Sherdog.com’s Guide to the Ultimate Fighter
Scott Holmes Sep 29, 2006
I'm on the phone with one of my childhood buddies as this week's
episode of The Ultimate Fighter begins. As each contestant
breaks down last week's fight between Pete Sell (Pictures) and Charles McCarthy (Pictures), I'm hearing about how my friend
went from working on a Baltimore Airport to the new Marine 1
(Presidential) helipad and then a project bolstering the
construction needs of the bruised Pentagon.
I'm trying to wrap my mind around the fact that the guy I first got drunk with is an important construction jerk while everyone on the show rehashes what went right for Pete and wrong for Charles. I'm about to tell him that I have to hang up and watch the show until he jumps into his new project, the new Cowboys stadium, and I start to get a bit swimmy headed.
I mean this guy might as well be building my next church. I feel so
inadequate. It was only 10 years ago that we lived in a trailer
house that was as unfit as any domicile for any human being. Now
he's building them?
But then a certain joy lit up in my heart, the kind of joy that Ben Franklin must have felt when his first patent went through. The kind of joy you feel when you hit all green lights on the way to work. The same kind of joy that permeates your soul when the new washer and dryer are installed in your seedy apartment. No longer do you have to sit in that hellhole's laundry mat and watch a morbidly obese mom yell at her son in the fishnet jersey who is playing a video game demo without a quarter to start the actual game.
Sure he's gone on to make babies with the woman he loves and also become a really productive and well paid member of society, who will put an imprint on several cities for centuries to come.
BUT, has he seen all of the last 60 or some odd UFCs? I THINK NOT. Has he enjoyed watching the game change from dominant BJJ fighter to dominant wrestler to dominant stand-up fighter to dominant stand-up fighter with good ground defense to dominate hybrid with all skills???
NO HE HAS NOT.
So for that, I am thankful. Thank you UFC and MMA for taking me down a path that has probably left my personal and professional life extremely lacking — I don't care.
I've watched so many good fights over the years that I pity the average man, walking around, with his body looking like wet bread, yet content. How dare you sir. How dare you waddle about when there is considerable MMA digging to be done!
OK, I just realized that I'm out of mind and that argument is stupid. But it's how I feel so let's move forward.
This week on TUF, Rich Franklin (Pictures) is brought in as guest coach. Rich is scheduled to fight the winner at 185, so he's looking to scope out the talent in that weight class. He chooses not to wrestle any of the guys, seeing as how they are all still covered in Staph, and doesn’t dole out too much advice.
Obviously Rich doesn't want to help out a future opponent — seems more like a drama move than a practical one. Dana gripes that the guys aren't taking advantage of Rich's expertise, but it's apparent that Rich is here for himself and the guys see right through it.
Pete Sell (Pictures) is feeling no pain after his win last week (or yesterday in TV time). He decides to celebrate by getting hammered and for once on TUF it's actually kind of funny. Drunk people are either put-a-burning-tire-around-their-neck irritating or they are entertaining. I happened to find him entertaining, especially since I know an ex-girlfriend of his and I can just imagine her having to listen to that Jersey/NY slurred speech. Good times. Pete bounces back like a champ in the morning and looks as if nothing's happened.
The guys from Team Mojo pile into the van and head off to train. Once at the training session however, Franklin offers up strange advice to Serra. Matt, by fault, will be fighting stand-up whiz Pete Spratt (Pictures). Matt looks to Franklin for some tips and Rich suggests starting the fight on one knee. In his summation, Spratt will be unable to open with kicks and Matt is in position for a takedown.
Me, I'm not really surprised, getting poor instruction from a public school teacher happens all the time … just kidding! Just seeing who's awake.
Anyway it's no surprise that the guys would bristle at Franklin no matter what he says since he's a possible future opponent being in their house. By the same token, Franklin doesn't want to give these guys any easy path to the belt he's worked hard to get. All respect to both parties aside, it did seem like really dumb advice. Even if Matt Serra (Pictures) was in a great position, the fans would lose their minds watching a guy trying to fight from a down position, it's almost heresy.
The next day, however, Charles McCarthy (Pictures) brings the topic up to Rich and fuels the fire. Rich doesn't seem too pleased to be around guys that don't want him around and now we have some actual drama on this season. Rich looks genuinely pissed for being clowned behind his back. Meanwhile, Serra and the rest of the house are flummoxed that Charles would even sell them out and tell Rich what they said behind closed doors. As usual, Charles is not really with the pack and doesn't understand what kind of storm he might have caused.
Fighting Rich is enough of a problem. Fighting a pissed off Franklin is even worse. Good luck fellas and I will pray for your souls.
Spratt was able to winch his way back into the title hunt, but facing Matt Serra (Pictures) will be no easy task. Matt's record is .500 in the UFC but his four losses have come against Shone Carter, Yves Edwards (Pictures), B.J. Penn (Pictures), and Karo Parisyan (Pictures). And win or lose he's always fought well.
Going into this fight it's obvious that both men need to keep the fight in their respective disciplines: Matt wants to hit the floor and Pete wants to just hit Matt.
In many sport circles, people claim that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. But I played baseball and I hit plenty of pitches. I feel that in the years to come, it will be recognized that one of the harder things to do in sports is to keep a wrestler from taking you to the ground. Keeping your balance while trying to fight is immensely difficult and that's what makes Chuck Liddell (Pictures) the top of his game.
Going into this fight you had to wonder of Pete would be able to sprawl and defend like Liddell and keep the deadly jiu-jitsu guy on his feet.
In the beginning of round one Pete stays very bouncy and moves quickly from side to side. Surprisingly, Serra throws a high Cro Cop-esque right leg that bounces off Pete but doesn't do much damage. Spratt is still moving quickly and when Matt shoots Pete throws a hard left knee. That knee looked good but when it doesn't daze your bad-ass-wrestler opponent, you usually go down.
Of course Matt takes that knee and puts Pete on his back. Pete holds onto Matt and tries to tie him up, but it's only a matter of time. Matt transitions from side-mount to full to side until he can finally start raining down tight, hard shots. Pete tries to shove with his hips and force Matt off but it might as well be a pro rodeo badass riding "lame horn" the sick bull.
Pete gives up his back and Matt seizes the position to rain down more shots until the striker is forced to tap. Pete isn't too disappointed to lose to such a talented ground fighter, but the fight is disappointing nonetheless. We — and by we I mean “I” — want more battles, but what can you do.
Matt puts himself in really good position since, well, he's really good. Next week Chuck Liddell (Pictures) steps in as the new coach of the week, which means we can see that getting clowned behind your back is directly proportionate to the amount of times you've defended your belt.
See you then.
I'm trying to wrap my mind around the fact that the guy I first got drunk with is an important construction jerk while everyone on the show rehashes what went right for Pete and wrong for Charles. I'm about to tell him that I have to hang up and watch the show until he jumps into his new project, the new Cowboys stadium, and I start to get a bit swimmy headed.
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But then a certain joy lit up in my heart, the kind of joy that Ben Franklin must have felt when his first patent went through. The kind of joy you feel when you hit all green lights on the way to work. The same kind of joy that permeates your soul when the new washer and dryer are installed in your seedy apartment. No longer do you have to sit in that hellhole's laundry mat and watch a morbidly obese mom yell at her son in the fishnet jersey who is playing a video game demo without a quarter to start the actual game.
Why do I feel this joy, because I realize that this same friend was
there with me the first night I ever saw a UFC. He stood next to me
chomping on Doritos while Royce shattered our perceptions of all
things male.
Sure he's gone on to make babies with the woman he loves and also become a really productive and well paid member of society, who will put an imprint on several cities for centuries to come.
BUT, has he seen all of the last 60 or some odd UFCs? I THINK NOT. Has he enjoyed watching the game change from dominant BJJ fighter to dominant wrestler to dominant stand-up fighter to dominant stand-up fighter with good ground defense to dominate hybrid with all skills???
NO HE HAS NOT.
So for that, I am thankful. Thank you UFC and MMA for taking me down a path that has probably left my personal and professional life extremely lacking — I don't care.
I've watched so many good fights over the years that I pity the average man, walking around, with his body looking like wet bread, yet content. How dare you sir. How dare you waddle about when there is considerable MMA digging to be done!
OK, I just realized that I'm out of mind and that argument is stupid. But it's how I feel so let's move forward.
This week on TUF, Rich Franklin (Pictures) is brought in as guest coach. Rich is scheduled to fight the winner at 185, so he's looking to scope out the talent in that weight class. He chooses not to wrestle any of the guys, seeing as how they are all still covered in Staph, and doesn’t dole out too much advice.
Obviously Rich doesn't want to help out a future opponent — seems more like a drama move than a practical one. Dana gripes that the guys aren't taking advantage of Rich's expertise, but it's apparent that Rich is here for himself and the guys see right through it.
Pete Sell (Pictures) is feeling no pain after his win last week (or yesterday in TV time). He decides to celebrate by getting hammered and for once on TUF it's actually kind of funny. Drunk people are either put-a-burning-tire-around-their-neck irritating or they are entertaining. I happened to find him entertaining, especially since I know an ex-girlfriend of his and I can just imagine her having to listen to that Jersey/NY slurred speech. Good times. Pete bounces back like a champ in the morning and looks as if nothing's happened.
The guys from Team Mojo pile into the van and head off to train. Once at the training session however, Franklin offers up strange advice to Serra. Matt, by fault, will be fighting stand-up whiz Pete Spratt (Pictures). Matt looks to Franklin for some tips and Rich suggests starting the fight on one knee. In his summation, Spratt will be unable to open with kicks and Matt is in position for a takedown.
Me, I'm not really surprised, getting poor instruction from a public school teacher happens all the time … just kidding! Just seeing who's awake.
Anyway it's no surprise that the guys would bristle at Franklin no matter what he says since he's a possible future opponent being in their house. By the same token, Franklin doesn't want to give these guys any easy path to the belt he's worked hard to get. All respect to both parties aside, it did seem like really dumb advice. Even if Matt Serra (Pictures) was in a great position, the fans would lose their minds watching a guy trying to fight from a down position, it's almost heresy.
The next day, however, Charles McCarthy (Pictures) brings the topic up to Rich and fuels the fire. Rich doesn't seem too pleased to be around guys that don't want him around and now we have some actual drama on this season. Rich looks genuinely pissed for being clowned behind his back. Meanwhile, Serra and the rest of the house are flummoxed that Charles would even sell them out and tell Rich what they said behind closed doors. As usual, Charles is not really with the pack and doesn't understand what kind of storm he might have caused.
Fighting Rich is enough of a problem. Fighting a pissed off Franklin is even worse. Good luck fellas and I will pray for your souls.
Spratt was able to winch his way back into the title hunt, but facing Matt Serra (Pictures) will be no easy task. Matt's record is .500 in the UFC but his four losses have come against Shone Carter, Yves Edwards (Pictures), B.J. Penn (Pictures), and Karo Parisyan (Pictures). And win or lose he's always fought well.
Going into this fight it's obvious that both men need to keep the fight in their respective disciplines: Matt wants to hit the floor and Pete wants to just hit Matt.
In many sport circles, people claim that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. But I played baseball and I hit plenty of pitches. I feel that in the years to come, it will be recognized that one of the harder things to do in sports is to keep a wrestler from taking you to the ground. Keeping your balance while trying to fight is immensely difficult and that's what makes Chuck Liddell (Pictures) the top of his game.
Going into this fight you had to wonder of Pete would be able to sprawl and defend like Liddell and keep the deadly jiu-jitsu guy on his feet.
In the beginning of round one Pete stays very bouncy and moves quickly from side to side. Surprisingly, Serra throws a high Cro Cop-esque right leg that bounces off Pete but doesn't do much damage. Spratt is still moving quickly and when Matt shoots Pete throws a hard left knee. That knee looked good but when it doesn't daze your bad-ass-wrestler opponent, you usually go down.
Of course Matt takes that knee and puts Pete on his back. Pete holds onto Matt and tries to tie him up, but it's only a matter of time. Matt transitions from side-mount to full to side until he can finally start raining down tight, hard shots. Pete tries to shove with his hips and force Matt off but it might as well be a pro rodeo badass riding "lame horn" the sick bull.
Pete gives up his back and Matt seizes the position to rain down more shots until the striker is forced to tap. Pete isn't too disappointed to lose to such a talented ground fighter, but the fight is disappointing nonetheless. We — and by we I mean “I” — want more battles, but what can you do.
Matt puts himself in really good position since, well, he's really good. Next week Chuck Liddell (Pictures) steps in as the new coach of the week, which means we can see that getting clowned behind your back is directly proportionate to the amount of times you've defended your belt.
See you then.
