Tag: TUF 18

‘TUF 18? Episode 6 Recap + Videos: Hooters Girls, Bed Invasions, And an All-Out War

(The entire Raquel Pennington vs. Jessamyn Duke fight, via YouTube.com/TheUltimateFighter)

By Elias Cepeda

At the start of last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, we learn that this week’s paired up opponents — Team Rousey’s Jessamyn Duke and Team Tate’s Raquel Pennington — were supposed to fight once before. Jessamyn was to make her pro debut against Raquel but her coaches made her pull out because they didn’t like the match up for her.

Jessamyn says she’s glad it is finally happening and on this large stage, no less. Raquel is like, whatever, I’m happy to fight you now because I was ready to fight you a while ago.

Raquel gets make over from Julianna Pena, who is supposedly a “little princess.” Raquel talks about the difficulty of having come out as gay to her family and learning to value her own happiness above what others think of her, while we watch her try on high heels, perhaps for the first time, and get a runway walking lesson from Julianna near the pool.

Raquel takes off the heels and gets back into the gym to work on her Muay Thai kickboxing — specifically defending against the clinch of the taller Jessamyn. Coach Tate tells Raquel not to respect Jessamyn’s punching power because she thinks the beanpole ex-model has not yet learned to hit with power. By contrast, Tate says that Raquel is the strongest girl on her team, and she’s concerned that Raquel will get going to a fast start.

After a commercial break, the teams are taken to something called The Green Valley Ranch, which seems to be a high-end bordello. A bunch of scantily clad Hooters Girls await them and pour them drinks. A pool party ensues, featuring gratuitous slo-mo shots of Tate entering the water and bikini-clad backsides. Luckily, the TUF YouTube channel has released video of that too:


(The entire Raquel Pennington vs. Jessamyn Duke fight, via YouTube.com/TheUltimateFighter)

By Elias Cepeda

At the start of last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, we learn that this week’s paired up opponents — Team Rousey’s Jessamyn Duke and Team Tate’s Raquel Pennington — were supposed to fight once before. Jessamyn was to make her pro debut against Raquel but her coaches made her pull out because they didn’t like the match up for her.

Jessamyn says she’s glad it is finally happening and on this large stage, no less. Raquel is like, whatever, I’m happy to fight you now because I was ready to fight you a while ago.

Raquel gets make over from Julianna Pena, who is supposedly a “little princess.” Raquel talks about the difficulty of having come out as gay to her family and learning to value her own happiness above what others think of her, while we watch her try on high heels, perhaps for the first time, and get a runway walking lesson from Julianna near the pool.

Raquel takes off the heels and gets back into the gym to work on her Muay Thai kickboxing — specifically defending against the clinch of the taller Jessamyn. Coach Tate tells Raquel not to respect Jessamyn’s punching power because she thinks the beanpole ex-model has not yet learned to hit with power. By contrast, Tate says that Raquel is the strongest girl on her team, and she’s concerned that Raquel will get going to a fast start.

After a commercial break, the teams are taken to something called The Green Valley Ranch, which seems to be a high-end bordello. A bunch of scantily clad Hooters Girls await them and pour them drinks. A pool party ensues, featuring gratuitous slo-mo shots of Tate entering the water and bikini-clad backsides. Luckily, the TUF YouTube channel has released video of that too:

Raquel was bummed she couldn’t eat from the buffet because she was cutting weight, but she did push Tate into the water. Jessamyn says that if she was fighting anywhere else, any other time, she would not have gone to a pool party the day before weighing in, so she skips the festivities. Duke stays at the house alone and says she appreciated the quiet time and used it to focus on her fight.

Back at the pool part, Ronda decides not to fuck with the Tate family and everyone has a good time, with no Armenian-infused tension.

The part where a nation begins to root for Anthony to get knocked out

Team Rousey’s Anthony Gutierrez returns from the pool party, hopped up on liquor and frustrated that none of the hired girls at the ranch would give him the time of day. So, he takes out his frustration on the house. He screams, he stomps around, he throws things at the door of Raquel’s room as she tries to sleep and then proceeds to open up the door, jump on the girls’ beds, and drag Raquel out of hers.

Raquel has a fight coming up and is cutting weight. There could not be a worse time to mess with someone’s sleep or general peace of mind than right now. Anthony should know this well as a fighter himself. Raquel promises revenge. We’re hoping for the ol’ super-glue-on-the-eyelids or bludgeoning-with-a-chair-while-he-sleeps routine.

Instead, Julianna, Sarah Moras, and Raquel just go into Anthony’s room the next morning while he is sleeping, jump on his bed to wake him up, and then flip his mattress over while he’s still on it. Which was probably pretty easy for them because he’s a very, very small man.

Jessamyn readies for war

Back in the Team Rousey training room, coach Edmond advises Jessamyn to use her reach and keep Raquel at the end of her jab. Coach Rousey says that JD is raring to fight.

Duke says that she believes Raquel is the toughest girl left in the tournament and so if she beats her, she’ll be able to win the whole thing. Raquel says that she has had to distance herself from Jessamyn the past few days in order to prepare for their fight.

“No fight is easy but this one is simple. Be focused, be first,” Rousey tells Jessamyn in the locker room before the fight.

“You’re too strong for her. You’re too mentally tough. Just go, go, go, go,” Raquel is prodded in her locker room by a coach.

“The first round has to be yours,” Tate tells her.

Round 1

The first round proves to be a torrid affair as both women go hard. Raquel lands early and often with a hard inside leg kick while Jessamyn tries to keep her at bay with her jab and head kicks. Raquel forces her way inside and presses Jessamyn against the cage only to be caught in a standing guillotine.

Jessamyn looks to have a good grip on it as she works to secure the choke for the better part of a minute but Raquel defends well and works her way out of it and returns to the center of the Octagon. From there, both fighters throw and land with about the same frequency.

Jessamyn tries to use her length through kicks and Raquel counters off those kicks with effective punches of her own. Jessamyn lands a couple knees to the head but Raquel walks through them and returns fire.

Round 2

Both fighters begin by popping out the jab. Jessamyn finds success with some body kicks but Raquel begins to find her own range with an over hand right off of a jab.

Jessamyn gets the clinch and lands several hard knees to the head and body before Raquel punches her way out. Raquel begins to land the more powerful shots, mostly punches. Then, she initiates her own clinch, landing nasty knees to Jessamyn’s body and head.

They must have hurt but the knees also served to piss Jessamyn off as she pushes off and returns fire with knees and punches of her own. Raquel then really finds her mark with her right and left hands, teeing off on Jessamyn against the cage and hurting the Team Rousey fighter.

Jessamyn does not wilt, however, and gets back to the center of the mat before clinching with Raquel again and landing a few more nasty knees to her head. Raquel answers with another crushing right hand. Raquel lands a left push kick that sends Jessamyn careening backwards. Then, Raquel lands a rear round house leg kick. Jessamyn follows up with a head kick of her own.

Jessamyn lands a jab, then a left hook, followed up by knee after knee from the Thai plum clinch while pressing Raquel against the cage until the round ends.

The fight is scored dead even after two so we head into a sudden death round to decide a winner!

Round 3

Coach Tate’s prediction to her fighter Raquel proved to be true in the third round as Raquel’s striking power started to make the difference for her. Jessamyn continued her attack of head kicks and jabs but none of them landed as hard as Raquel’s hard lefts and rights, as well as her stiff leg kicks.

As the round progressed, Jessamyn began to eat more and more power shots to the head but kept moving forward, undeterred. With both her eyes bruised and her face cut, Jessamyn gave it one last flurry of effort in the final thirty seconds of the fight, landing punches and knees.

In the end, however, it was not enough and Raquel won the round and the fight on the judges’ scorecards.

Coach Tate shakes the hand of everyone in Jessamyn’s corner after the fight. Well, everyone except for Coach Rousey who, as Tate extends her hand, puts up a single finger and tells Meisha to “go fuck yourself.”

We may not have seen much of her in this episode, but “Rowdy” Rousey is always there. Don’t you forget it.

Coach Tate regains fight selection rights because of the win and selects Josh Hill (former male model) vs. Michael Wooten (current British guy). Thanks for joining us, ‘Taters. See ya next week!

Team Rousey Women
Shayna Baszler (eliminated by Julianna Pena in the quarterfinals, episode 2)
Jessamyn Duke (eliminated by Raquel Pennington in the quarterfinals, episode 6)
Peggy Morgan
Jessica Rakoczy

Team Rousey Men
Chris Beal (eliminated by Chris Holdsworth in the quarterfinals, episode 3)
Davey Grant
Anthony Gutierrez
Michael Wootten

Team Tate Women
Julianna Pena
Sarah Moras
Raquel Pennington
Roxanne Modafferi (eliminated by Jessica Rakoczy in the quarterfinals, episode 4)

Team Tate Men
Cody Bollinger
Chris Holdsworth
Josh Hill
Louis Fisette (eliminated by Davey Grant in the quarterfinals, episode 5)

‘TUF 18? Episode 6 Recap + Videos: Hooters Girls, Bed Invasions, And an All-Out War

(The entire Raquel Pennington vs. Jessamyn Duke fight, via YouTube.com/TheUltimateFighter)

By Elias Cepeda

At the start of last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, we learn that this week’s paired up opponents — Team Rousey’s Jessamyn Duke and Team Tate’s Raquel Pennington — were supposed to fight once before. Jessamyn was to make her pro debut against Raquel but her coaches made her pull out because they didn’t like the match up for her.

Jessamyn says she’s glad it is finally happening and on this large stage, no less. Raquel is like, whatever, I’m happy to fight you now because I was ready to fight you a while ago.

Raquel gets make over from Julianna Pena, who is supposedly a “little princess.” Raquel talks about the difficulty of having come out as gay to her family and learning to value her own happiness above what others think of her, while we watch her try on high heels, perhaps for the first time, and get a runway walking lesson from Julianna near the pool.

Raquel takes off the heels and gets back into the gym to work on her Muay Thai kickboxing — specifically defending against the clinch of the taller Jessamyn. Coach Tate tells Raquel not to respect Jessamyn’s punching power because she thinks the beanpole ex-model has not yet learned to hit with power. By contrast, Tate says that Raquel is the strongest girl on her team, and she’s concerned that Raquel will get going to a fast start.

After a commercial break, the teams are taken to something called The Green Valley Ranch, which seems to be a high-end bordello. A bunch of scantily clad Hooters Girls await them and pour them drinks. A pool party ensues, featuring gratuitous slo-mo shots of Tate entering the water and bikini-clad backsides. Luckily, the TUF YouTube channel has released video of that too:


(The entire Raquel Pennington vs. Jessamyn Duke fight, via YouTube.com/TheUltimateFighter)

By Elias Cepeda

At the start of last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, we learn that this week’s paired up opponents — Team Rousey’s Jessamyn Duke and Team Tate’s Raquel Pennington — were supposed to fight once before. Jessamyn was to make her pro debut against Raquel but her coaches made her pull out because they didn’t like the match up for her.

Jessamyn says she’s glad it is finally happening and on this large stage, no less. Raquel is like, whatever, I’m happy to fight you now because I was ready to fight you a while ago.

Raquel gets make over from Julianna Pena, who is supposedly a “little princess.” Raquel talks about the difficulty of having come out as gay to her family and learning to value her own happiness above what others think of her, while we watch her try on high heels, perhaps for the first time, and get a runway walking lesson from Julianna near the pool.

Raquel takes off the heels and gets back into the gym to work on her Muay Thai kickboxing — specifically defending against the clinch of the taller Jessamyn. Coach Tate tells Raquel not to respect Jessamyn’s punching power because she thinks the beanpole ex-model has not yet learned to hit with power. By contrast, Tate says that Raquel is the strongest girl on her team, and she’s concerned that Raquel will get going to a fast start.

After a commercial break, the teams are taken to something called The Green Valley Ranch, which seems to be a high-end bordello. A bunch of scantily clad Hooters Girls await them and pour them drinks. A pool party ensues, featuring gratuitous slo-mo shots of Tate entering the water and bikini-clad backsides. Luckily, the TUF YouTube channel has released video of that too:

Raquel was bummed she couldn’t eat from the buffet because she was cutting weight, but she did push Tate into the water. Jessamyn says that if she was fighting anywhere else, any other time, she would not have gone to a pool party the day before weighing in, so she skips the festivities. Duke stays at the house alone and says she appreciated the quiet time and used it to focus on her fight.

Back at the pool part, Ronda decides not to fuck with the Tate family and everyone has a good time, with no Armenian-infused tension.

The part where a nation begins to root for Anthony to get knocked out

Team Rousey’s Anthony Gutierrez returns from the pool party, hopped up on liquor and frustrated that none of the hired girls at the ranch would give him the time of day. So, he takes out his frustration on the house. He screams, he stomps around, he throws things at the door of Raquel’s room as she tries to sleep and then proceeds to open up the door, jump on the girls’ beds, and drag Raquel out of hers.

Raquel has a fight coming up and is cutting weight. There could not be a worse time to mess with someone’s sleep or general peace of mind than right now. Anthony should know this well as a fighter himself. Raquel promises revenge. We’re hoping for the ol’ super-glue-on-the-eyelids or bludgeoning-with-a-chair-while-he-sleeps routine.

Instead, Julianna, Sarah Moras, and Raquel just go into Anthony’s room the next morning while he is sleeping, jump on his bed to wake him up, and then flip his mattress over while he’s still on it. Which was probably pretty easy for them because he’s a very, very small man.

Jessamyn readies for war

Back in the Team Rousey training room, coach Edmond advises Jessamyn to use her reach and keep Raquel at the end of her jab. Coach Rousey says that JD is raring to fight.

Duke says that she believes Raquel is the toughest girl left in the tournament and so if she beats her, she’ll be able to win the whole thing. Raquel says that she has had to distance herself from Jessamyn the past few days in order to prepare for their fight.

“No fight is easy but this one is simple. Be focused, be first,” Rousey tells Jessamyn in the locker room before the fight.

“You’re too strong for her. You’re too mentally tough. Just go, go, go, go,” Raquel is prodded in her locker room by a coach.

“The first round has to be yours,” Tate tells her.

Round 1

The first round proves to be a torrid affair as both women go hard. Raquel lands early and often with a hard inside leg kick while Jessamyn tries to keep her at bay with her jab and head kicks. Raquel forces her way inside and presses Jessamyn against the cage only to be caught in a standing guillotine.

Jessamyn looks to have a good grip on it as she works to secure the choke for the better part of a minute but Raquel defends well and works her way out of it and returns to the center of the Octagon. From there, both fighters throw and land with about the same frequency.

Jessamyn tries to use her length through kicks and Raquel counters off those kicks with effective punches of her own. Jessamyn lands a couple knees to the head but Raquel walks through them and returns fire.

Round 2

Both fighters begin by popping out the jab. Jessamyn finds success with some body kicks but Raquel begins to find her own range with an over hand right off of a jab.

Jessamyn gets the clinch and lands several hard knees to the head and body before Raquel punches her way out. Raquel begins to land the more powerful shots, mostly punches. Then, she initiates her own clinch, landing nasty knees to Jessamyn’s body and head.

They must have hurt but the knees also served to piss Jessamyn off as she pushes off and returns fire with knees and punches of her own. Raquel then really finds her mark with her right and left hands, teeing off on Jessamyn against the cage and hurting the Team Rousey fighter.

Jessamyn does not wilt, however, and gets back to the center of the mat before clinching with Raquel again and landing a few more nasty knees to her head. Raquel answers with another crushing right hand. Raquel lands a left push kick that sends Jessamyn careening backwards. Then, Raquel lands a rear round house leg kick. Jessamyn follows up with a head kick of her own.

Jessamyn lands a jab, then a left hook, followed up by knee after knee from the Thai plum clinch while pressing Raquel against the cage until the round ends.

The fight is scored dead even after two so we head into a sudden death round to decide a winner!

Round 3

Coach Tate’s prediction to her fighter Raquel proved to be true in the third round as Raquel’s striking power started to make the difference for her. Jessamyn continued her attack of head kicks and jabs but none of them landed as hard as Raquel’s hard lefts and rights, as well as her stiff leg kicks.

As the round progressed, Jessamyn began to eat more and more power shots to the head but kept moving forward, undeterred. With both her eyes bruised and her face cut, Jessamyn gave it one last flurry of effort in the final thirty seconds of the fight, landing punches and knees.

In the end, however, it was not enough and Raquel won the round and the fight on the judges’ scorecards.

Coach Tate shakes the hand of everyone in Jessamyn’s corner after the fight. Well, everyone except for Coach Rousey who, as Tate extends her hand, puts up a single finger and tells Meisha to “go fuck yourself.”

We may not have seen much of her in this episode, but “Rowdy” Rousey is always there. Don’t you forget it.

Coach Tate regains fight selection rights because of the win and selects Josh Hill (former male model) vs. Michael Wooten (current British guy). Thanks for joining us, ‘Taters. See ya next week!

Team Rousey Women
Shayna Baszler (eliminated by Julianna Pena in the quarterfinals, episode 2)
Jessamyn Duke (eliminated by Raquel Pennington in the quarterfinals, episode 6)
Peggy Morgan
Jessica Rakoczy

Team Rousey Men
Chris Beal (eliminated by Chris Holdsworth in the quarterfinals, episode 3)
Davey Grant
Anthony Gutierrez
Michael Wootten

Team Tate Women
Julianna Pena
Sarah Moras
Raquel Pennington
Roxanne Modafferi (eliminated by Jessica Rakoczy in the quarterfinals, episode 4)

Team Tate Men
Cody Bollinger
Chris Holdsworth
Josh Hill
Louis Fisette (eliminated by Davey Grant in the quarterfinals, episode 5)

TUF 18 Ratings Update: A Round of Applause For Our First Group of Female Contestants


(“I’m so sorry…I’m sorry…I’m…*looks down*…hey, those really are nice shoes.” Photo via Getty.) 

If you’ve been following The Ultimate Fighter this season, chances are that, like us, you’ve been more than impressed with the quality of the fights themselves. Four great fights with four decisive (not to mention brutal) finishes have easily outshined most if not all of the petty drama that oft permeates the TUF house, a trend that has only increased since the program’s move to the FX and FOX Sports 1 networks.

Unfortunately, great fights have not necessarily equaled great ratings this season. Blame it on the new network, blame it on the time slot, but TUF 18‘s ratings have been just barely swimming above the “lowest live-viewership” record since the premiere episode. Yes, despite seeing a temporary boost with the second episode, MMAFighting’s Dave Meltzer is reporting that last week’s fight between Davey Grant and LivesWithParents pulled in just 640,000 viewers.

In fact, episode 3, featuring the fight between Chris Holdsworth and Chris Beal, similarly drew in just 639,000 viewers. Here’s the thing, episodes 2 and 4 — which featured the female fights of Baszler/Pena and Rakoczy/Modafferi — performed significantly better than those featuring their male counterparts. As Meltzer writes:

For the Ultimate Fighter, there has been an up-and-down pattern in the ratings. As in, the week of a women’s fight, the audience is up. The two women’s fights, airing on Sept. 12 and Sept. 26, did 870,000 and 778,000 viewers live. The men’s fights on Sept. 19 and Oct. 3 did 639,000 and 640,000. 


(“I’m so sorry…I’m sorry…I’m…*looks down*…hey, those really are nice shoes.” Photo via Getty.) 

If you’ve been following The Ultimate Fighter this season, chances are that, like us, you’ve been more than impressed with the quality of the fights themselves. Four great fights with four decisive (not to mention brutal) finishes have easily outshined most if not all of the petty drama that oft permeates the TUF house, a trend that has only increased since the program’s move to the FX and FOX Sports 1 networks.

Unfortunately, great fights have not necessarily equaled great ratings this season. Blame it on the new network, blame it on the time slot, but TUF 18‘s ratings have been just barely swimming above the “lowest live-viewership” record since the premiere episode. Yes, despite seeing a temporary boost with the second episode, MMAFighting’s Dave Meltzer is reporting that last week’s fight between Davey Grant and LivesWithParents pulled in just 640,000 viewers.

In fact, episode 3, featuring the fight between Chris Holdsworth and Chris Beal, similarly drew in just 639,000 viewers. Here’s the thing, episodes 2 and 4 – which featured the female fights of Baszler/Pena and Rakoczy/Modafferi — performed significantly better than those featuring their male counterparts. As Meltzer writes:

For the Ultimate Fighter, there has been an up-and-down pattern in the ratings. As in, the week of a women’s fight, the audience is up. The two women’s fights, airing on Sept. 12 and Sept. 26, did 870,000 and 778,000 viewers live. The men’s fights on Sept. 19 and Oct. 3 did 639,000 and 640,000. 

Additionally, the DVR numbers for TUF 18 have been incredibly strong:

Viewership has increased anywhere from 32 percent to 37 percent from the initial reports when you factor in people who watched the show via DVR between Thursday and Saturday. For example, the Sept. 26 show, the most recent to have DVR numbers for, did an additional 272,000 viewers of the initial airing, pushing total viewership to 1.05 million.

The Ultimate Fighter has always been a strong DVR property as compared to most sports programming, but the increases have historically only been in the 15 percent range. 

So it’s not exactly great news, but it does offer a sliver of hope for TUF‘s chances on FS1.

Personally, I’d love to help the show out by tuning in Wednesday nights. I really would. But if the UFC expects me to miss out on Always Sunny so I can listen to Momma Rousey hand down life lessons, they are sorely mistaken. Because I need characters whose problems I can identify with, and seeing an illiterate janitor, a sociopath, a tranny-lover with delusions of grandeur and a bird woman drunkenly argue about things they have no understanding of is like going to a family reunion every week for me.

–J. Jones

TUF 18 Episode 5 Recap: Well, At Least We Know Where Ronda Gets Her “Crazy” From


(The shirt says “Fighting is in my DNA,” just in case you guys didn’t get the message. Photo via UFC.com)

After winning control of the fight picks and securing their first victory last week via dive bomb KO, Team Rousey has selected that roommates and BFF’s Davey Grant (Team Rousey) and Louis Fisette (Team Tate/Lives With Parents) will do battle this week.

Episode 5 starts off with Grant and Fisette shooting the breeze about still being friends after they fight and all that noise, then switches to Roxanne coping with her loss by bawling her eyes out in the fetal position, then switches to Raquel Pennington discussing what it was like coming out to her parents. Non sequiturs FTW!!

Anyway, Grant is our first featured fighter this week. He speaks in what I like to call “Terry Etim English,” in that I can only understand one out of every thirteen words he says. I think he’s missing his children, but he could just as easily be talking about buying his mum a caravan.

At the TUF house, a few members of Team Tate, including “friends with benefits” aficionado Julianna Pena (Author’s note: I’m a really good listener if you ever need one, Julianna. Just sayin’), start to play truth or dare. I shit you not. The first “truth” that comes up: Who’s the hottest guy in the house? Sarah “Cheesecake” Moras votes for Anthony “Sharkbait” Gutierrez. Pena strongly disagrees, labelling him the ugliest guy of them all. Choose your words wisely, Julianna, because if Gutierrez catches wind of his ugliness he will buwn this whole house to da gwound.

Josh Hill is up next and chooses dare. He is given the challenge of using a cheesy pickup line on Roxanne Modafferi. He chooses “Nice shoes, wanna fuck?” It should be noted that Roxanne is not wearing shoes at the time. She didn’t say “No,” though.


(The shirt says “Fighting is in my DNA,” just in case you guys didn’t get the message. Photo via UFC.com)

After winning control of the fight picks and securing their first victory last week via dive bomb KO, Team Rousey has selected that roommates and BFF’s Davey Grant (Team Rousey) and Louis Fisette (Team Tate/Lives With Parents) will do battle this week.

Episode 5 starts off with Grant and Fisette shooting the breeze about still being friends after they fight and all that noise, then switches to Roxanne coping with her loss by bawling her eyes out in the fetal position, then switches to Raquel Pennington discussing what it was like coming out to her parents. Non sequiturs FTW!!

Anyway, Grant is our first featured fighter this week. He speaks in what I like to call “Terry Etim English,” in that I can only understand one out of every thirteen words he says. I think he’s missing his children, but he could just as easily be talking about buying his mum a caravan.

At the TUF house, a few members of Team Tate, including “friends with benefits” aficionado Julianna Pena (Author’s note: I’m a really good listener if you ever need one, Julianna. Just sayin’), start to play truth or dare. I shit you not. The first “truth” that comes up: Who’s the hottest guy in the house? Sarah “Cheesecake” Moras votes for Anthony “Sharkbait” Gutierrez. Pena strongly disagrees, labelling him the ugliest guy of them all. Choose your words wisely, Julianna, because if Gutierrez catches wind of his ugliness he will buwn this whole house to da gwound.

Josh Hill is up next and chooses dare. He is given the challenge of using a cheesy pickup line on Roxanne Modafferi. He chooses “Nice shoes, wanna fuck?” It should be noted that Roxanne is not wearing shoes at the time. She didn’t say “No,” though.

Anthony’s turn at the wheel. He chooses truth and is asked to out the weakest fighter in the house. He selects Louis Fisette (which, considering he lost his qualifier bout, makes sense), then tell the cameras that “If you play truth or dare long enough, someone’s going to get offended.” If this bit lasts any longer I am quitting my job.

It’s training time for Team Tate, which gives us a chance to learn something about Fisette other than the fact that he is a bum who still lives with his parents.

Turns out, he’s a Canadian who still lives with his parents. He got into MMA through a friend when he was 18 and blah blah blah this dude still lives with his parents let’s all point and laugh.

Fresh off his victory over Chris Beal in episode 3, Chris Holdsworth is struggling to stay away from the plethora of junk food that the TUF house has to offer. Gutierrez is in the same camp, but has yet to fight. Looks like we might have Gabe Ruediger 2.0 on our hands, Nation. Someone get the tissues for his breakdown when he inevitably misses weight.

Back to the gym for a Team Rousey training session, which can only mean that Momma Rousey is in the building (bow chicka wow-wow). Ann Maria has already criticized MMA fans and The Ultimate Fighter in general for their portrayal/treatment of her daughter, and right from the get-go she seems…perturbed. She calls out members of Team Rousey, including Jessica Rakoczy (who just fought last week) for putting in enough effort. Ronda talks about how she used to intentionally send her to tournaments injured, bringing new meaning to the phrase “crazy like a champion.” I’m pretty sure Mick went easier on Rocky.

After her little pep talk, the Rousey’s make a surprise visit to the house to give Grant a further pepping. Momma Rousey talks about how having kids makes you stronger or something and I have the weirdest boner right now.

Fight time!

Round 1: Grant starts off with a strong outside leg kick, then lands a nice combo that backs Louis up against the cage. Fisette reverses Grant but can’t get him down, allowing Grant the opportunity to fire off another three punch combo. Grant grabs a leg and Fisette tries an Yves Edwards, single leg flying knee only to be slammed to the mat. Grant stacks him up and lands a few decent shots. Louis tries for a kneebar but is soundly denied. Grant snatches up a kimura then leaps into an armbar but Fisette is able to escape. A scramble ensues and Grant winds up back in Louis’ guard, landing some nice elbows thereafter. Grant’s size/reach advantage are winning him the day here, and he piles on an onslaught of elbows and punches until the round ends. A bloodied Louis was saved by the bell there, which Rousey makes sure to point out.

Round 2:  Louis immediately shoots for a double at the start of the round and pushes Grant into the cage. Grant picks up Louis and delivers an effortless slams, winding up in side mount, then full mount, then back control. Punches reign down from above before Grant flattens Louis and secures a fight-ending rear-naked choke.

Damn. For a British striker, Grant has an incredibly solid ground game. In a show of good sportsmanship, Fisette hugs Grant then hoists him onto his shoulders to carry him around the ring. Uh, dude, you were supposed to use those grappling skills during the fight.

After jumping out to an early lead, Team Tate has now dropped two straight, evening things out between teams. If there was ever a time for Bryan Caraway to try and secure that threeway, it is now.

With Team Rousey still in control, Jessamyn Duke (Team Rousey) is selected to take on Raquel Pennington (Team Tate) next in a matchup that pleases both coaches. Like I said, Bryan, the time is now.

Next week: It’s sexy, slow-mo pool party time with the Hooters girls! Seriously. Plus, Julianna uses her makeover skills to turn a couple of her housemates from drab to fab (*double snaps*).

Team Rousey Women
Shayna Baszler (eliminated by Julianna Pena in the quarterfinals, episode 2)
Jessamyn Duke
Peggy Morgan
Jessica Rakoczy

Team Rousey Men
Chris Beal (eliminated by Chris Holdsworth in the quarterfinals, episode 3)
Davey Grant
Anthony Gutierrez
Michael Wootten

Team Tate Women
Julianna Pena
Sarah Moras
Raquel Pennington
Roxanne Modafferi (eliminated by Jessica Rakoczy in the quarterfinals, episode 4)

Team Tate Men
Cody Bollinger
Chris Holdsworth
Josh Hill
Louis Fisette (eliminated by Davey Grant in the quarterfinals)

–J. Jones

Ronda Rousey: ‘Crazy’ Like a Champion


(Ronda Rousey after successfully defending her UFC bantamweight title against Liz Carmouche in February. | Photo via Getty)

By Elias Cepeda

There seems to be a lot of chatter about Ronda Rousey’s mental state lately. The UFC women’s bantamweight champion has always gotten attention for her intensity and arm-snapping viciousness, but ever since Rousey the TUF 18 Coach began appearing on television a few weeks ago, the notion that the undefeated fighter is mentally unstable has started to pick up steam.

There was Ronda becoming infuriated when Meisha Tate dared to celebrate her own fighter’s win over Team Rousey’s Shayna Baszler. There was Ronda getting in the face of and taunting Tate’s coach/manager/boyfriend Bryan Caraway. There was Ronda kicking open the UFC gym door and screaming Tate’s team out because they’d gone approximately 30 seconds over their scheduled time. In last week’s episode, Ronda launched some of her trademark hostility against UFC vet and Team Tate assistant coach Dennis Hallman.

And then, of course, there’s Ronda crying. A lot. Like, all the time.

Not your normal, boo-hoo type of crying, either. Hers is an angry, motivated and terrifying type of cry. Former Strikeforce champion and would-be Rousey rival Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino called Rousey “mentally sick” after watching her on The Ultimate Fighter. Recently, Hallman did an interview where he recounted a story of an incident he said happened on the TUF set where Rousey told a producer of the show to shut their mouth while she was speaking to her, and then said that he believed that Ronda had mental health issues.

I’ve already written in partial jest that Rousey’s mind is evidently a dark and scary place, but is the two-time Olympian “crazy?” The simple answer is, “no.”

If Ronda Rousey is crazy, it’s the type of crazy that has become familiar to us in great competitors. Rousey isn’t an out-of-control head case, she’s a competitor. She’s not crazy, she’s a champion. And like many champions before her, Ronda is a fiercer competitor than most professional athletes. Her hyper-competitiveness, her apparent need to establish dominance in almost every and any situation, and her ability to used even perceived slights as fuel are traits Rousey shares with the likes of Michael Jordan and Anderson Silva.


(Ronda Rousey after successfully defending her UFC bantamweight title against Liz Carmouche in February. | Photo via Getty)

By Elias Cepeda

There seems to be a lot of chatter about Ronda Rousey’s mental state lately. The UFC women’s bantamweight champion has always gotten attention for her intensity and arm-snapping viciousness, but ever since Rousey the TUF 18 Coach began appearing on television a few weeks ago, the notion that the undefeated fighter is mentally unstable has started to pick up steam.

There was Ronda becoming infuriated when Meisha Tate dared to celebrate her own fighter’s win over Team Rousey’s Shayna Baszler. There was Ronda getting in the face of and taunting Tate’s coach/manager/boyfriend Bryan Caraway. There was Ronda kicking open the UFC gym door and screaming Tate’s team out because they’d gone approximately 30 seconds over their scheduled time. In last week’s episode, Ronda launched some of her trademark hostility against UFC vet and Team Tate assistant coach Dennis Hallman.

And then, of course, there’s Ronda crying. A lot. Like, all the time.

Not your normal, boo-hoo type of crying, either. Hers is an angry, motivated and terrifying type of cry. Former Strikeforce champion and would-be Rousey rival Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino called Rousey “mentally sick” after watching her on The Ultimate Fighter. Recently, Hallman did an interview where he recounted a story of an incident he said happened on the TUF set where Rousey told a producer of the show to shut their mouth while she was speaking to her, and then said that he believed that Ronda had mental health issues.

I’ve already written in partial jest that Rousey’s mind is evidently a dark and scary place, but is the two-time Olympian “crazy?” The simple answer is, “no.”

If Ronda Rousey is crazy, it’s the type of crazy that has become familiar to us in great competitors. Rousey isn’t an out-of-control head case, she’s a competitor. She’s not crazy, she’s a champion. And like many champions before her, Ronda is a fiercer competitor than most professional athletes. Her hyper-competitiveness, her apparent need to establish dominance in almost every and any situation, and her ability to used even perceived slights as fuel are traits Rousey shares with the likes of Michael Jordan and Anderson Silva.

Joe Rogan shared a keen observation about high-level competitors on his podcast once. He spoke about legendary athletes like Jordan, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson and how traits of theirs that could be considered flaws, actually helped make them the champions they were.

“A lot of success in athletics comes down to almost, like, a psychosis,” Rogan said. “At a real high level of anything, there’s a certain amount of crazy behavior to get to this incredible position like Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson in his prime. There’s a madness.”

Joe Rogan on the madness of excellence

MJ not only held on to grudges longer than anyone and turned them into fifty-point games, he was also so ruthlessly competitive that he punched his own teammates in the head during practices. Ali literally, and arguably criminally, stalked Sonny Liston outside his home, and before their first fight doctors came close to not even allowing the brash young star to compete because of his erratic behavior at the weigh in and because his heart rate and blood pressure were at dangerous levels afterwards. Anderson Silva has spent more time talking and taunting and pantomiming during some fights than actually fighting. He has worn masks, kissed and shoulder-checked opponents in the face during weigh-ins.

We don’t really have to detail Mike Tyson’s crazy behavior for you, do we?

Ronda Rousey’s craziness is becoming part of her persona, but it is clear that she’s often times acting out on purpose. She’s already said that a chief part of her strategy in her rematch with Tate is to get her opponent so angry and agitated by her antics leading up to the fight that she will not fight smart — something that Rousey believes happened in their first fight and helped her win so fast.

As for how legitimately touchy Ronda appears to be at times, her mind might very well be wired differently, but it is also likely a key to all her success. Like Silva and Jordan, Rousey appears to be a master at being able to use anything to fuel and motivate herself.

And, if Rousey couldn’t manufacture extra things to motivate her in fighting Tate again, there simply might not be enough there for her to be sharp. Think about it. Ronda beat Tate already and did so quickly and decisively. Most recently, Tate went out and lost to Cat Zingano in her UFC debut. Ronda, still undefeated, now has to fight a woman who she’s already beaten and who has lost two out of her last three fights.

Chances are that Ronda needs a little extra motivation to fight Tate again and so she’s giving it to herself on this season of TUF. In the sense of living a happy and healthy life outside of or after your competitive career, are traits like hyper competitiveness, a need to dominate, and an ability to make mountains our of mole hills great for a person’s emotional health? Maybe not. Would Rousey have become a champ without those traits, though? Unlikely.

Rousey is exactly what she has needed to be to succeed. That isn’t to discount how good, dedicated and hard fighting even someone as even-tempered as Meisha Tate can be and is. Tate is an excellent fighter, but how many of Rousey’s personality critics would be willing to put their money up against the champ in their rematch? All other things being equal in a fight, this writer will always bet on the meaner, madder dog.

So far, Ronda Rousey hasn’t met anyone meaner or madder and that’s a big reason why she’s the champ.

Ronda Rousey: ‘Crazy’ Like a Champion


(Ronda Rousey after successfully defending her UFC bantamweight title against Liz Carmouche in February. | Photo via Getty)

By Elias Cepeda

There seems to be a lot of chatter about Ronda Rousey’s mental state lately. The UFC women’s bantamweight champion has always gotten attention for her intensity and arm-snapping viciousness, but ever since Rousey the TUF 18 Coach began appearing on television a few weeks ago, the notion that the undefeated fighter is mentally unstable has started to pick up steam.

There was Ronda becoming infuriated when Meisha Tate dared to celebrate her own fighter’s win over Team Rousey’s Shayna Baszler. There was Ronda getting in the face of and taunting Tate’s coach/manager/boyfriend Bryan Caraway. There was Ronda kicking open the UFC gym door and screaming Tate’s team out because they’d gone approximately 30 seconds over their scheduled time. In last week’s episode, Ronda launched some of her trademark hostility against UFC vet and Team Tate assistant coach Dennis Hallman.

And then, of course, there’s Ronda crying. A lot. Like, all the time.

Not your normal, boo-hoo type of crying, either. Hers is an angry, motivated and terrifying type of cry. Former Strikeforce champion and would-be Rousey rival Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino called Rousey “mentally sick” after watching her on The Ultimate Fighter. Recently, Hallman did an interview where he recounted a story of an incident he said happened on the TUF set where Rousey told a producer of the show to shut their mouth while she was speaking to her, and then said that he believed that Ronda had mental health issues.

I’ve already written in partial jest that Rousey’s mind is evidently a dark and scary place, but is the two-time Olympian “crazy?” The simple answer is, “no.”

If Ronda Rousey is crazy, it’s the type of crazy that has become familiar to us in great competitors. Rousey isn’t an out-of-control head case, she’s a competitor. She’s not crazy, she’s a champion. And like many champions before her, Ronda is a fiercer competitor than most professional athletes. Her hyper-competitiveness, her apparent need to establish dominance in almost every and any situation, and her ability to used even perceived slights as fuel are traits Rousey shares with the likes of Michael Jordan and Anderson Silva.


(Ronda Rousey after successfully defending her UFC bantamweight title against Liz Carmouche in February. | Photo via Getty)

By Elias Cepeda

There seems to be a lot of chatter about Ronda Rousey’s mental state lately. The UFC women’s bantamweight champion has always gotten attention for her intensity and arm-snapping viciousness, but ever since Rousey the TUF 18 Coach began appearing on television a few weeks ago, the notion that the undefeated fighter is mentally unstable has started to pick up steam.

There was Ronda becoming infuriated when Meisha Tate dared to celebrate her own fighter’s win over Team Rousey’s Shayna Baszler. There was Ronda getting in the face of and taunting Tate’s coach/manager/boyfriend Bryan Caraway. There was Ronda kicking open the UFC gym door and screaming Tate’s team out because they’d gone approximately 30 seconds over their scheduled time. In last week’s episode, Ronda launched some of her trademark hostility against UFC vet and Team Tate assistant coach Dennis Hallman.

And then, of course, there’s Ronda crying. A lot. Like, all the time.

Not your normal, boo-hoo type of crying, either. Hers is an angry, motivated and terrifying type of cry. Former Strikeforce champion and would-be Rousey rival Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino called Rousey “mentally sick” after watching her on The Ultimate Fighter. Recently, Hallman did an interview where he recounted a story of an incident he said happened on the TUF set where Rousey told a producer of the show to shut their mouth while she was speaking to her, and then said that he believed that Ronda had mental health issues.

I’ve already written in partial jest that Rousey’s mind is evidently a dark and scary place, but is the two-time Olympian “crazy?” The simple answer is, “no.”

If Ronda Rousey is crazy, it’s the type of crazy that has become familiar to us in great competitors. Rousey isn’t an out-of-control head case, she’s a competitor. She’s not crazy, she’s a champion. And like many champions before her, Ronda is a fiercer competitor than most professional athletes. Her hyper-competitiveness, her apparent need to establish dominance in almost every and any situation, and her ability to used even perceived slights as fuel are traits Rousey shares with the likes of Michael Jordan and Anderson Silva.

Joe Rogan shared a keen observation about high-level competitors on his podcast once. He spoke about legendary athletes like Jordan, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson and how traits of theirs that could be considered flaws, actually helped make them the champions they were.

“A lot of success in athletics comes down to almost, like, a psychosis,” Rogan said. “At a real high level of anything, there’s a certain amount of crazy behavior to get to this incredible position like Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson in his prime. There’s a madness.”

Joe Rogan on the madness of excellence

MJ not only held on to grudges longer than anyone and turned them into fifty-point games, he was also so ruthlessly competitive that he punched his own teammates in the head during practices. Ali literally, and arguably criminally, stalked Sonny Liston outside his home, and before their first fight doctors came close to not even allowing the brash young star to compete because of his erratic behavior at the weigh in and because his heart rate and blood pressure were at dangerous levels afterwards. Anderson Silva has spent more time talking and taunting and pantomiming during some fights than actually fighting. He has worn masks, kissed and shoulder-checked opponents in the face during weigh-ins.

We don’t really have to detail Mike Tyson’s crazy behavior for you, do we?

Ronda Rousey’s craziness is becoming part of her persona, but it is clear that she’s often times acting out on purpose. She’s already said that a chief part of her strategy in her rematch with Tate is to get her opponent so angry and agitated by her antics leading up to the fight that she will not fight smart — something that Rousey believes happened in their first fight and helped her win so fast.

As for how legitimately touchy Ronda appears to be at times, her mind might very well be wired differently, but it is also likely a key to all her success. Like Silva and Jordan, Rousey appears to be a master at being able to use anything to fuel and motivate herself.

And, if Rousey couldn’t manufacture extra things to motivate her in fighting Tate again, there simply might not be enough there for her to be sharp. Think about it. Ronda beat Tate already and did so quickly and decisively. Most recently, Tate went out and lost to Cat Zingano in her UFC debut. Ronda, still undefeated, now has to fight a woman who she’s already beaten and who has lost two out of her last three fights.

Chances are that Ronda needs a little extra motivation to fight Tate again and so she’s giving it to herself on this season of TUF. In the sense of living a happy and healthy life outside of or after your competitive career, are traits like hyper competitiveness, a need to dominate, and an ability to make mountains our of mole hills great for a person’s emotional health? Maybe not. Would Rousey have become a champ without those traits, though? Unlikely.

Rousey is exactly what she has needed to be to succeed. That isn’t to discount how good, dedicated and hard fighting even someone as even-tempered as Meisha Tate can be and is. Tate is an excellent fighter, but how many of Rousey’s personality critics would be willing to put their money up against the champ in their rematch? All other things being equal in a fight, this writer will always bet on the meaner, madder dog.

So far, Ronda Rousey hasn’t met anyone meaner or madder and that’s a big reason why she’s the champ.