Sherdog.com’s Guide to the “Ultimate Fighter”

First things first, I have an apology to make for last week's write up. I made quite a glaring omission by skipping the most startling piece of the drunk night episode: Dana White rolls on spinners!

"I said my fighters don't dance they just pull up their pants and do the roc-away … lean back … lean back"

If you didn't see it, Dana shows up all ghetto fabulous in a big black SUV with his 20-inch rims. Actually he doesn't even pull up he just walks away from the vehicle in a gratuitous shot that must be aimed at improving his street cred.

Now I'm from Austin, Texas, or the ATX as we players say. I’m not in Dallas or Houston, so I don't see too many spinners on the street and when I do see them white boys with shaved heads are never driving them. It must be a Vegas thing.

One thought before we get into the breakdown of episode six: Why do I get the feeling that the guy who is going to win this contest has yet to be seen?

More than half of the fighters show up at the very beginning when they individually discuss what is going on and then we never see them again. So far only the contestants with the most dynamic personalities take up most of the airtime.

This was definitely the most anticipated episode, which may be a redundant thing to say since each week the excitement continues to build. Chris Leben and Josh Koscheck are on a collision course and the whole house is ready for it.

Dana announces to the guys that the booze will be removed from the house and Randy steps up and gives an eloquent speech admonishing the fighters to act like representatives of the sport. Most fans are probably glad that he said that since perception is everything and new fans should learn that these guys are professionals and not just meatheads looking to hurt somebody.

Back at the house, some of the guys discuss what Randy said and find it too be a tad ironic since it's his team member (Leben) who is usually acting the fool.

Dana discusses the upcoming Leben-Koscheck fight and notes that since it is a grudge match, it could be compared to other notable bad blood fights such as Ortiz vs. Liddell, Ortiz vs. Shamrock, Baroni vs. Lindland and the mother of all wars Severn vs. Shamrock II.

Ha! Just seeing if you were paying attention people. If the Leben-Koscheck fight was going to be anything like those first three fights mentioned, it was going to be a treat. Anything close to the Severn-Shamrock debacle and you'd be more entertained by staring directly into the sun.

Since the fight was already set there was no physical challenge this week, instead we joined Nathan Quarry at the doctor's office where it was decided that he would get an MRI on his injured ankle. We'll find out next week if it will require surgery so Nate will have to wait to see whether or not he'll be able to continue.

The guys are never shown watching television or anything entertaining. Dana explains that while competing on The Ultimate Fighter, they are sequestered from the outside world and not allowed to have any fun. And it's making everyone a little nuts. Forrest Griffin looks to be the most affected as he begins to get restless and resorts to Tarzan-ing around rocks outside the pool and busts out an impromptu impression of a monkey boy that would make Chris Kattan or "Mr. Peepers" from Saturday Night Live proud.

At the UFC gym, Leben is training with Randy on defending the takedown. With Josh being an All-American wrestler, they work on keeping it standing. Koscheck, as you may figure, is working with Chuck on avoiding Leben's dangerous left hand and closing the gap.

As we get closer to the fight time we get to hear more from the two who are about to scrap. Koscheck rationally speaks about how the fight might go and mentions Leben's fight record and years of experience versus his relative newness to the sport. Leben talks about maiming and destroying Josh in the Octagon.

What kind of bothers me about Leben isn't so much his antics … I've seen that stuff from various crazy buddies my whole life. Really, it's what he says that is more disturbing. Claiming that you are the best and saying things like, "there's no way he can beat me," is really just nonsense in the world of mixed martial arts.

The truth is that sooner or later everyone loses. There are just too many variables in a fight. The best fighters in world have bad days in the ring and predictions are almost pointless. I don't remember one single fan or expert discussing how Vitor was going to poke out Randy's eye and win the belt.

The more Leben offered up that he was going to "cripple" Koscheck or "break his jaw," you could just feel that he might lose this fight. Maybe it was because almost all professional fighters talk about the importance of staying relaxed and the danger of fighting with emotion.

Finally we get to the fight itself. Koscheck arrives relaxed and Leben enters the Octagon looking riled and ready to hurt somebody. UFC referee Herb Dean gets the boys squared away and T.U.F's first “war” begins.

The first round starts with both guys kind of circling around for a while giving each other some respect. Leben looks for that big punch while keeping his distance. Koscheck, wary of those heavy hands, looked hesitant to get too close as well. After Leben throws a few hard punches, Josh shoots for the takedown. Leben does a good job of sprawl stepping out and throws a nice knee to the face of Koscheck. Josh tries a few more shots and Leben defends each nicely. More knees and punches are thrown at Josh's waist-level head.

Koscheck throws a few overhand rights while they are looking for what they want and finally gets a hold of Leben and takes him down. He moves Leben over to the fence and the game is on. Leben works to try and get up and out and Koscheck continues to body punch and put more pressure on Leben against the fence.

Koscheck continues to look for body shots and knees to the tailbone. After some stalling, Dean stands them back up and for the rest of the fight Koscheck is able to do what happens during a lot of striker vs. wrestler fights.

(The wrestler is able to get the takedowns and score points with elbows, body shots and the occasional punch to the head. Most good wrestlers that are new to fighting are able to get their takedowns or slams but have difficulty finishing.)

In Koscheck's defense this was only a two round fight and he definitely worked to pound on Leben and got some quality shots on him.

Leben's only real chance to end the fight came with a kimura he attempted while on his back, but Koscheck was able to work his way out of any danger.

After the two rounds were up the judges came back with a unanimous decision in Koscheck's favor. Josh immediately goes after Leben by saying, "get your bus ticket home," and Leben has words of his own while being led out of the gym.

Outside Randy and Dana console the upset Leben and try to help him see that it's not the end of the world. With Leben's actions and big mouth I'm sure that all the Leben haters out there were glad to see him crying while leaving the show. I'm not saying that the guy didn't deserve what he got; he definitely had it coming, but remember that this guy is only 24 years old. He's still got some time to get his act together and good or bad he's gotten our attention.

Well, Dana and the boys served up another great night of T.U.F. If you think the show will suffer without the Leben’s livewire act, don't fret too much. I'm thinking that one of these fighters that we haven't seen yet will step up and give us something to argue about.

So until next week, keep your rims spinning and don’t forget:

When the fights in the octagon … drop it like it’s hot, drop it like it’s hot, drop it like it’s hot

And if a fighter give you attitude … drop it like it’s hot, drop it like it’s hot, drop it like it’s hot

I got a rolly on my arm and I’m pourin’ Chandon and I wear the champ belt cuz I got it going on.

(OK, that’s enough, I’m sorry.)