Archive for the 'TUF' Category

Pictured: Cole Escovedo’s stunning KO of Yoshiro Maeda at last year’s DREAM 13.

Cole Escovedo has an incredible story. The guy was the first WEC Featherweight champion, before being struch down by a horrific staph infection that left him paralaysed, and lost him two years of hic career. Escovedo has since returned, despite doctors telling him he may never walk again, and established himself amongst the top Lighter-weight fighters in the world not currently contracted to the UFC. Ever since his miraculous return from injury, Escovedo has been campaigning to return to the WEC and now the UFC, and in the video embedded above he ‘auditions’ for the upcoming season of TUF, which is to feature Bantamweight and/or Featherweight fighters. For a man who has gone through so much adversity, it would be great to see Cole’s career come full circle and for him to return to the major league of MMA. So please, join us in tweeting @DanaWhite and @SpikeTV to let them know about this video and help this warrior complete his comeback. And hey, if he’s as amusing as he is in the video, then maybe the guy will not only be amongst the most talented fighters on the season, but one of the most entertaining personalities, too.

For more details, check out this fanpost on BloodyElbow.com.

Picture: Russell Harvard as Matt Hamill.

A true story based on the life of deaf UFC fighter Matt Hamill, Hamill tells the story of what it takes to be a champion, on and off the mat.

Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t know about you, but watching this is actually not only entertaining, but exciting. It looks like UFC will actually deliver with this season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” The show has never been about the best fighters fighting for a spot in the UFC; most of the “best” fighters end up in the UFC without appearing on a reality television show. The early seasons did a great job of finding talent, but at this point, the pool has been drained. This time it around it looks like they know what sells; big fighters and big personalities. Perfect.

This clip shows just how this show is going to play out; Rashad and Rampage do not like each other, and Dana White will act like he is ticked off by it, but knows that those two butting heads throughout the season is nothing but great television.

Then there is Kimbo. Kimbo is not the best fighter on the show, and everybody knows it, but Kimbo is the guy that will make this show worth watching. The target is painted on him as soon as he is trotted out there and told to get into line. With fighters like Roy Nelson or Wes Sims who have a wealth of experience in the ring on this season mixed in with Kimbo and some giant former NFL players it should be extremely interesting.

You may have noticed a lack of Ultimate Fighter content. To be honest, I started work on a preview of this season and then gave up. You know why? Because this season is bad. Listen, I get that there is resistance to calling this a bad season of the show from a lot of people on the internet, but the truth is this season sucks. I’ve barely bothered to keep up with it and neither have any of the other contributers here. Two guys look like the dominant forces early on: Jeff Lawson and Jason Dent. If you know anything about MMA beyond the UFC, or hell, if all you know is the UFC, you know that Jason Dent isn’t an elite level guy. And that makes the fact that there’s about 14 guys worse than him on this show so amazing.

The ugly truth is that guys like Mushin Corbbrey and John Gunderson (who tried out) were turned down for this show for Ray Elbe and Waylon Rowe. The only reason that you would turn down a guy who’s fought on Showtime for guys that lost to guys that lost on Showtime is obvious: You’re intentionally looking for weak fighters. TUF 9 is not about building new American talent. It is completely about building new talent for the UK. Its about finding another Bisping to sell tickets over there when the live gates have been dropping with each show put on. You don’t just have to believe me that these fighters suck: Look at the TUF 9 Finale! There’s already 7 non TUF fights booked; more than any other Finale in history. Mix that with a tired setup of house and riled up young fighters and we’re all finding something else to do with out Wednesday nights. Since the ratings were down to a 1.1 in week 2 and…well, I can’t find a rating for week 3. But I’m gonna go on a limb and say it wasn’t record breaking in a good way. But it doesn’t look like we’re alone either.

So, after a day long marathon of some uneasy moments, some sub-KOTC-level bitch-slapfests and things that make Ivan Trembow feel uncomfortable about watching Mixed Martial Arts, it is time for the finals o this season of The Ultimate Fighter. Hopefully you’ve been following Kendall’s breakdowns of each and every episode, or if you are like me, you are in the process of digesting the entire show on a slow Saturday afternoon, either way, we’ll be providing you with live analysis of The Ultimate Fighter Finale.

Read the rest of this entry »

After a weekend that saw the biggest night in heavyweight kickboxing (and argurably the sport in general) and the biggest night in boxing for 2008, its hard to believe it may be topped without a single PPV card on the bill. But with 5 boxing cards and 3 MMA events scheduled for national television, it’s hardly a ridiculous notion. In our first of two parts, we detail the 3 MMA cards promised for the next 6 days.

Read the rest of this entry »

Is it just me, friends, or did the week off really suck the life out of this thing? I understand that Thanksgiving is not the best time to air new episodes of anything, and so, sure, a week off. But as a Canadian, I had already enjoyed Thanksgiving long, long ago (we harvest in mid-June to avoid frost issues, basically), and so I simply felt abandoned. And now it all seems so distant. Wait, wait, there were some . . . dudes? In a . . . house? And they were supposed to train and compete but they mostly . . . jerked . . . off . . . into . . . sushi! That’s it! Yeah, OK cool, I’m back.

Read the rest of this entry »

Well friends, after what can only be described as an incomparably glorious nine-episode run at the estimable UGO.com, The Ultimate Fighter reviews return to Total MMA. To their spiritual home, you might say. Which is now also their literal home. There is at last . . . accord. There is also . . . Junie? Maybe? Let us watch some show. And see.

Read the rest of this entry »

This week with improved hygiene! By which I mean no one consumes urine. Enjoy.

Hell hath no fury like a Nogueira dissed. Read all about it.