Sherdog.com’s Guide to The Ultimate Fighter
Scott Holmes Jun 9, 2006
Last week Matt Hamill stifled Mike Nickels and won himself a
spot in the semifinals of The Ultimate Fighter 3. Matt left
the Octagon in an ambulance though, and his future in the show was
left in doubt.
This week Dana White decided to bring the remaining fighters together for a congratulatory meal. After throwing down some of Dana's world famous pot roast, the boys get some surprise houseguests as all the previous fighters came back through the door.
Dana explained that in the past the finalists have been stuck
training together as they prepare to fight one another, so they
decided to bring back the others to help train. I'm more inclined
to believe that the show begins to slow down once the personalities
leave and this year the UFC would like to keep things interesting
as only reality television can do.
None of the semifinalists seem too pleased to have the old guys back except for Kendall Grove (Pictures), who has his Team Dagger compadre Solomon back.
Well it just wouldn't be Vegas without Dana deciding to up the ante and puts up ten large for the winner. Both men readied their cues and Dana admitted that he believes that with Tito's confidence he will surely win. Ken breaks first and before you can say "Minnesota Fats" he runs the table on Tito.
In this best of three series, Tito breaks poorly to begin the second game and Ken runs the table again.
Ken's team surrounds him and offers kudos and huzzahs all around as Tito chews on the bitter root of defeat. Ken wins the 10 grand and the viewing audience wins as well, since any activity that keeps both men away from acting is a victory for us all.
The next day at the training center Dana discusses Matt Hamill with the coaches. Matt is too injured to continue and Mike has a broken nose so he's out as well. This forces Dana to come up with a replacement. The coaches and Dana decide to offer Tait Fletcher (Pictures) and Kris Rotharmel the opportunity to get back in the mix and fight again.
Both men decline. Seriously, neither guy wants to fight again. Dana and the coaches are stunned, once again some TUF contestants have moved in and gotten a reality check by their competition and chose to not continue.
The bottom line is I ain't getting in that fence, ever, so I can't blame anyone for not wanting to get in there, but if you are on this show you have no excuse. Too many guys across the globe want their spot for them to pull this crap. I call shenanigans! Of course America shakes its head in shame as Ross Pointon the middleweight from Britain doesn't wait until the sentence is finished before he agrees to move up in weight to fight again. Ross, down south they would say that you are "bout it bout it.”
Dana addresses the remaining competitors and announces the fight match-ups for the semifinals in the middleweight class. Kalib Starnes (Pictures) is chosen to fight Kendall Grove (Pictures) first. That leaves Rory Singer to fight Ed Herman (Pictures). Tito praises Kendall for having improved so much in the past few weeks. Shamrock discusses how well rounded and more experienced the older Starnes is. This fight is between two scrappy guys and sure enough turned out to be a war.
Both Kalib and Kendall knew that they would be in for a war. Kalib came to the cage sporting a nice 6-0-1 record. Kendall is 6' 6” and his length poses a problem for anyone.
Both men circle each other as the fight begins and Kalib pins Kendall against the fence and then picks him up for a hard slam. He works to mount Kendall but during the struggle Kendall squirms free and is able to stand again. They both work for clinch position until separated and then they each trade hard shots, measured kicks and occasionally swing for the fence.
Kalib mashes Kendall against the cage again and tries to take Kendall's back, but once again Kendall is able to squirm away. They continue to trade with kicks and punches and Kendall ends round one by chasing Kalib back with punches.
Round two begins and both men throw a few until they clinch and Kendall gets off a good knee to Kalib's forehead. Kalib works for underhooks and puts Kendall on his back. Kalib stays patient and is able to get a monster elbow off that bounces Kendall's head off the mat.
Kendall stays game and keeps fighting to keep Kalib off. They stand again and Kalib throws two hard hooks but Kendall stays poised. He thwarts a takedown by cross facing Kalib and then gets a knee into Kalib's ribs. Kalib stands up and looks at the roof and puts a hand on his ribs, the ref don't care so the fight continues and only a moment later Kendall lands a straight right hand to the problem area.
Kalib cowboys up and takes Kendall down twice but is unable to get the mount; each time Kendall gets up and stays alive. The second round ends with Kendall once again chasing Kalib, who looks tired.
During the break Kalib tells his corner that his ribs are cracked. He looks beat but answers the bell. Kalib returns to throw a few shots, eats a hard kick right to those ribs but still pushes Kendall against the fence. The ref breaks them up and Kalib decides to call it quits and motions to the ref that he's done for the night. Kendall knocks off another good opponent and is the first man to head to the finals.
This week Dana White decided to bring the remaining fighters together for a congratulatory meal. After throwing down some of Dana's world famous pot roast, the boys get some surprise houseguests as all the previous fighters came back through the door.
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None of the semifinalists seem too pleased to have the old guys back except for Kendall Grove (Pictures), who has his Team Dagger compadre Solomon back.
Once the guys were topped off, Dana decided to throw out a
challenge in the form of a game of pool between the two coaches.
Ken recoils and admits he can't play pool and that gets Tito happy
quick. Tito claims to know a thing or two about this game and gets
so excited that I half expect him to drag out a custom cue named
"Excalibur."
Well it just wouldn't be Vegas without Dana deciding to up the ante and puts up ten large for the winner. Both men readied their cues and Dana admitted that he believes that with Tito's confidence he will surely win. Ken breaks first and before you can say "Minnesota Fats" he runs the table on Tito.
In this best of three series, Tito breaks poorly to begin the second game and Ken runs the table again.
Ken's team surrounds him and offers kudos and huzzahs all around as Tito chews on the bitter root of defeat. Ken wins the 10 grand and the viewing audience wins as well, since any activity that keeps both men away from acting is a victory for us all.
The next day at the training center Dana discusses Matt Hamill with the coaches. Matt is too injured to continue and Mike has a broken nose so he's out as well. This forces Dana to come up with a replacement. The coaches and Dana decide to offer Tait Fletcher (Pictures) and Kris Rotharmel the opportunity to get back in the mix and fight again.
Both men decline. Seriously, neither guy wants to fight again. Dana and the coaches are stunned, once again some TUF contestants have moved in and gotten a reality check by their competition and chose to not continue.
The bottom line is I ain't getting in that fence, ever, so I can't blame anyone for not wanting to get in there, but if you are on this show you have no excuse. Too many guys across the globe want their spot for them to pull this crap. I call shenanigans! Of course America shakes its head in shame as Ross Pointon the middleweight from Britain doesn't wait until the sentence is finished before he agrees to move up in weight to fight again. Ross, down south they would say that you are "bout it bout it.”
Dana addresses the remaining competitors and announces the fight match-ups for the semifinals in the middleweight class. Kalib Starnes (Pictures) is chosen to fight Kendall Grove (Pictures) first. That leaves Rory Singer to fight Ed Herman (Pictures). Tito praises Kendall for having improved so much in the past few weeks. Shamrock discusses how well rounded and more experienced the older Starnes is. This fight is between two scrappy guys and sure enough turned out to be a war.
Both Kalib and Kendall knew that they would be in for a war. Kalib came to the cage sporting a nice 6-0-1 record. Kendall is 6' 6” and his length poses a problem for anyone.
Both men circle each other as the fight begins and Kalib pins Kendall against the fence and then picks him up for a hard slam. He works to mount Kendall but during the struggle Kendall squirms free and is able to stand again. They both work for clinch position until separated and then they each trade hard shots, measured kicks and occasionally swing for the fence.
Kalib mashes Kendall against the cage again and tries to take Kendall's back, but once again Kendall is able to squirm away. They continue to trade with kicks and punches and Kendall ends round one by chasing Kalib back with punches.
Round two begins and both men throw a few until they clinch and Kendall gets off a good knee to Kalib's forehead. Kalib works for underhooks and puts Kendall on his back. Kalib stays patient and is able to get a monster elbow off that bounces Kendall's head off the mat.
Kendall stays game and keeps fighting to keep Kalib off. They stand again and Kalib throws two hard hooks but Kendall stays poised. He thwarts a takedown by cross facing Kalib and then gets a knee into Kalib's ribs. Kalib stands up and looks at the roof and puts a hand on his ribs, the ref don't care so the fight continues and only a moment later Kendall lands a straight right hand to the problem area.
Kalib cowboys up and takes Kendall down twice but is unable to get the mount; each time Kendall gets up and stays alive. The second round ends with Kendall once again chasing Kalib, who looks tired.
During the break Kalib tells his corner that his ribs are cracked. He looks beat but answers the bell. Kalib returns to throw a few shots, eats a hard kick right to those ribs but still pushes Kendall against the fence. The ref breaks them up and Kalib decides to call it quits and motions to the ref that he's done for the night. Kendall knocks off another good opponent and is the first man to head to the finals.
