The Flog!

The last semi-final of The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 (TUF9) aired last night.  Frank Lester fought in the three-round semi against James Wilks, who had defeated Lester in a previous bout (Lester took a knee to the mouth and left several teeth, real and fake, in his mouth guard in that fight).

Dan Henderson stated that he felt that Lester knew he could do better than in the previous match-up; Lester said  that if “Henderson believes in me, then I believe in me.” Lester also talked about feeling far more calm in the octagon, having fought several times already. Henderson’s direction to Lester was to throw straight punches and more of them, Lester having a tendency to throw looping punches.

Wilks said he thought he was a technically better striker than Lester and better on the ground. Bisping‘s analysis of the previous fight was that the two men were close when on their feet, but on the ground, Wilks was better than Lester.

The funniest segment of the episode was the coin to the forehead scenario: the premise is that you push a coin strongly onto your forehead, such that it sticks to your skin. Then you hit the back of your head until the coin comes off. The higher the number of hits, the smarter you are. In reality, after you demonstrate the technique, you push it on your friend’s head and instead of leaving the coin there, you surreptitiously remove it, and your friend bashes himself on the head for a long time, sometimes never grasping that there is no coin there.

They tried the game on Bisping and he actually hit himself a goodly number of times, until he realized that there was no coin and he’d been had.

We did that years ago in a restaurant and it really is funny. Eventually you have to say something, though, as the guy does bash himself.

Round one: The two men traded strikes and kicks. Henderson kept yelling for Lester to jab and go first, not wait for Wilks to do something. In fact, most of the time, Lester did not follow direction.

Wilks had his left hand very low throughout most of the match and Bisping was yelling at him to raise his hand. Lester had a couple of strong jabs and Wilks attempted a  take down, which Lester stuffed.

While in the clinch, Lester connected strongly with a couple of strikes while Wilks kept trying for a take down.

Round 2: Lester came out with strong jabs, but Wilks had some huge kicks. Wilks then tried another take down, which Lester again stuffed. While in the clinch, Wilks tried knees to the head and short strikes.

Lester had a huge jab right down the center, but Wilks rocked Lester with a head kick. While tied up, Lester attempted a take down of his own, unsuccessfully. Wilks applied knees to the head and jabs.

Round 3: Lester came out breathing heavily. Wilks struck Lester with some hard punches and a knee to the head.

When in the clinch, Wilks used the knees again, although this time, Lester went down to the floor on his knees. Wilks followed suit with several more knee strikes until the referee stepped in for TKO.

Lester’s face was a mess after all those knees. Dana White paid him a great compliment by stating that Wilks was the better fighter, but Lester was one of the toughest. Lester had had four fights in thirty-four days and was just tired and worn out. He went into the fight with a black eye and probably numerous other injuries which weren’t visible or talked about.

The U.K. has three of the four fighters in the finale this Saturday, which Bisping gloated about. Damarques Johnson will be fighting James Wilks for the welterweight final and Ross Pearson will fight Andre Winner for the lightweight final.

Johnson seems to hate Wilks, the reasons for that being unclear, except for the fact that Wilks has lived in the U.S. for some years, training and teaching various martial arts and weaponry. Perhaps Johnson feels that Wilks should not have been allowed to compete for the U.K. team while living in the U.S.

After the finale, the next bout for TUF9 is the coaches’ fight in UFC 100. Henderson and Bisping will be one of the main events that night. Bisping feels that Henderson’s time is past and Henderson thinks Bisping is a douche bag, whatever that means to him. Certainly, Henderson was more mature during TUF9, but Bisping’s coaching style worked, with his team members becoming close to each other and to him. It’ll be interesting.

The UFC The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 (TUF9) finale is June 20, 2009 on Spike.

ayjay

June 18, 2009

By the time we had access to Pay-Per-View for UFC 99 (the first UFC in Germany), most of the first round of the bout between Marcus Davis and Dan Hardy was over. Davis did look as though he had received more damage. These two guys had had an on-screen hate going over Hardy’s comments about Davis’s “The Irish Hand Grenade” nickname. Davis is American and Hardy had called him a fake Irishman. I guess this was to be good for television.

Round two began with kicks and a knee from Hardy resulting in Davis’s hitting the floor. Hardy went after him, but Davis managed to recover. While Hardy was in Davis’s guard, Davis tried a variation on juji gatame, but Hardy extricated himself.

Davis took Hardy down at the fence and when in Hardy’s guard did some ground and pound.

Round three, started with a good left from Davis. Hardy went down and Davis was in his guard applying elbows. Davis also tried heel hooks, but Hardy spun out of them successfully.

Hardy then had a take down and was in Davis’s guard using elbows to do damage to Davis’s eye and cut his nose.

They were made to stand up and both tried strikes.

Split decision in Hardy’s favour. Davis’s face was a mass of blood. Interestingly, in the post-fight interview, Hardy said his comments about Davis were, essentially, psychological warfare in order to affect Davis’s game plan.  I think it worked: Davis wouldn’t shake hands afterward.

The next fight was between Spencer Fisher and Caol Uno. Fisher wins most bouts by knockout and Uno tends to win by submission. Both men have had dozens of professional fights.

The match went the full three rounds with Uno’s trying to take Fisher to the ground every couple of minutes, and Fisher’s stuffing the take downs with good sprawls, and then fighting in the clinch.

While in the clinch both guys used knees and small, close strikes. The men were holding each other off, gripping wrists, trying various ways to get control. There didn’t seem to be much action, but the manoeuvres were all tactical. When Fisher got a hand free, he would strike; Uno would knee Fisher’s legs.

Both men tried sasae tsurikomi ashi at one point, with Fisher’s version succeeding in getting Uno to the ground and landing on the bottom.

Standing again, Uno kneed Fisher’s head.

Round three had Fisher striking a huge left to Uno’s head. Uno tried an ankle pick take down at the fence and spent a great deal of time trying to complete it. Fisher had the fence to help him and fought the take down, basically sitting on one leg with his back against the fence.

Eventually Uno was in full mount at the fence and used hammerfists and elbows. Fisher rolled from his side, to his back, and to the side again. This was the only time in the match that Uno was in control, but too late. Unanimous decision in Fisher’s favour.

By round three the audience was almost continually booing.  What we saw were two professional athletes with different fighting styles, one wanting to go to the ground, and the other, determined not to go there, but both knowing how to work to get to their favourite positions. (This fight could have been extremely boring, with the fighters never actually connecting, e.g. Anderson Silva versus Thales Leites in UFC 97. Leites wanted to go to the ground and Silva avoided it to the extent that they rarely touched each other.) They were very closely matched, both just happened to be equal in their strength levels, and knew how to counter each other’s moves.  I thought the audience might have been uneducated as to MMA. Perhaps they are more familiar with K1,  Muay Thai, or some other martial art. These two fighters did not deserve the disrespect shown them by the audience. (Should some of you think that I am bigoted against Germans, please know that I am German, having come to North America when I was three.)

Next up were Mike Swick and Ben Saunders. Swick’s background is Guerilla Jiu Jitsu and kickboxing; Saunders wins about equally with knock outs and submissions.

Round one started with Saunders taking Swick down.  They were on the ground for quite some time, with Swick holding Saunders in butterfly guard and Saunders just on top, not doing anything. There was some trash talking between them, quite audible as they were right by the announcers. Since nothing much happened here, I was wondering why the audience wasn’t booing.

Standing again, Swick kicked Saunders’s leg. In the clinch, Swick used knees and foot stomps.

Round two had Saunders attempting a head kick, which Swick blocked. In the clinch, Swick used knees again. He then took Saunders down and the men ended up in the same position as round one.

Made to stand, Swick kneed Saunders and then started attacking with a flurry of strikes, at least fifteen, one of which was to Saunders’ left temple causing Saunders to crumple. Knock out of the night.

The heavyweights were up next: Mirko Cro Cop versus Mostapha Al-Turk.  Al-Turk had a four inch reach advantage, does jiu jitsu, loves ground and pound, and wins most of the time by knock out. Cro Cop is a kickboxer, who wins by knock out with both hands and feet.

The match started with Al-Turk looking jittery, nervous, busy. He tried huge strikes and a leg kick and then attempted a take down. Cro Cop followed Al-Turk around the octagon, looking for the perfect moment to strike. When Cro Cop connected, in among his strikes, was an inadvertent poke to the eye. Al-Turk covered his face and turned his back. Neither Cro Cop nor the referee realized what had happened. Cro Cop continued the attack until the referee stepped in for TKO.

In the post-fight interview, Cro Cop said that he hadn’t realized he’d poked Al-Turk in the eye, but that Al-Turk would have lost either way. This is probably true, but after having watched the eye poke multiple times in slow motion, it’s a terrible way to win a match.

The first co-main event was between Cain Velasquez and Cheick Kongo. Velasquez came in at 5-0 and had won all his matches by knock out. Kongo, at 3″ taller and 5″ reach advantage, came in with 24-4-1. He generally wins by knock out.

Once again, the match went the distance. In each round, Kongo came out strongly for the first thirty seconds, actually winning the round with huge strikes. Unfortunately, Velasquez is very difficult to subdue: in round one, Kongo rocked Velasquez with two huge strikes, but got taken down himself. Velasquez had side control, then full mount; Kongo rolled over and stood up, just to be taken down again.

Kongo really seemed helpless on the ground. Velasquez quite smartly took Kongo down whenever he wanted and applied strikes and elbows.  At one point, they were in the clinch at the fence, with Velasquez slightly to the front of Kongo and Dave said that Kongo was going to get thrown with harai goshi. Velasquez tried it, but it wasn’t successful.

By the third round, as Kongo came out strongly again, instead of continuing with his stand up which was so powerful, he went after Velasquez and let himself be taken down again. Everyone on our boat was yelling, “Don’t go to the ground!”

The end of the match had Velasquez take Kongo down in the center of the octagon and, while in full mount, doing some ground and pound. Velasquez had opportunities for submission: Kongo had his arms flailing wildly as he turned away from the assault, so Velasquez could easily have applied a juji, resulting in a win. Kongo could have put his feet under him, lifted his hips, and thrown Velasquez off balance enough to get free. Neither of these things happened. Kongo is incapable on the ground. At this stage in his professional career, he should be working on all aspects of MMA so as not to get caught. He needs at least a year of solid groundwork. Velasquez could have finished the fight with a submission, ensuring a win, just in case Kongo had managed to get free to stand up (where he is extremely dangerous).

Unanimous decision in Velasquez’s favour.

The other co-main event was between Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva. This, too, went the distance. Franklin said he was looking forward to this fight as he likes to fight from standing and so does Silva.

The first round began with combinations from Silva and a take down using kuchiki taoshi. Later in the round, Silva tried a triangle choke from standing, but while doing a butt flop, lost the choke.

When standing, Silva had his hands down and Franklin connected through the gaps.

Round two had Silva applying a body kick, with a counter from Franklin. Franklin tried a head kick which Silva caught.  He then used a combination of kicks and punches. One jab caught Silva and took him down. Franklin controlled the round with strikes and punches.

Silva attempted many strikes, most of which Franklin ducked. At the end of the round, a left high kick from Silva rocked Franklin. 

Round three had Silva throwing an inside leg kick and both men striking. Franklin kicked to Silva’s ribs. While in the clinch, Silva tried a knee to the head, a body kick and a head kick. After a burst of strikes from Silva (to cheers from the crowd), Franklin took Silva down.

Unanimous decision in Franklin’s favour. Fight of the night.

ayjay

June 15, 2009

The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 (TUF9) had its lightweight semi-finals last night. Andre Winner fought Cameron Dollar and Ross Pearson fought Jason Dent.

The first bout, between Winner and Dollar, had the potential to be excruciating for Dollar as he had a rib injury. Henderson‘s game plan was for Dollar to punch his way in, take Winner down and finish him off. During training, though, Dollar’s side was so sore, that his training was impacted. Henderson suggested that both his lightweights were going to win and it would be White‘s biggest nightmare, that of US versus US, instead of US versus UK, in the lightweight final.

During training, Winner worked on stand-up only and said he wanted to keep the fight boxing. A segment of the show dwelt on Winner’s tendency to thumb suck, something I didn’t know adults did. He was funny about it, somewhat embarrassed, and the other guys laughed about it, but were surprisingly tolerant.

Winner came into the match with a 9-2-1 record and stated that he had to pay the bills, so treated every fight as though it were the last fight. Dollar’s record was 4-1 going in. He believed that God wouldn’t have given him the chance to do this if he couldn’t handle it.

Round one began with a flurry of punches from Dollar and a take down attempt. Winner threw a big shot to Dollar’s chin, and connected, and then applied some knees.

Dollar tried for another take down at the fence, and eventually got it, but Winner rolled onto the top and then the bottom, putting Dollar into a triangle choke (sankaku jime). Dollar tried to stand with Winner’s legs wrapped around him, but finally tapped out.

Winner’s comment to the camera was that the stand-up guy won by submission. Since Dollar’s ground skills are good, Winner should be proud.

Ross Pearson was called a bulldog by the announcer and the title is apt: he’s solid, thick-necked, and keeps coming forward. Even during training, when he popped out his shoulder, he had Bisping yank it back into place and went straight back to training. Pearson said he was going to hit Dent with everything he had, hoping for a knock out.

Jason Dent’s previous matches were boring and his attitude in the house was very negative (although I don’t blame him for hating it – no television, radios, computers, phones, newspapers, and living in a confined space with fifteen other people who are not your friends OR family. Oh, and no contact with family or friends for the duration of the stay. There’s all the alcohol you could possibly drink, though.) Henderson said Dent had not yet shown what he was capable of.  Dent did say that he lost every match which had gone to decision, so he was looking for TKO.

Round 1 began with Dent’s kicking and Pearson’s striking. They ended at the fence in a clinch with Pearson’s kneeing Dent’s head, trying uppercuts, a big strike to the ribs (which caused Dent to buckle) and kicks. Pearson has a strong head kick which he used many times and, if they had not been blocked, would have resulted in a knock out.

Dent applied some heavy uppercuts, but Pearson’s tough. Pearson then answered with strikes to the body and face – many, many strikes which were unanswered by Dent.

Just before the end of the round, Dent connected a few times with head strikes.

Round 2: Dent tried some low leg kicks and strikes to the head. Pearson was very clever at the fence and timed his strikes to Dent such that they happened as Dent bounced off the fence, resulting in Dent’s getting hit each time he came off the fence.

Pearson managed a take down of his own, controlling Dent from guard, full, and half mount. After they stood up, Dent tried a take down with no success, so he did a butt flop. Pearson jumped on him and did some ground and pound here.

Round 3: Dent came out impressively with multiple strikes and kicks. Pearson replied with uppercuts and a rib/kidney shot to the same side which he hit the previous round. Pearson took Dent down at the fence and served elbows and heavy fists to Dent as Dent lay on the bottom.

Dent turned over and turtled and then went on his back again, with Pearson in his guard. Dent attempted armbars many times from the bottom, but was unsuccessful. Pearson controlled the match completely while on the ground.

Unanimous decision in Pearson’s favour.

Both fighters in the lightweight final are from the UK.

UFC‘s The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 (TUF9) is on Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. on Spike.

ayjay

June 11, 2009

Despite Dana White’s suggestion of having teammate versus teammate for the semi-finals, in order to have the actual finals with US versus UK, the semi-final match ups had opposing teams fighting.

Frank Lester will fight in the last fight to give him as much time as possible to heal from his latest bout; however, he will fight the man who beat him in his first match, James Wilks. You’ll remember that Wilks kneed Lester in the mouth, resulting in not a few teeth, real and fake, being left in Lester’s mouth guard.

The first semi-final match was between Damarques Johnson and Nick Osipczak. Johnson began with a solid left/right combo to Osipczak’s head, while Osipczak threw a lower leg kick.

Johnson acquired a take down, while in the clinch, doing a sasae tsurikomi ashi (sweeping drawing ankle throw). Standing quickly afterward, the men traded punches with a nice left jab from Johnson. Osipczak tried a soto makikomi, which ended in a take down and Johnson in Osipczak’s guard, then half guard. Johnson applied some ground and pound, while Osipczak elbowed the side of Johnson’s head.

Standing again, they began the best part of the match: With 30 seconds to go, Osipczak rocked Johnson with an uppercut and then immediately followed through with multiple strikes around the octagon. Unbelievably, Johnson managed to come to and fought back, throwing solid shots of his own. He’s certainly tough; I thought he was out on his feet.

Round two had Johnson coming in mouth-breathing and looking done in, but still managing to throw a knee to Osipczak’s chin.

Osipczak tried a take down, which ended badly with Johnson taking his back and then having side mount. Johnson applied elbows, moving from side to half guard and then side again. Johnson tried a Kimura, but gave up and used elbows again.

While in full mount, Johnson wrapped one leg around Osipczak’s waist and did some more ground and pound.  Osipczak turned a bit to the side to protect his face, but exposed the back of his head to Johnson and ended up getting punched several times. Osipczak managed to hang on until the bell.
 
Each time Osipczak was mounted, he tried for juji gatame with good hip movement and leg placement, but never had the arm.
 
Round three had both fighters looking fatigued and moving much slower, but still trading punches. Johnson attempted a flying knee. He then took Osipczak down, with no resistance.

From half guard with Osipczak on the bottom, Johnson did shoulder strikes and elbows and moved to full mount. Osipczak surprisingly managed a reversal and was on top. His strikes were not enough to win the round, though.

Johnson is off to the finals with a unanimous decision. Osipczak had just endured his first defeat.

Post-fight scenes showed Johnson with ice on his left leg and talking about having bitten off a piece of his tongue. He was more interested in getting healthy than thinking about the final.

The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 (TUF9) is on Spike on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EST.

ayjay
June 4, 2009

Episode 9 of TUF9 completed the preliminary rounds. We finally had Dave Faulkner‘s match, but not with Jason Pierce (Dana White told Pierce that he wasn’t fighting in the previous episode). His opponent was Frank Lester who had been beaten in an earlier matchup. Lester’s talk with White about how much he wanted to fight was the deciding factor in his being chosen. White said that Lester was what a real fighter is – he doesn’t care about stitches, black eyes, a nose that hurts or missing teeth.

Lester had been beaten badly before – bruises on his face and his nose was most likely cracked. His teeth had been forcibly removed as well. When he tried to place his mouthguard in before practice, he found that his teeth were still in it.

Henderson‘s game plan for Lester was to go after Faulkner ”nice and easy” and then to do a takedown.

Bisping felt that Faulkner could “blow Lester out of the octagon”. Faulkner’s main problem was still the gag reflex when his mouthguard was in, so he went to a hypnotherapist to get over it. He was to feel safe and protected when the mouthguard was in place. Who knows if it worked; they had only one session.

Part of the episode revolved around confrontations between Henderson and Bisping and then Bisping and Damarques Johnson.

Henderson wanted to switch training times with the UK group so that he no longer had to get up early, something the US team had done for four weeks. Bisping had a fit and tried to use the next fight to decide. Henderson refused. The next morning Bisping and Co. were all training very early, having been told they had to change times.

The next altercation involved Bisping’s spraying water from his bottle in Johnson’s face as he walked by. Bisping thought, in error, that Johnson had said a “racist” remark about him during the coaches’ tennis challenge. In fact, it had been Cameron Dollar‘s comment and it wasn’t much of a remark to begin with (“whiter than a band-aid” to describe Bisping’s legs). Johnson was livid and had to walk it off. Bisping apologized but Johnson wasn’t having any of it.

Round 1 between Faulkner and Lester started with Lester’s keeping his distance. I’m sure he didn’t want to get hit in the face with all his injuries. He tried a head kick and Faulkner tried a take down and some flying fists. While in the clinch in the center of the octagon, both guys applied knees. Bisping was yelling for Faulkner to have his “hands tight” and left hand higher while Henderson shouted “jabs” to Lester a few dozen times. The fighters were often in the clinch at the fence, stalemated, doing very little. Henderson was constantly yelling “circle” to have Lester get away from the fence.

Faulkner managed one take down, but Lester used the fence to help him get up. He tried big looping strikes which did not connect.

Round 1 to Faulkner.

At the beginning of round 2, Faulkner spit out his mouthguard and walked backward with hands down. He was gassed. Lester did a head kick and went into the clinch. Faulkner applied some body shots and elbows while in the clinch.

Lester used strong combos while in the center, very heavy strikes, and then dragged Faulkner to the fence by the back of the neck. Faulkner was flat-footed and looked exhausted.

Although Lester had far more energy in this round that Faulkner, once again we had Henderson telling him to “circle” to get away from the fence while in the clinch. Both guys used knees here.

Round 2 went to Lester, but not so much that Lester won as that Faulkner lost. He actually walked away at one point, arms at his side and then bent forward from the waist to take a breath at about the four minute mark.

White announced that there would be the Sudden Victory round, but Faulkner refused to continue. Faulkner said that he enjoyed the match, no longer had anything to prove and no longer felt stressed. It actually sounded as though he was quitting MMA, as he talked about professional wrestling or horror movies.

Bisping, on the other hand, had his stress levels through the roof afterward, stomping out, kicking a door.

The semi-finals are next with four guys from each team competing.

The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 TUF9 is on Spike on Wednesdays at 10:00 EST. 

Click here to go to The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Episode 1

Click here to go to The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Episode 2

Click here to go to The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Episode 3

Click here to go to The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Episode 4

Click here to go to The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Episode 5

Click here to go to The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Episode 6

Click here to go to The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Episode 7

Click here to go to The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Episode 8

ayjay

May 27, 2009

UFC 98 Evans vs Machida had knockouts and tap outs galore.

Sean Sherk fought Frank Edgar for Fight of the Night. Edgar had excellent stamina, moved constantly, attacked with combinations, threw high kicks, feinted punches, and avoided most of Sherk’s punches. Round 1 went to Edgar. Sherk was flat-footed and just followed Edgar around the octagon. Edgar had a five inch reach advantage on Sherk and it was very obvious: Sherk had a hard time connecting. Edgar moved in to attack and then sidled out of the way.

Round 2 had Sherk connecting more, but mostly one-off punches. Edgar had more combos and, again, moved constantly. It was very much a boxing match with few kicks and few takedowns.

Round 3 began by a take down from Sherk in response to punches from Edgar. Edgar got to his feet and had Sherk frustrated again as he missed lots of his strikes. Sherk attempted a take down and ended up with Edgar pulling guard and applying a guillotine right at the bell.

Unanimous decision in Edgar’s favour. Fight of the Night. 

The match between Chael Sonnen and Dan Miller covered loads of ground techniques as Miller spent every opportunity trying submissions. I assume this was because Sonnen loses by submission; however, since Miller was on the bottom when on the ground and the submissions weren’t working, Miller was pummelled for three rounds. Sonnen got out of a very tight guillotine at the beginning of the first round, took Miller down heavily in round 2, applied big punches and elbows, took Miller down again in round 3, and just controlled the match. Miller tried guillotine chokes and other submissions, but Sonnen was victorious. Unanimous decision in Sonnen’s favour.

Drew McFedries came out against Xavier Foupa-Pokam with a knockout at 37 seconds of round 1. Both these men are known for their knockout power and McFedries proved it here. Xavier was out on his feet from the third punch and then another ten or eleven connected before the referee stopped the match. Xavier followed McFedries around the octagon, literally hanging on to his leg, but he was out of it. TKO referee stoppage.

Kryzsztof Soszynski fought against Andre Gusmao in a preliminary bout. Gusmao used some inside leg kicks, one of which caused Soszynski to drop to one knee. Soszynski, in turn, used combos and, for a guy who loves arm bars, threw a straight punch and flattened Gusmao. Knockout.

The co-main event between the Matts – Hughes versus Serra  – came up next. There was non-stop mention of their hate for each other, et cetera, ad nauseum. Hughes wanted to shut Serra up and Serra wanted to do the same. I guess this makes for good television. They didn’t touch gloves and came out aggressively, such that Serra inadvertently headbutted Hughes (or Hughes munched his chin into Serra’s head) and had Hughes on the run for several minutes. Even at the break, Hughes asked his corner if he’d been knocked down. Despite the headbutt, Hughes controlled the round with a strong takedown and choke attempt from grapevine.

Round 2 had Serra connecting with strong punches, but a takedown by Hughes, with his ending in Serra’s guard, had Hughes pounding Serra and controlling him for most of the round. Serra was on the bottom waiting for the right moment or technique and was dominated.

Round 3 had submission attempts by Serra after another take down by Hughes. Serra trapped Hughes’s arm for an oma plata which didn’t quite work and then tried it on the other arm. He then tried a triangle. Standing again, Serra did a take down. Ground and pound followed as well as an attempt at a kimura. Ridiculously, after all the trash talking, they hugged after the match. Unanimous decision in Hughes’s favour.

The other co-main event was next with Rashad Evans against Lyoto Machida. In our boathold we had four people, three of whom picked Machida to win. I’m for the underdog, so I went for Evans. I find Machida’s fighting style, although extremely technical and effective, to be mostly boring. He moves in for the quick attack and then out again, standing with his upper body leaning away from his opponent. It makes him a far more elusive target, but doesn’t make for a fun fight. (To be fair, I do prefer ground techniques, none of which we saw here; I’m also not technically inclined, so the art of finding the right instant to go in is beyond me.) Evans and Machida spent a good deal of the match tapping gloves; in fact, the first two minutes of the first round was just that. This was so boring that, despite writing notes during the match, I had a difficult time keeping the eyes open. Machida was first to connect with a head kick causing Evans to wobble. Later in the round, Machida’s strike took Evans to the ground and Machida jumped on him.

Round 2 had the men at the fence with Machida using combos and Evans countering. Machida then punched Evans multiple times, such that Evans crumpled with his head flopping to the side. Machida is now the UFC light heavyweight champion. The guys on the boat called this the Knockout of the Night, although Soszynski’s was pretty good. The tapping of the gloves and non-connecting for long stretches makes this NOT the fight of the night.

Another preliminary match was between Brock Larson and Mike Pyle. This match contained the Technique of the Night with Larson doing a lovely kata gatame (arm triangle choke) on Pyle, not something one often sees in the UFC.

Canadian Tim Hague, a heavyweight at 265, but spry on his feet, won his match with Pat Barry. He got Barry in a guillotine and rolled over, staying attached, and ending with Barry on the bottom, legs trapped, neck in guillotine. Tap out. Spry indeed.

UFC 98 Evans vs Machida had a good range of techniques and knockouts, a variety of styles and other than the tapping of the gloves in the Evans/Machida fight (reminiscent of Wladimir  Klischko, I think), a good night.

ayjay

May 24, 2009

P.S. Right now, Machida is considered the most effective fighter in the UFC, not having lost any round and not having been taken down by anyone. My gut feeling is that, as with learning how to counter the Gracies, people will learn how to fight Machida’s style. We’ll see people taking karate or some other kicking martial art and having their coaches work out ways to counter Machida’s karate. ayjay, May 25, 2009

For the second week in a row on UFC‘s The Ultimate Fighter TUF9, we had drama with the proposed Pierce and Faulkner match.

Pierce now had a staph infection on his leg, the infection having progressed from cellulitis. He spent the entire episode all wrapped up in a hoodie. When Dana White called him into a meeting, Pierce’s comments sounded as though he had a fever; he stated that his leg was sore and that one of the doctors suggested that he could get a bone infection if the leg were injured. White gave him a few days to decide whether he wanted to fight. Pierce’s responses to all White’s questions were in monotone.

This episode no longer mentioned Faulkner’s leg injury (in which he whacked his leg with a sledgehammer, causing a massive lump and infection). His problem during training was taking out his mouthguard: he has a strong gag reflex and can’t seem to function with the mouthguard in. Bisping said that the referee might deduct points for removing the mouthguard, so Faulkner would have to learn to deal with it.

In addition to his being ill, Pierce, a major complainer, had Henderson saying he had “negative energy”. Santino talked about Pierce as being the most negative guy in the house. In all the scenes, Pierce is all covered up, morose and grumpy-looking.

The fight of the night was between Jason Dent and Jeff Lawson. Lawson, according to Bisping, is fantastic on the ground, has great take downs and will submit his opponents quickly. Lawson has 21 wins by arm bar and joked that he would throw four or five punches, do a throw, and apply an arm bar. He also admitted that no one was going to get knocked out by him. His attitudes were lighthearted and refreshing. His main issue was that he had had bronchitis for the first nine days in the house, during which time he was unable to train at all. He wanted Dent to “lie down and let me get the arm bar”.

Dent, per Henderson, is “surprisingly technical” on his feet and the ground. Unfortunately, he “irritates” Henderson, is “tough to coach” because he doesn’t want to get better, to look at his weaknesses. When your coach says that you are tough to coach, you have problems.

Before the fight, Dana White called Pierce in again and told him that he wasn’t going to fight. What he wanted was a reaction from Pierce, an indication that he really wanted to fight, to please let him fight. Pierce looked upset afterward, but White’s feeling was that once Pierce got into the house, he realized he was not a fighter. Henderson said that if Pierce had fought, he would have lost.

The match between Dent and Lawson started out strongly: after a couple of leg kicks from Dent, Lawson threw Dent with harai makikomi, taking him to the ground. Lawson then tried what looked like a heel hook, but was unsuccessful. While in Dent’s guard, Lawson got on his feet and threw a number of punches. He then picked Dent up (Dent’s legs were wrapped around Lawson’s waist) and dropped him to his back (daki age).  Dent was on the bottom for almost the entire round.

Round 2 had Dent throw some leg kicks while Lawson looked exhausted, turtling a couple of times.  Lawson would bend forward from the waist, hands on legs, and then do something astounding like a flying knee.  He has lots of skills, but this was not to be his day. The match ended with Dent applying a rear naked choke on the ground, not even in a grapevine. Lawson tapped out very quickly despite the fact that the choke and the hold were weak.

The comments at the end of the episode blamed Lawson’s loss on the chest infection, which  impacted his cardio and gave the poor result. Dana White commented that the win was very weak. I would like to see Lawson when he is healthy: he has some strong throws and ground skills. His stand up needs work and he has problems with his posture when his legs are kicked (actually moves such that he is off-balance and the leg kicks hit harder), but he seems like a good guy who has potential.

Earlier in this episode Lawson, Faulkner and Amasinger entertained themselves and the other members of the UK team with professional wrestling skits complete with masks and donkey ears. Right at the bell for Round 1 someone on the UK team yelled, “Release the Hate!”, causing Lawson to look over and laugh. There’s a guy who is relaxed and happy to be doing what he’s there for.

The UFC‘s The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 TUF9 is on Spike on Wednesdays at 10 p.m.

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 1

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 2

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 3

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 4

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 5

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 6

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 7

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 9

ayjay

Last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 revolved around the coaches’ challenge, a tennis tournament, watching the training of Dave Faulkner (UK) and Jason Pierce (US) and the fight between Richie Whitson and Ross Pearson. So much of the hour dwelt on the training of Faulkner and Pierce that I assumed they were fighting in this episode.

Faulkner and Pierce have become buddies during their time on the show which could be a problem. Bisping said he felt that Faulkner could win against anyone in the house as did Faulkner himself.  During training, Bisping told Faulkner that even though the guys were friends, when they get into the octagon, Pierce was going to try to kill him. Bisping’s training sessions were hard exercises –  among them, silkworm, in which you worm your way along the mats on your side, pulling your arms and legs up toward your head and down toward your feet in order to move, and a dragging exercise, in which you pull your partner along the mats. Interestingly, these are exercises which we did with regularity at our old judo club years ago. They involve your moving yourself and others and are hard work.

Strangely, both these guys are injured in this episode: Pierce broke blood vessels in his foot during his preliminary elimination match, resulting in his not being able to kick with that leg. Henderson worried about Pierce’s “sore ankle against an ankle lock guy”. In the other camp, Bisping had the guys pounding a tractor tire with a sledgehammer, resulting in Faulkner’s whacking his own leg with the hammer, creating a giant, infected lump on his calf.

When learning that the US team was going to have a sparring session, Pierce started complaining. The sparring coach gave a pep talk to everyone, but Pierce walked out. The sparring coach said Pierce was a negative guy and pain in the neck. (He is one of the main complainers in the one-on-one sessions in front of the camera.)

The coaches’ challenge was a tennis tournament with the serving area being the entire opposite side since neither guy knew how to play tennis. Both coaches were terrible; however, Henderson won 6 to 2, earning 10K in cash for himself and $1500 for each team member. It was an ugly game on both parts.

After spending most of the hour on Faulkner and Pierce, we found that they were not fighting in this episode. Richie Whitson was going to fight against Ross Pearson. Whitson is a muay thai scrapper from Alaska who trains at Henderson’s club and knows all of the coaches well. Pearson is what Bisping called a “pitbull” who needs to “relax on the horsepower” a bit.

During the training session with Bisping, we saw Bisping throw Pearson with a beautiful hip throw and show him new moves to add to his abilities. Usually the coaches watch and critique, so it was exciting to see Bisping display his skills.

Round 1 between the lightweights started at eight minutes to eleven, so the match was going to be short. Whitson had Pearson in the clinch at the fence and attempted an elbow. Pearson managed to elude him and kneed Whitson in the face. Both guys tried really high kicks, neither of which landed. At one point Whitson was on his knees and Pearson stood up and punched Whitson, resulting in a point being taken away.

The rest of the round had Pearson taking Whitson down perhaps four times. Although they traded punches, the take downs were the deciding factor: Pearson got on Whitson’s back and achieved a straight arm bar (juji gatame) after a turnover. Tapout.

The Ultimate Fighter series certainly shows sides of people you wouldn’t ordinarily see. These guys can beat the pulp out of you and yet weep uncontrollably about missing family and wanting to go home (Dollar). Whitson had impetigo on his face several days before the match and Pierce (I think it was Pierce) went berserk spraying antiseptic everywhere, as though that would help. (Impetigo is a bacterial infection which is contagious and treated with antibiotics.)

The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 TUF9 is on Spike on Wednesdays at 10 p.m.

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 1

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 2

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 3

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 4

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 5

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 6

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 8

  Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 9

ayjay

May 14, 2009

Episode 6 of The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 (TUF9) eliminated a lightweight fighter and a welterweight.  Cameron Dollar was chosen to fight against Martin Stapleton for the lightweight fight.

Dollar’s background is in wrestling and his stand up is severely lacking, causing Henderson to be frustrated with Dollar’s stand up work. Dollar admitted that it wasn’t his forte and that he was really only keen on learning the grappling techniques. He also talked about his being very nervous before any fight and looked uncomfortable everywhere, including in the house. He looked afraid of Stapleton, even as Stapleton walked through the room. Henderson’s game plan for Dollar was to punch his way in and take Stapleton down.

Stapleton is a BJJ guy who is/was (?) in the Royal Marines. Bisping talked about him as being the best wrestler in the UK team, a good boxer, with excellent cardio, etc. Both Bisping’s and Stapleton’s attitudes assumed Stapleton to be the stronger fighter.

Round 1 had Stapleton attempting take downs until Dollar did his own with a nice harai goshi, by the fence. He eventually ended up on Stapleton’s back and with the fence on one side, got Stapleton in a grapevine and did a strong rear naked choke (hadaka jime).

Even though Dollar is an annoying, egomaniacal kid, he proved that his ground skills are good: he can take someone down, apply a solid choke and make him tap out.

During the break between fights, Bisping apologized to Amasinger for missing his fight. It seems he had severe jetlag and finally overslept. I know that sounds feeble, but I can appreciate the problem, having had it myself.

Fight number two was between Frank Lester and James Wilks. Lester came across throughout the episode as a nutbar: he cursed and swore his way through every conversation and ranted about Wilks, his disdain for him, and wanting to beat him, non-stop. Wilks has lived in California for some years while training and this seems to be the thorn in Lester’s side. Unfortunately, Lester’s attitude made him come across as immature and irrational. It’s just a fight - for television – not the end of the world.

Bisping thought Wilks could beat Lester in all areas of the game; Henderson spoke of Lester’s speed of punches.

Round 1 had both guys doing sporadic jabs (Lester side-stepped his way in circles and Wilks followed) and Wilks applied a front kick. Bisping kept yelling at Wilks to get his left hand up and jab and he did neither. Wilks eventually got side mount and had a loose yoko shiho gatame, with Bisping shouting something to get him to close the gaps.

Here’s where this fight got weird. In Dollar’s match against Stapleton, when Dollar made contact on the ground, he stuck to Stapleton like glue and got his win:  in this match, Wilks would try one technique after another, leaving gaping holes between himself and Lester, so that Lester would manage the escape and run off. Wilks would then chase after the guy and try again. At the fence, Wilks kneed Lester in the face, managed another take down and did a little ground and pound until the bell.

During the break, Lester said that his teeth got knocked out. In fact, his artificial front teeth, whether crowns or partial plate, were knocked out and stuck in his mouthguard. His corner had to remove the teeth in order for him to put his mouthguard in. The referee told the corner to put the teeth on ice.

When the round started, Lester kept his distance from Wilks, either because he was hurt or tired, or both. Wilks took Lester down at the fence a couple of times and, after side and full mount, achieved a juji gatame.

One or more of Lester’s teeth were knocked out: we saw him spitting blood into a bucket and someone else said that a tooth had been spit up. He’s a tough guy, then, if that’s the case. Instead of going into round 2, he should really have gone to the hospital to have the teeth reinserted.

The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 TUF9 is on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on Spike.

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 1

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 2

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 3

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 4

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 5

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 7

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 8

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 9

ayjay

May 7, 2009

Last night’s episode of UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 (TUF9) US versus UK brought out some of the worst in a few fighters. As the Americans sat around (they are limited in entertainment – no books, no magazines, no newspapers, no radio, no television or phone), we were regaled by someone’s (Dollar’s?) bragging about his sexual exploits, causing at least one American to leave the room. The British team, in contrast, played sports (with Americans looking on from the balconies) and developed a camaraderie and team spirit.

After the first fight last week, which the Americans lost, one American fighter suggested that they be respectful toward the Brits. Cameron Dollar and Damarques Johnson disagreed with this concept, causing the first of many arguments among the Americans.

The first fight of this episode was to be between Santino Defranco and Andre Winner. Henderson said that Defranco was experienced and well-rounded and could take Winner apart if they stayed standing. Winner thought that he could lose only if there were a good submission. It’s refreshing to hear a fighter admit that he could lose.

Santino is the fellow who tried out for The Ultimate Fighter in 2005 only to find that he had two aneurysms and required immediate brain surgery. In his preliminary elimination bout, shown in Episode 2, he was dominated in round 1 only to return in round 2 to do a flying knee and then choke out his opponent. He had a 4 inch reach advantage on Winner and a record of 13-4.

Winner won his preliminary bout handily, and his stats were similar (9-2-1).

Round 1 had Winner starting with some strong outside leg kicks while Defranco tried a take down which Winner stuffed. Defranco did a couple of jabs, then a feint and another take down attempt.

Winner used a variety of punches (overhead right, double jab and right) and leg kicks, while Defranco succeeded at his next takedown; Winner ended up on top, however, inside Defranco’s rubber guard. Defranco kept trying an oma plata from the guard, but eventually Winner got out and went to side mount, his punches overwhelming Defranco. TKO referee stoppage.

The next fight was between Damarques Johnson (13-6) and Dean Amasinger (4-1). Bisping admitted that Johnson was the US team’s best fighter but Amasinger was skilled and fit and could win if he fought hard. He made a point of telling Amasinger that Johnson’s favourite technique is the triangle and to be aware of that.

Henderson thought that Johnson’s skills lay in his striking, ground and pound, and good armbars and triangles.

At the bell, Amasinger started with kicks, but got taken down immediately by Johnson, who tried an unsuccessful armbar. Amasinger was in Johnson’s guard, at one point picking Johnson up to slam him to the mat. All the while, though, Johnson worked toward getting the triangle choke, which eventually won him the match, giving the US team their first win.

Oddities about this episode: Johnson, who curses with the grace of Dana White, praying out loud to God while in the octagon (anytime, on any scripted show, where actors pray out loud is weird and unbelievable; in this case, we have a fighter on a reality show who knows there’s a cameraman ten feet away filming everything); TUF’s version of “Where’s Waldo?” in “Where’s Bisping?”. Michael Bisping missed Amasinger’s fight – very bad form, unless you’re lying in a hospital bed with tubes in your nether regions, or there was an emergency of major proportions. Even still, you would still call or someone would call, n’est-ce pas?.

UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 (TUF9) US vs UK is on Spike on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EST.

Click here to go to The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Episode 1

Click here to go to The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Episode 2

Click here to go to The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Episode 3

Click here to go to The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Episode 4

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 6

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 7

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 8

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 9

ayjay

April 30, 2009