Posts Tagged ‘damarques johnson’

UFC 107

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

UFC 107 contained some very strong submissions, stunning knock-outs and so-so fighting:

Frank Mir versus Cheick Kongo – Mir struck Kongo, partially putting Kongo out and then, from his back, applied a front guillotine. Mir had to tell Herb Dean that Kongo was unconscious. Dean lifted one of Kongo’s arms and watched it fall.Hadaka Jime – Front Naked Choke

When Kenny Florian fought Clay Guida, Florian struck a left and right and Guida went down. Florian grapevined him and applied a rear naked choke. Hadaka Jime – Rear Naked Choke

Damarques Johnson almost lost his match against Edgar Garcia when Garcia applied what is commonly called a Peruvian Necktie, a variation of a front guillotine. In this case, Garcia had his head to the floor, face down, and his legs at Johnson’s upper chest. Johnson fought the choke amazingly and managed to escape it. Later in the round, Johnson applied his own choke, Sankaku Jime – Triangle Choke, from the guard. He first up-kicked Garcia’s head, rocking him, and grabbing an arm, did a figure-of-four with the legs and Garcia tapped out. Submission of the Night.

The Knock Out of the Night went to T. J. Grant in his bout against Kevin Burns. Burns came close to knocking Grant out early in the round, but just before the buzzer for the end of round 1, Grant kneed Burns several times and then struck him on the jaw to knock him to the ground. Grant jumped on Burns and struck him four more times.

The B. J. Penn match against Diego Sanchez had the potential for fantastic ground game. Penn almost ended the match seconds on as he rocked Sanchez with a heavy strike, just as Joe Rogan talked about Penn’s striking abilities. He rocked Sanchez again near the end of the round. Sanchez was determined to take Penn to the ground, but Penn stuffed every attempt, and there were many – so many that the audience booed eventually. The single-leg take down attempts were consistently unsuccessful, but Sanchez continued to try them.

By the fifth round, Sanchez had many facial wounds, one of which was a vertical cut on the bottom lip. As with all the other rounds, Sanchez tried the single leg take down. He also dropped, but Penn sprawled his way out of the take down. When standing, Penn threw a kick to Sanchez’s face, striking him on the left forehead. This opened a huge gash, causing blood to gush down his body. TKO referee stoppage.

The Fight of the Night was a slugfest between Alan Belcher and Wilson Gouveia who stood toe-to-toe trading heavy strikes until a right upper cut by Belcher knocked Gouveia out.

My Opinion: If I were awarding the Fight of the Night, I would have given it to Johnson and Garcia. The men showed a variety of skills, standing and ground, were evenly matched and had an exciting bout. After Garcia struck Johnson successfully several times, Johnson actually gave kudos to his opponent during the match. It was fun to watch.

ayjay

December 15, 2009

UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Finale TUF9

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Finale (TUF9) was one of the best events the UFC has put on.  Not only was it free (yay), the fights got better and better, from one fight to the next. Even Joe Rogan changed his mind about which fight was the Fight of the Night.

The first broadcast fight was between Nate Diaz and Joe Stevenson. You’ll recall that in his bout with Diego Sanchez, Stevenson kept the fight standing and lost. In this battle, he and Diaz spent a great deal of time on the ground, trading guillotine choke attempts. Stevenson had Diaz at the fence several times applying knees. To avoid knees to the head, Diaz put one knee on the ground, but Stevenson was in control each time.

The best segment of round one had Stevenson trapping both of Diaz’s arms, one with his legs and the other with his arm. Diaz was at the fence and rolled over, but his arms were still trapped, with Diaz on the bottom. Diaz managed to escape, but then got put in a very tight guillotine, which came close to ending the fight.

Round two was more of the same, guillotine attempt by Diaz, Stevenson in Diaz’s half guard, Diaz turtling and Stevenson’s applying knees. Stevenson controlled the round while standing and on the ground.

Round three had Stevenson attempting a single leg take down, but Diaz did an harai goshi, ending up in Stevenson’s half guard and then full guard at the fence. Diaz managed to pass the guard.

Stevenson then did his own take down and kneed Diaz’s side at the fence.

Standing again, Diaz tried a take down and many, wild strikes, but little was connecting.

Unanimous decision in Stevenson’s favour.

The Ultimate Fighter lightweights were up next – Ross Pearson versus Andre Winner. I must admit, I thought Pearson had a wider range of skillsets than Winner, and would completely dominate Winner, who is mostly a stand-up guy.

Almost the entire match was standing, with many clinches at the fence as the men worked for superior positions. (I heard no booing here and this fight was not much different from the UFC 99 fight between Spencer Fisher and Caol Uno in which the audience booed throughout as the fighters jockeyed for position.) They traded knees, used dirty boxing, with Pearson throwing huge overhand looping strikes and Winner a flurry of body strikes just before the end of round one.

Round two had Pearson kicking to the head and body, trying a take own, and connecting with knees, while Winner managed a strong uppercut and knees of his own. The round ended with Winner’s flurry of strikes again.

Round three had the men in the clinch for a good portion again, trading strikes and knees. Pearson’s uppercuts were effective as was his take down of Winner. Winner went down to one knee and up again. While in the clinch, Winner had some shoulder strikes and short jabs. Pearson had a straight jab which rocked Winner.

Unanimous decision in Pearson’s favour, but Winner was not easily dismissed.

Chris Lytle and Kevin Burns came up next. Lytle had fifty-seven professional matches coming in to this fight.  Burns came in with ten. Lytle wanted to have fight of the night and knock out of the night, so we expected big things.

Lylte came out with huge punches, big looping strikes, and big kicks. Burns applied leg kicks, high kicks, body kicks, knees and strikes. He rocked Lytle with an uppercut, tried to deal with him on the floor, but Lytle came to. Burns followed up with many strikes and knees up to the buzzer.

Round two had Lytle rocking Burns with his overhand shots. Burns managed a take down, ending in half guard.

While standing Lytle kept striking Burns’s left side, doing combinations, one strike to the head, the other to the ribs. Burns backed up throughout most of the round, half turning his body as he went.

Round three began with a huge overhand right by Lytle which produced an enormous cut over Burns’ left eyebrow, with blood pouring down his face and chest immediately. That did not stop Burns, though, as he answered with a knee and body kick.

Lytle punched Burns’ left temple again, causing him to stumble. Burns tried head kicks and strikes, but he was exhausted.

Unanimous decision in Lytle’s favour.

The Ultimate Fighter welterweights Damarques Johnson and James Wilks fought next. Johnson mouthed off a great deal during season 9, opinionated, and expressing real hate toward Wilks.  Johnson was also regarded as the U.S. team’s best chance.

What we saw from start to finish of this fight was complete domination by Wilks. He began with strong jabs and knees, such that Johnson was protecting himself at the fence, unable to reciprocate.

Wilks took Johnson down and while in Johnson’s guard, tried a heel hook. Johnson slipped out of it, but a few seconds later Wilks tried it again.  Wilks then trapped one of Johnson’s legs and compressed it, while Johnson struck Wilks on the head many times as he tried to extricate from the leg compression.

While in Johnson’s guard, Wilks tried an oma plata, and as Johnson moved around, the arm got more and more trapped, such that people on our boat were groaning, imagining the worst.

Wilks grapevined Johnson and tried for the choke, but Johnson’s chin was down. For some seconds they fought this until Wilks trapped one of Johnson’s arms with his leg and tried for the choke again. Tapout at six seconds before the buzzer in round one. Technique of the Night.

Wilks’s battle with Johnson had the potential to be fight of the night until Diego Sanchez came out against Clay Guida. Both these fighters have at least two dozen professional fights. Sanchez is a BJJ black belt with one school and brown with his current school. Guida is a wrestler wth fantastic cardio, who came out singing and jumping.

The match went the full three rounds with both men succeeding in take downs and ground and pound. In round one, Sanchez connected with a head kick to Guida and Guida hit the dirt. We thought it was a knock out as his head bounced, but amazingly, Guida got up straight away.

Round two had Guida in Sanchez’s full guard and Sanchez elbowing the top of Guida’s head. Now Guida had blood from his nose and from the top of his head. Sanchez tried a Kimura, but Guida freed the arm and did some ground and pound. He then trapped Sanchez’s arm behind his back (we’d just mentioned it as a possibility).

Round three had Guida chasing Sanchez with strikes and combos. Sanchez really had slowed down by this point, even though he wasn’t the one bleeding profusely everywhere. Guida attempted a take down and Sanchez, an arm triangle, which Guida spun out of. While in Sanchez’s full guard again, Sanchez attempted the Kimura again. Blood was everywhere and Guida was slick, resulting in his avoiding all the arm bars.

Split decision in Sanchez’s favour. Fight of the Night. In the post-fight interview, Guida was still jumping around as he’d been before this brutal match. He’s amazing.

ayjay

June 21,1 2009

UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 TUF9 – Episode 12

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

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

UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 TUF9 – Episode 10

Saturday, June 6th, 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

UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 TUF9 – Episode 9

Thursday, May 28th, 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 TUF9 US vs UK – Episode 5

Thursday, April 30th, 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

TUF 9 UK vs USA – Episode 2 – USA Candidates

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

The Ultimate Fighter TUF Season 9, episode 2, aired last night. This was the episode in which the sixteen Americans were to fight for the eight available spots on the show.

There were problems from the start: one guy passed out while standing on the mats, having dropped eleven pounds in one day, I think, in order to make weight. Another guy was way over his weight and spent the next twenty-four hours trying to make weight and did not succeed, so he was out. Another guy had a contagious lesion and so he was gone. Instead of eight fights, we were to have six.

Dana White was ranting about the guys who either made weight at the last minute (causing the fainting spell) or were nowhere near their weight. He certainly has a point: they all knew when the fight was to be and what their weight was to be. They had had weeks (months?) to prepare.

One positive difference between the American fights and the British last week is that the fighters actually listened to instructions from their corners. Other than that, some of the fights seemed one-sided: Lowe versus DeFranco round 1 – Lowe in complete control, DeFranco doing nothing on the ground other than covering up; round 2 had DeFranco come out with a huge flying knee and ending the match seconds later with a rear-naked choke. Hayden versus Dollar was the same, with Hayden taking Dollar down and doing ground and pound in the first round, but round 2 had Dollar choking out Hayden with a rear-naked choke.

The fight between Damarques Johnson and Ray Elbe had some beautiful muay thai (flying back fists, elbows) by Elbe until he got taken down. On the bottom, Elbe had no concept of what to do, having his legs up in the air. He managed to roll over once and then was again on his back with ground and pound by Johnson. TKO Referee stoppage.

The first two fights were the best: Miller versus Knabjian, sparring partners and teammates, had round 1 going to Miller using mostly strikes with a few kicks. During the break, Knabjian’s corner told him to use his right hand, too. He came out at the bell punching hard, doing a takedown and trying a submission. When they were standing again, Miller again punched to the jaw many times and eventually Knabjian wasn’t defending. TKO referee stoppage.

The next fight was between Richie Whitson and Paul Bird. Whitson has lots of skills, employed nice leg kicks, took Bird down multiple times, used elbows on the ground, and won by rear-naked choke. He doesn’t look it, but he’s tough. Very nice fight.

Because they were two guys short, two new fighters were brought in at the end of the episode, one of those being Junie Browning‘s brother, Rob. The results of those fights will be shown next week.

So we have almost all the fighters for the series. Next week’s episode should have the Brits in Las Vegas with perhaps the first elimination fight in The Ultimate Fighter Season 9. Based on the fights last week, the Yanks will not be able to walk over the Brits. There are some talented fighters in the group.  The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 is on Spike on Wednesdays at 10 Eastern.

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

Click here to go to The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 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 8

Click here to go to TUF9 Episode 9

ayjay

April 9, 2009