Sherdog.com’s Guide to The Ultimate Fighter

You know there are certainly many fighters to choose from on this third installment of The Ultimate Fighter but I feel that only two guys really capture the “x” factor of this season so far.

Mr. Herman, who won last week's battle convincingly, solidified himself as a bona fide bad ass. Meanwhile, Matt Hamill has been under some intense scrutiny from his own team and all the editing in the world won't dissuade you from understanding that he's got some skills.

There's a reason why he's the apple of his coaches’ eyes and the bane of existence for the rest of his team. One is a loud mouth and the other can't hear him talk so it's been fun for those reasons alone these two caught my eye.

Last week Danny was dispatched and since he was Matt's seemingly, lone friend, it's been tough for Matt. All season long Matt has been looked at as the "golden boy" and his team has been crying foul. In this episode Matt and Michael, who have had their differences, find themselves in a bind as Matt continues to train a little too hard and in the process Michael cranks Matt's arm a little too hard and tweaks it.

I'll defend Mr. Bisping actions till the day I die because a) we've all trained with that all-out jerk who pretends he's fighting for the life of his children with every armbar and b) I hate when guys are stubborn and won't tap. I don't care if your arm can bend around the world, don't make me prove that it can. I pay good money to train the same as you so the second you make me turn from grappler to surgeon, that's your problem.

This training crap matters since it’s down to Matt Hamill and Mike Nickels by process of elimination. Both fighters couldn't be further from each other, both personality- and style-wise. Mike is the street-smart kid who's been on his own and Matt is the super athlete that has been probably protected a bit thanks to his being deaf. Or, he could just be one of those cats that never had to do crap. My mom never made me wash dishes or do laundry. Why, we weren't rich … just dumb. My mom knew we would just make life harder on her if we tried. That's why I was raised under the tenet of "not trying."

So back at the house Matt gets clowned pretty badly as Mike does his best impression. And for all you babies that think Mike was being a bad guy by mocking Matt … forget you. You're lame, too. You know good and well that everyone in this world needs to be made fun of. It's the way of life.

In the middle of all of this, Matt reveals that no one in his family or group of friends knows that he is competing for TUF. I'm stunned; most dudes can't wait to spill those beans. Heck, for two seasons I've bottled up some insider knowledge that I've had in order to keep my near TUF competitor's secrets secret. Matt says that he told his family that he's at a wrestling camp. I think about it and decide that I'll keep the TUF "former fighters" up coming season a secret as well no matter how it make's Sherdog feel. Speaking of Sherdog, wouldn't it be awesome if he was always behind the scenes like Alvo Hanso the guy that runs LOST? Just a thought.

One more Matt detail: most of his team is secretly happy that he was injured. As Saul Soliz put it, "to them he's not superhuman." Saul takes offense to the fact that any of these guys would be happy to see a teammate hurt and he sits the guys down to air that out. Team Ortiz agrees with Saul and sees the error of their ways and the team comes together.

It should come as no surprise that Saul might be the next big name in training thanks to the show. I might be a dumb hick from Texas but I know certain names like Matt Hume (Pictures), the Fairtex guys, Renzo Gracie (Pictures) and of course Pat Miletich (Pictures) … but the next big name that might be thrown around will probably be Saul Soliz. He's a Houstonite who's trained Tito obviously and others like Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures), Yves Edwards (Pictures), Pete Spratt (Pictures) and the like. I thoroughly believe he will be a big name trainer and I plan on telling him that when I get press passes to his Renegades show in Austin next weekend. Hook me up Saul.

As the men prepare for the fight Mike says, "I've never seen a guy so strong that lived on cheerios and peanut butter sandwiches." I laughed really hard at that; hell I'm still laughing. It would take me too long to explain it but bottom line, it's all Matt eats and that's funny.

To be honest, as much as I respect Mike, I really thought that tonight I would witness a murder. I've mentioned time and again that since I was raised under an Iowa wrestling daddy I feel that wrestlers will always dominate. When I first saw Mark Coleman (Pictures) head butt, I knew the MMA world was over. Then, the rules changed (for the better I might add) and wrestlers were stuck doing what they do, putting dudes on their back and then struggling to come up with a plan to finish the guy. I really thought that tonight's fight would go the same way: Matt would dump Mike on his back and then athletically remove himself from any bad submission spots.

I was wrong.

Going into tonight's fight (which was half of the show) Matt decided that he couldn't take Mike down with one arm, despite killing guys for weeks with his takedowns; he respected Mike's ability enough to think that he should change his game plan. Mike and Team Shamrock figured that Matt would step right into Mike's plans and take the fight to the ground. This was not the case.

From the opening bell of this fight Matt threw jabs. Jabs that no one really expected. Matt and Mike both threw some punches and Mike missed with a spinning back fist. Mike went for what seemed to be a takedown and instead ended up side mounted by Matt. Matt tries for a cobra choke and when that fails he stood back up and let Mike out. At this point Mike and his whole team was surprised.

Matt and Mike continue to throw punches and it was almost as if Mike was afraid to just throw hands because he respected Matt's takedowns. Unfortunately for Mike, Matt never attempted a takedown and instead just peppered Mike with jabs and the occasional hard uppercut. Mike began to bleed and looked a bit lost while Matt just seemed to be toying with him.

Again on the ground and again Matt is in side-mount, but instead of finishing he continued to occasionally punch Mike. And even when Mike exposed his back he was only treated to a few punches and no killer instinct.

The referee separated the men for a moment and Matt's team admonished him to keep his hands raised. So far he's adopted the Roy Jones Jr. method of leaving them at about hip level. Ken Shamrock (Pictures) is screaming for Mike to kick Matt with those slow and low hands and tells him to pick up the pace. Once the action is on Mike begins to come back with some good punches and even causes Matt to turn his head and run a bit.

Mike ends up on the ground again and Matt punches him but still chooses not to try and finish him. Mike makes his way back up and both men seem gassed. Mike gets punched and falls to his back to somehow get Matt in his guard.

Time runs out on the first round and both men receive pertinent advice from their corners that they both seem to want to disregard. As the next round begins Matt and Mike again trade a little and then Mike falls onto his back. Matt still wants nothing to do with that and lets him back up.

The rest of the second round was just more of the same. Mike got picked apart by very lazy punches. I really thought that Matt would just mow threw Mike but instead he was extremely deliberate and unorthodox. After the first few minutes I felt that Mike would take advantage but as the fight wore on my feelings changed and I believe that Mike ate some good punches and mentally had a hard time with a guy that looked bored while fighting. The second round ends and Matt won a unanimous decision.

Going into tonight's episode I felt that Ed Herman (Pictures) was someone to be reckoned with just by attitude and spark alone. I also felt that the subtext surrounding Matt meant that he too was a force to be reckoned with. I still feel that its Ed's to win but Matt may have some kinks that he needs to work out. Mr. Bisping will not allow Matt to fight so sloppily.