Last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter didn’t waste any time before getting into the fights, so we won’t either. Here’s how Block B of the round-of-32 shook out:
Wesley Murch vs. John Polakowski (155): Murch is a Brit who quotes Winston Churchill. Polakowski is an ADHD-sufferer who loves hugging people. Murch takes Polakowski down right away, finds nothing from top position, then goes for a heelhook and loses it. Polakowski gets on top and passes to side control, but Murch works his way out and stands up. After a good knee from Polakowski, the fight moves back to the ground where Murch takes Polakowski’s back. Polakowski reverses and ends up in Murch’s guard. Back on the feet, Murch throws a kick and falls to the ground; the round ends with Polakowski on top, throwing punches. It turns out that Murch seriously effed up his shin when he connected with the kick, but he decides to soldier through it, stiff upper lip and all that. Limping badly at the start of the second round, Murch throws a flying knee, then collapses in agony. Polakowski freaks out as if he just knocked out BJ Penn, sprinting around the cage then bouncing out to hug Nogueira, Dana White, and Mir. Mir is visibly disgusted.
Shane Primm vs. Sean O’Connell (205): Primm and O’Connell fought with an intensity usually reserved for the 155′ers. Primm strikes first with nasty knees in a clinch, while O’Connell pressures Primm with takedown attempts and a slam. Primm rolls from his back and works hard to get an armbar. O’Connell frees his arm and briefly tries for a guillotine before the fight goes standing again. Primm lands more knees from a tight clinch, then pulls O’Connell down with a kimura. Primm scores the mount, and O’Connell rolls, allowing Primm to take his back and sink the rear-naked choke. Primm thanks Mir for the coaching. Prediction: Mir’s “NIIIIIIIIIIICE!” is going to become as annoying as Matt Serra‘s “Y’GOTTA BREATHE!”
Ido Pariente vs. Efrain Escudero (155): Escudero scores a takedown after some sparring, and tries to set up a darce choke. Pariente gets up and shoots in for his own takedown, but Escudero has his neck wrapped up. The fight goes to the ground, and Escudero takes Pariente’s back and secures the rear-naked choke. Pariente tries to hang in, but he’s eventually forced to tap.
Ryan Lopez vs. Tom Lawlor (205): Lawlor catches a kick and takes Lopez down, then takes Lopez’s back and quickly sinks in a choke. Quick n’ dirty.
Highlights are shown from the last four fights…
Roli Delgado vs. George Roop (155): The “Battle of the Beanpoles,” as Dana calls it. Roop is better than Delgado on his feet and (thanks to Mir’s coaching) on the ground as well; he wins by decision.
Kyle Kingsbury vs. Ryan Bader (205): Bader dominates with his wrestling. Nogueira observes that Bader has “eyes of tiger.” Bader takes down Kingsbury in the second round and locks on an arm triangle choke. Mir is upset that someone as talented as Kingsbury has to leave the show, but them’s the breaks.
Charles Diaz vs. Shane Nelson (155): Diaz was apparently a big talker before his fight, but he didn’t quite back it up. Nelson overwhelms Charles with sharp kickboxing, abusing him to a decision win.
Eliot Marshall vs. Karn Grigoryan (205): Dana remarks that every Armenian fighter he’s ever met is “fucking nuts.” Karn Grigoryan happens to be Armenian. Grigoryan starts the fight by whiffing on some wild haymakers. He sprawls on a takedown attempt and gets top position, while Marshall works for triangle. Grigoryan escapes, but Marshall sweeps and gets the mount. Grigoryan sweeps and lands in Marshall’s guard. Marshall goes for the triangle again, and the round ends. The two fighters exchange kicks to start the second round. Mir yells at Marshall to throw a right straight when Grigoryan kicks. Grigoryan does indeed kick, and Marshall throws the punch, landing it perfectly. “NIIIIIIIIICE,” Mir yells, “DO IT AGAIN.” In a moment of inexplicable idiocy, Grigoryan throws the kick again and eats another punch. Marshall gets a takedown and throws some knees into Grigoryan’s body from side control to end the round. The fighters are told that there will be a third frame. Grigoryan starts the action with a stiff jab, and gets on top after a takedown from Marshall. Marshall sweeps and takes Grigoryan’s back. Grigoryan resists the choke and Marshall gets on top. Grigoryan reverses, with blood squirting out of his nose. They both get to their feet as the round ends. In the worst decision in TUF history, the fight is given to Grigoryan. Mir and Dana can’t believe it, and try to console Marshall.
But there’s a twist. Antwain Britt broke his hand in his decision win against Ryan Jimmo in the season premiere, and they call Eliot Marshall back right after they send him packing. Dana White tells the guys that Marshall obviously won his fight and deserves to be there. Unfortunately, they don’t show Grigoryan’s reaction.
Scenes from future episodes are shown, which hint at another replacement due to injury, and total mayhem in the house, including a one-punch bathroom KO. Dana White leaves us with these words of wisdom: “This isn’t Survivor. ‘Vote him off’…you fuckin’ beat him off. That didn’t sound right, did it.”
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Couple of points, of course if you’ve been watching contact fighting for anything more than a year then you’ve heard the discussions on judging the matches on aggressivness vs selective engagment and how lately with the cute slick in and out style of the boxer judges have looked to shift the pro combat game to have fighters engage more and with boxing shaping up with alot of terrible fights I think it’s a good shift especially for MMA.
Now if most of us can agree that the fight was close then to call the decission more than you don’t agree with it (like robbery) just doesn’t sound right, but it was great that Dana kept it straight up and said he didn’t see it that way but when it comes down to it “don’t let it go to the judges” because different judges look for different things in a fight and will push the fight game to a status that fights will end in someone winning on points making an entertaining fight with constant aggression or someone that digs the style of hit and move but does it so well the fighter knocks the opponent out (ala Liddel).
MMA has made huge strides in making pro controlled combat fighting a hell of alot more entertaining but imagine when the majority of fighters have the skill to balance aggressiveness and efficiency that’s when MMA over takes all other pro hand to hand controlled combat sports.
Outlaw, I’m pretty sure that it’s legal to “cover” someone’s mouth to force them to use one of their hands to move the cupping so they can breath, you just can’t stick a finger in an eye or mouth which can be very damaging even perminent if it’s to the eye or ear. I guess it comes down to how quick and how grotesque potential damage a hold or technique can cuase, covering someone’s mouth isn’t gonna cause any quicker damage than someone that’s caught in an armbar that wait’s too long to defend the move or just tap out.
But the rule would be tested if say someone has their opponent locked in a body triangle with their arms also caught in the triangle and the fighter decides to cover the nose and mouth while their arms are trapped, UFC might want to make a rule (if they don’t have one already) that atleast one arm would have to be free if you want to cover the airway or really for any other finishing move that an apponent couldn’t tap verbally or physically.
SG