before, "The Aftermath" is a weekly online series hosted by Stephan Bonnar in which the winners, losers, and peripheral characters from The Ultimate Fighter discuss each episode’s events. In the latest installment, victorious Team GSP fighter Kyle "Old Balls" Watson talks about the maturity gap in the house, Sevak Magakian’s run-up on Bruce Leroy, and Josh Koscheck‘s constant harassment of Georges St. Pierre — which actually bothered GSP a lot more than he let on.

Team Kos’s grappling coach Dave Camarillo discusses his history with Josh Koscheck, the frustration of going on a losing streak in the house, and breaks down exactly what Andy Main did wrong in last night’s fight. He also shares a touching story about Paul Buentello barfing into a towel before a fight in New Jersey.

Plus, Stephan Bonnar describes John Danaher as "a cross between Dr. Phil and Criss Angel," which is apparently supposed to be a compliment, even though that combination would officially make Danaher the biggest douchebag in the history of the universe. Anyway, it’s interesting stuff, so give it a look…

In case you haven’t checked it out before, "The Aftermath" is a weekly online series hosted by Stephan Bonnar in which the winners, losers, and peripheral characters from The Ultimate Fighter discuss each episode’s events. In the latest installment, victorious Team GSP fighter Kyle "Old Balls" Watson talks about the maturity gap in the house, Sevak Magakian’s run-up on Bruce Leroy, and Josh Koscheck‘s constant harassment of Georges St. Pierre — which actually bothered GSP a lot more than he let on.

Team Kos’s grappling coach Dave Camarillo discusses his history with Josh Koscheck, the frustration of going on a losing streak in the house, and breaks down exactly what Andy Main did wrong in last night’s fight. He also shares a touching story about Paul Buentello barfing into a towel before a fight in New Jersey.

Plus, Stephan Bonnar describes John Danaher as "a cross between Dr. Phil and Criss Angel," which is apparently supposed to be a compliment, even though that combination would officially make Danaher the biggest douchebag in the history of the universe. Anyway, it’s interesting stuff, so give it a look…

TUF 12.4 Recap: Nerds That Talk Like Robots

(…Only I didn’t say "fudge." I said the word. The big one. The queen mother of dirty words. The f-dash-dash-dash word…) 
Team GSP is basking in Michael Johnson’s victory, and Mike Tyson is in a reflective mood. Iron Mike says the f…

Sevak Magakian TUF 12 Ultimate Fighter Armenian
(…Only I didn’t say "fudge." I said the word. The big one. The queen mother of dirty words. The f-dash-dash-dash word

Team GSP is basking in Michael Johnson’s victory, and Mike Tyson is in a reflective mood. Iron Mike says the fight game is about who’s smarter. "Confidence breeds success, and success breeds confidence…confidence applied properly surpasses genius." Also, how you conduct yourself in the cage reflects on how you conduct yourself in life. Between him, Greg Jackson, and John Danaher, the team is stacked with philosophers.

After two losses, Team Koscheck is fired up to get revenge on Team GSP. "The harder you work now, the later you get rewarded," Josh Koscheck says, probably meaning to say "the more you get rewarded later." He also pronounces "especially" as "ekspecially" at one point. We’ll see if these Titoisms become a trend. 

During the Johnson/Wilkinson fight, Alex "Bruce Leroy" Caceres was a little too supportive in the bleachers, screaming "Beat the shit out of him! Fuck him up!" to MJ. Some of the guys don’t like how Caceres seemed to wish harm upon one of his housemates. I mean, they’re all in this together, right? They all came to the house to make friends? Anyway, the guys have a little shit-talking session about it. "That’s disrespectful, bro," says Sevak "The Armenian Stereotype" Magakian. "He’s a stupid, ignorant kid," Jeff Lentz says, bitterly.

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Michael Johnson Talks Ultimate Fighter 12, Episode 4

Filed under: UFCGeorge St. Pierre’s team has improved to a perfect 3-0 on the latest episode of The Ultimate Fighter, and one member of that team, Michael Johnson, says he and his teammates were riding high after Kyle Watson beat Andy Main in the third…

Filed under:

Michael JohnsonGeorge St. Pierre’s team has improved to a perfect 3-0 on the latest episode of The Ultimate Fighter, and one member of that team, Michael Johnson, says he and his teammates were riding high after Kyle Watson beat Andy Main in the third fight of the season.

In an interview with MMAFighting.com, Johnson talked about Watson’s win, how Team GSP was both more relaxed and more focused than Team Koscheck, and why several of the guys living in the Ultimate Fighter house were getting fed up with the cast member known as “Bruce Leroy.”

The interview is below.