The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs Team Miller

The UFC returns to the Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort on Saturday, Dec. 3 just in time for Michael “The Count” Bisping and Jason “Mayhem” Miller to settle a feud that has been spilling over for months. The middleweights, who traded verbal barbs for months as coaches on season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter, will meet in a long-awaited five-round main event in Las Vegas. Plus, the first-ever bantamweight and featherweight winners of The Ultimate Fighter will be crowned.

“Bisping and ‘Mayhem’ spent the last few months as TUF coaches and they really got on each other’s nerves,” UFC President Dana White said. “On Dec. 3, the talking finally ends and these two will go at it inside the Octagon. There’s a lot at stake in this fight. Not only do they get to settle their feud, but they get to prove that they belong in the mix to fight Anderson Silva.”

UFC Fight Club members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 10 a.m. PT via the website ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers on Thursday, Oct. 6 starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through ufc.com.

Winner of season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter, Michael “The Count” Bisping (fighting out of Manchester, England) is one of the most successful products of the longest running sports reality show on television. Riding consecutive wins over Dan Miller, Yoshihiro Akiyama and Jorge Rivera, the 32-year-old now has his sights set on dominating his opponent on Dec. 3. Knowing a win puts him in contention for a title shot, the motivated Brit Bisping (22-3) seeks his fourth straight against a foe who has pushed his buttons for the last time.

“Jason is one of those guys that you either love him or you hate him,” Bisping said. “I definitely don’t like him. I think most people around him find him very, very annoying. I know people on The Ultimate Fighter did and I was no different. On Dec. 3, I’m going to kick his ass.”

A charismatic performer in and out of the Octagon, Jason “Mayhem” Miller (fighting out of Los Angeles, Calif.) returns to the UFC on a two-fight winning streak. The 30-year-old’s next task is besting Bisping, and after months of trading verbal jabs on TUF, he’d like nothing more than to shut him up when the two collide at the Palms.

“I definitely got under his skin during the season,” Miller, who owns a record of 34-8 with one no contest, said. “We hate each other’s guts at this point and on Dec. 3, we’re going to get in the cage across from each other and settle it. I’m excited for this fight.”

To find out which bantamweight and welterweight competitors reach The Ultimate Fighter Finale, tune in to The Ultimate Fighter Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SPIKE.

Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos Coaches for TUF 13

Brock Lesnar And Junior Dos Santos To Coach Season 13 Of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’

The most compelling fighter in the sport of mixed martial arts and the UFC, Brock Lesnar , will serve as a coach for the 13th season of Spike TV’s popular original series, The Ultimate Fighter. Announced today by Dana White, UFC President and host of the series, Lesnar will be opposed by hard-hitting top contender Junior dos Santos .

Lesnar and dos Santos will fight at a later date in June for a shot at the heavyweight title. But first, they will collide as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter . The show goes into production in late January in Las Vegas and premieres on Spike TV Wednesday, March 30. Season 13 features 14 of the best unsigned fighters in the welterweight (170 lbs) division. The cast will be announced in late February.

Fighting out of Alexandria, Minn., Lesnar was an All-American wrestler at the University of Minnesota and 2000 NCAA heavyweight champion. Lesnar joined the WWE in 2002 and quickly became one of the popular names in sports entertainment. Lesnar left the WWE after three years and, after a brief career as a defensive end with the Minnesota Vikings, began training in mixed martial arts.

In 2008, Lesnar made his UFC debut, and later that year, in just his fourth professional MMA fight, Lesnar’s meteoric rise culminated in a TKO victory over Randy Couture at UFC 91 to win the heavyweight title. After exacting revenge on Frank Mir at UFC 100 in July 2009, Lesnar suffered a life-threatening intestinal disease that sidelined him for a year. Lesnar returned to the Octagon in July 2010 to defeat Shane Carwin at UFC 116 and regain his title belt. And though he lost his most recent fight to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 last October, he vows to beat dos Santos and regain his crown.

Brazilian heavyweight contender Junior dos Santos honed his skills as a mixed martial arts fighter under the tutelage of UFC superstars Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Anderson Silva. One of the sport’s rising stars and the number one contender in the division, dos Santos made his UFC debut with a stunning knockout of Fabricio Werdum at UFC 90 in October 2008. He has since won his next five bouts over the division’s top fighters including Mirko Cro Cop, Gabriel Gonzaga, and most recently, Roy Nelson, at UFC 117 last August.

Spike TV is available in 99.4 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV’s press site at http://www.spike.com/press.

The Ultimate Fighter: Episode 11

The Semi-Finals

After a week off due to the holidays, TUF 12 returned with the last of the tournament fights. Both semi-final fights took place with the winners vying for the crown of The Ultimate Fighter on the TUF 12 finale taking place on Saturday December 4th at 9 PM EST free on Spike TV.

The first fight to take place was Jonathan Brookins against Kyle Watson, with GSP once again not cornering any of the fighters. Brookins is the favourite in this fight due to his ever evolving skills and versatility as a complete fighter. Watson still has all the tools to get the win, but is lacking some skill compared to Brookins.

Before the fight begins, we are shown a scene from the house where Marc Stevens of Team Koscheck (and a few of the other Koscheck team members) are dissatisfied with the lack of training they have received from Koscheck and Team GSP received a ton of training from GSP and a handful of special guests. Stevens proceeds to impersonate Koscheck and make fun of him to the delight of Team Koscheck members. Stevens gets a bit of a surprise when Koscheck walks into the house to hang with his team, and pretty much catches Stevens in action. For a change Koscheck actually doesn’t get bothered by it and states that he will let Stevens slide for this one. After the house drama, the fight between Brookins and Watson gets underway.

As the fight begins, both fighters are a bit cautious of each other, but Brookins pushes the action by going for a takedown and getting rocked by Watson in the process. The punch doesn’t fade Brookins as he manages to get a takedown on Watson regardless. The fight gets back to the standing position, but not for long as Brookins scores another takedown. This time the fight stays on the ground for the remainder of the round with Brookins dominating the whole way. Brookins easily wins the round.

Round two starts where the 1st round left off, with Brookins shooting for the takedown and eventually getting it. The round is spent on the ground as Brookins controls it in its entirety, landing multiple elbows and punches to Watson’s head. Brookins maintains full control for the entire round winning it in very dominant fashion.

Round three is much of the same, as Brookins gets into familiar territory by completely controlling Watson in all facets of the fight. There is a tiny glimmer of hope for Watson in the round when he lands a successful combo on Brookins, but it doesn’t really faze him and Brookins continues to dominate the round. Brookins easily wins the round, and the fight, as he takes the unanimous decision victory.

After the fight, the episode goes back into the drama of the house with Nam Phan’s team not really showing him any support for his upcoming fight against Michael Johnson. In fact, the house spends more time playing pranks (there is a little incident in which they attempt to catch Phan, umm, pleasuring himself) and badmouthing Phan then helping him to prepare for his semi-final fight. At one point Phan heads to the training facility to train by himself, without even his coaches there to help him (apparently they had something to attend to). Regardless of this, Phan remains focused and optimistic that he will win his fight.

Before the fight, Dana White admits that Johnson is the more complete fighter of the two, but that Phan has all the tools to beat Johnson and win the fight.

As the fight begins, Johnson immediately takes Phan to the ground and scores a takedown, but Phan is quick to get back on his fight. Phan continuously stalks Johnson and lands some big hits, but Johnson is quick to recover and lands another takedown on Phan. Once again, Phan doesn’t waste any time on the ground and is quickly back on his feet. The stand up goes back and forth, with each fighter landing some heavy strikes. However, Johnson clearly controls the fight, landing more punches and controlling Phan in the clinch, while also giving Phan a cut below his eye. Johnson wins the first round, doing more damage and scoring some big takedowns early on.

The second round is a different story, this time Phan assumes control of the fight, scoring some big shots on Johnson and tiring him out. Phan manages to hurt Johnson and it shows, as Johnson is having trouble keeping his hands up and blocking Phan’s shots. When it’s clear that Johnson is in trouble, he shoots for a takedown, but gets stuffed and Phan counters with a takedown of his own. Phan continues to rain down heavy hits on Johnson, but Johnson defends well and gets back to his feet. The round ends with both fighters standing and trading, but Phan wins the second round with ease.

The third round has both fighters clearly tired and gassed, but Phan seems to still have enough energy to carry on. However, Johnson has a lot of heart, refusing to give up and manages to score a quick takedown on Phan. Even though Phan is on the bottom he still throws heavy elbows and punches to Johnson’s head, Johnson defends the strikes but does not counter any of Phan’s attacks. Johnson is clearly tired and continues to eat the clock by holding Phan up against the fence in a clinch. Both continue to exchange, with Johnson getting the better shots in, but Phan refuses to give up and attempts to counter Johnson’s shots.

In Dana White’s words, this fight was an absolute war, with both fighters throwing everything at each other to get the win. In the end, Johnson won the fight by split decision, but Phan gave him a run for his money. Koscheck is obviously pissed but he vows to get the last word when he faces GSP at UFC 124 on December 11th.

The TUF 12 Finale takes place on Saturday December 4th with Teams GSP teammates Michael Johnson & Jonathan Brookins squaring off to determine who will be The Ultimate Fighter.

The Ultimate Fighter 12: Episode 10

The Quarterfinals Continue

With Brookins and Phan advancing to the semi-finals, the next round of quarterfinal matches are up. Episode 10 sees Team GSP’s number one pick Michael Johnson finally getting the opportunity to face fellow teammate and bitter rival, Alex Caceres. While wild card winner Aaron Wilkinson takes on Kyle Watson for a chance to move on in the tournament. Plus, pretty exciting to have Freddie Roach give GSP’s team some training tips.

The episode begins with Johnson getting nailed by another prank, which he is none too happy about. Johnson, pegging Caceres as the jokester of the house, puts full blame on him, even though he actually didn’t do it.

The show wastes no time in getting the first fight of the episode underway between Aaron Wilkinson and Kyle Watson.

The fight doesn’t last very long as Watson controls it from start to finish, by easily taking Wilkinson to the ground and maintaining full control until he eventually locks in a rear naked choke.

Koscheck is pretty upset that his team lost yet another fight by submission and Wilkinson is equally upset that he didn’t follow through on the game plan.

After the fight, Team GSP gets a super sized treat in the form of one of the greatest boxing trainers in the history of combat sports, Freddie Roach. Roach takes some time with each of GSP’s remaining finalists, offering some valuable advice and training. Brookins, Caceres and Johnson all feel like they won the lottery after their training sessions with Roach.

At the weigh-ins Koscheck attempts to start some trouble within GSP’s team by taunting the two fighters, along with GSP, although, at this point it’s pretty much expected from Koscheck.

Since GSP has refused to corner either fighter out of respect for them, Johnson and Caceres had to find their own corner men for the fight. Caceres went with Jeff Lentz (the guy he beat to advance) and Johnson chose Kyle Watson.

The fight was actually one of the most exciting of the season so far. Johnson controlled most of the first round, but Caceres showed a lot of heart by continuing to go after Johnson. Johnson won the first round on takedowns alone, while also getting the better of Caceres while standing. Caceres had a few bright moments in the round but Johnson was the better of the two.

Round two started off much the same as the first, with Caceres coming out swinging and Johnson scoring a takedown. In fact, Johnson would go on to score 4 takedowns in the 2nd round, pretty much sealing the win for him. However, the fight was still pretty exciting because every time Johnson scored a takedown, Caceres would manage to get back up and put major pressure on Johnson. Even though Caceres put on a valiant performance, it wasn’t enough as Johnson won the fight by unanimous decision.

The fight was pretty exciting but for some reason Koscheck made a point of calling it boring, even though Dana White gave the fight his stamp of approval.

Next week’s two hour semi-final episode will see Jonathan Brookins take on Kyle Watson in the first fight and Michael Johnson take on Nam Phan in the 2nd fight.

The Ultimate Fighter Episode 9

The Quarterfinals Are Here

The show has finally reached the quarterfinal stage with the first two fights taking place. The show opens up with GSP giving his fighters a bit of a break from training, stating that he wants his fighters to be ready and hungry to win their fights.

The first fight to take place is Jonathan Brookins up against Sako Chivitchian. Brookins in the clear favourite of the match-up, but Sako also has a very strong ground game. The main advice that Koscheck gives to Sako is to make sure he does not give his back up to Brookins, as Brookins can easily get the submission that way.

The show didn’t waste any time getting the fights underway, with the first quarterfinal match-up happening 10 minutes into the show.

Jonathan Brookins vs Sako Chivitchian

The fight opens up with Sako being very aggressive, trying to hit Brookins as much as he can. Brookins dodges one of the strikes and gets a takedown on Sako. Brookins maintains complete control over Sako on the ground until he eventually gets in a rear naked choke for the submission victory.

Brookins is thrilled with the win and very happy that he’s moving on to the semi-finals. naturally, Sako is upset at getting his first ever loss and not getting the chance to move on.

The episode continues with the next two fighters getting their face time before they square off. Cody McKenzie is another undefeated fighter on the roster, getting all of his wins (except for one) by guillotine choke. His opponent, Nam Phan, on the other hand, is one of the more skilled guys in the house, combining a Jiu Jitsu black belt with a very good stand up game.

GSP’s game plan for McKenzie is to get Phan up against the fence and gradually get him to the ground to control the fight from there. McKenzie likes the strategy because he knows that Phan is the better fighter, but he is determined to beat him. Koscheck has a different approach for Phan, one that involves Phan training for any scenario that may allow McKenzie to shoot for a guillotine. Koscheck doesn’t like McKenzie all that much and is really hoping Phan gets the win.

Cody McKenzie vs Nam Phan

As soon as the fight opens, McKenzie sticks to his game plan and gets Phan up against the fence, not long after he successfully gets Phan to the ground. Phan looks to be in trouble early in the fight when McKenzie is able to do a bit of ground and pound on him. Phan recovers and manages to get back to his feet unfazed by McKenzie’s strikes. As the fighters get back up, McKenzie continues to remain in control of the fight but it’s pretty obvious that he is already gassed and struggling to survive the round. McKenzie continues to control Phan on the fence but Phan quickly realizes that McKenzie is tired and begins to take advantage of it. The round soon ends, with McKenzie winning it by a small margin.

As Round 2 gets underway, McKenzie looks like he is about to pass out and Phan, along with his corner, see this and instruct Phan to go in for the win. McKenzie does his best to fend off Phan’s advances but he just doesn’t have the energy to put something significant together. Every takedown that McKenzie shoots for gets stuffed, and is followed by some hard hitting jabs from Phan. Phan finally gets a devastating body shot on McKenzie that drops him straight to the canvas and ends the fight, giving Phan the win by TKO due to strikes.

Koscheck is all smiles that Phan won and declares the win a personal one for him due to his relationship with McKenzie. After the fight, Koscheck and company go on a tirade over Phan’s win, which comes as no surprise to Team GSP. GSP admits that it got under his skin, but he sees it as motivation to come up with a game plan that is sure to give him the win against Koscheck.

Next week’s episode sees the final two quarterfinal matches take place, including the anticipated bout between Michael Johnson and Alex Caceres. Along with the semi-final match-ups being announced by Dana White. Don’t miss it.

TUF 12: Episode 8

When Teammates Collide

The episode begins with the house talking about the wildcard fighters. Basically, nobody in the house believes Stevens should have been awarded the wildcard, considering he lost within the first 30 seconds of his first fight against Cody McKenzie. However, Dana White defends the decision by saying that Stevens is a very talented fighter and that regardless of his loss he deserves a spot in the wildcard. A sentiment that Koscheck shares as he believes Stevens truly deserves the wildcard spot alongside Aaron Wilkinson.

Aside from the wildcard, Johnson makes it very clear that he does not like Caceres and thinks he’s a slacker and a faker. Johnson also doesn’t hide the fact that he really wants to fight Caceres. However, the feelings are mutual, as Caceres isn’t too fond of Johnson either and also expresses a desire to fight him.

This week’s drama continues with the battle between Josh Koscheck and GSP’s medic Brad Tate(or male Nurse as Koscheck puts it). Tate seems to be the only one that is able to get under Koscheck’s skin (I’m sure GSP would do a great job if he had a perfect grasp on the English language), to the point where Koscheck actually wants to fight Tate. Koscheck even goes so far as to accuse GSP of bringing Tate on board for the sole purpose of irritating Koscheck.

At the weigh-ins, Koscheck’s dislike of Tate finally pushes him over the edge as he goes up to Tate and puts his hands on his neck. A scuffle breaks out and Koscheck smacks Dane Sayers in the face (accidentally I presume). Dane gets pretty upset (and pretty emotional) and walks off to the back. Koscheck and GSP pursue him, where Koscheck apologizes to Dane (still pretty emotional).

While Wilkinson is getting ready for his fight against Stevens, he gets a call from home and is informed that his grandmother passed away. Wilkinson is pretty sad about the news, but he stays in the house and goes ahead with the fight. As the fight gets underway Koscheck expresses his admiration for both Stevens and Wilkinson and decides to watch the fight from the stands as he opts not to coach either fighter.

Aaron Wilkinson vs Marc Stevens

The fight immediately goes to the ground with Stevens scoring the takedown, and well, it pretty much remains on the ground for the rest of the round. Stevens controls the ground for the majority of the round with Wilkinson showing some great defence to both Stevens’ strikes and submission attempts. Even though Wilkinson got in some good punches, the round clearly goes to Stevens.

The second round begins with Stevens looking absolutely gassed from the previous round. Wilkinson takes complete advantage of that fact by scoring good combinations on Stevens. Stevens soon gets another takedown on Wilkinson, but as they fall to the ground Wilkinson locks in a very tight guillotine on Stevens and submits him.

Yes, Marc Stevens loses a second straight fight by guillotine. Needless to say, a few of the eliminated fighters felt that they could’ve put on a better show than Stevens, while the coaches and Dana White were pretty shocked at Stevens losing to guillotine … again.

Not long after the fight, the coaches and White deliberate for the quarterfinal match-ups, with Koscheck being under the impression that GSP concocted an elaborate plan to get Johnson and Caceres to face each other. Although Dana agrees that it may be possible, he still gives GSP the benefit of the doubt.

Here are the Quarterfinal match-ups:

Fight one: Jonathan Brookins vs Sako Chivitchian
Fight two: Cody McKenzie vs Nam Phan
Fight three: Kyle Watson vs Aaron Wilkinson
Fight four: Michael Johnson vs Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceres

Next week’s episode takes us into the quarterfinals with two of the four fights taking place, don’t miss it.

The Ultimate Fighter 12: Team GSP vs Team Koscheck

Episode 7 – The Last Preliminary Fight

As is customary with almost every episode of TUF, the episode opens up with yet another one of Koscheck’s fighters (along with Koscheck) being down about losing. Sevak is disappointed but remains hopeful that he will get a shot at the wildcard fight.

The last fight of the preliminary round is soon announced with Dane Sayers taking on Sako Chivitchian. The odds on favourite for the fight is Sako, with both coaches and Dana White, giving him the edge. That’s not to say that GSP has given up on his fighter as he states that Sayers has improved the most since day 1 and is one of the hardest hitters on his team.

Koscheck gets back to his obnoxious ways by getting in the face of GSP’s medic, Brad Tate, calling him a male nurse. Tate doesn’t really care, in fact, the way he disregards Koscheck’s actions, probably gets under Koscheck’s skin more than anything.

One fighter not in the running for the wildcard fight is Spencer Paige as he broke his hand in his prelim bout and needs to stay out of action for 3 months. The show then goes into spotlight mode, covering the back stories for both Sayers and Sako.

Sayers reveals that he is part Indian and that he takes his heritage seriously and is proud of his background. Sako, the 8 year Judo specialist, on the other hand, reveals that he used to be reckless and uncontrollable, until a fatal accident almost took his life. Ultimately, Sako got his life on track and focused more on his MMA career. Koscheck later chimes in that this sport will teach you respect and honour, and all that other good stuff that comes with it. Which was pretty funny coming out of Koscheck’s mouth considering how many people he has offended on the show (including Brad Tate, a mere 15 minutes earlier).

The Coach’s Challenge this time around was sort of a home run derby competition. The bad news for Team Yellow, GSP has never played baseball before; you can almost see Koscheck’s team winning already. Koscheck does inevitably win, scoring 10,000$ for himself and 1500$ for each of his team members.

The fight isn’t as exciting as the previous bouts, but still good nonetheless. While Sayers chose to take a striking approach, Sako made things very technical by implementing his Judo for the majority of the fight. For the most part, Sako controlled the fight on the ground and when they were standing, he controlled the fight against the cage. Sayers got in some good clean strikes but they weren’t enough to do any significant damage to Sako.

Sako picked up the win in this one by unanimous decision.

Not long after the fight, Dana White and the coaches deliberated to pick who will fight in the wildcard fight next week. The nominees were narrowed down to Aaron Wilkinson, Dane Sayers and Marc Stevens. Dana just wants the fighters that the coaches believe were more deserving, GSP wanted Sayers, but Koscheck wanted Stevens. In the end, Dana announced that Aaron Wilkinson would be taking on fellow Koscheck team member Marc Stevens.

Next week’s teaser looks good as Koscheck’s constant taunting of Team GSP finally goes too far, with a scuffle breaking lose between both teams.

The Ultimate Fighter 12

The One With Two Fights

Tonight’s episode kills two birds with one stone, and by that I mean, showing two fights in one show.

The episode begins with Team Koscheck on a high from getting their first win of the season, and naturally, Koscheck trash talking everyone not wearing yellow. Someone should have told him that karma’s a bitch (more on that later).

Once back in the house Team Koscheck is taking a page out of Koscheck’s trash book and bragging to the house about their win (something GSP’s team didn’t do, with the exception of Alex Caceres). Koscheck also visits the house to rub it in even more that they won, in an attempt to get under the skin of GSP’s team. Team GSP doesn’t react in a bad manner, going so far as to question Koscheck on his taunting.

With Team Koscheck in control they get to decide the match-ups, and with their first decision, Koscheck pairs up his number one pick, Marc Stevens, against GSP’s number six pick, Cody McKenzie. Cody has taken it upon himself to be the thorn in Koscheck’s side and after the fight was announced he gently taps Koscheck on the face. Sevak sees this as huge disrespect, but it seems he forgot about the ruckus his team caused earlier.
When GSP hears of all the trash talk that went on, he advises his team to stay calm and not retaliate unless they cross the line, because even though Team Koscheck got a win, GSP and Co. still have the upper hand.

Cody does not hide the fact that he dislikes Stevens and clearly states that Stevens is in the way of his paycheque and he wants to get paid. Cody even goes so far as to say that Stevens is better in every way, but he’ll still manage to get the win. Stevens also shows a clear dislike of Cody saying that he is ignorant, gets on everyone’s nerves and is an immature punk. Stevens is pretty cocky and convinced that he will not lose this fight.
At the weigh-ins Dana White points out that Stevens is the better, more experienced fighter, but that Cody has a sick guillotine, however, he still gives the upper hand, and the win, to Stevens.

Fight 1 – Round 1

This one doesn’t last long as Cody comes out swinging only to get taken down by Stevens. However, once Stevens shoots for the takedown Cody immediately locks in a guillotine and puts Stevens to sleep before he can even tap out.

After the fight Koscheck looks horrified that his best fighter lost and literally looks like he’s about to vomit, clearly upset about the loss (this is where the karma sets in).
Not long after fight one is finished Team GSP announces fight two.

Fight two sees GSP’s self proclaimed secret weapon in Jonathan Brookins up against Team Koscheck’s Sevak Magakian.

In the funniest quote of the episode, GSP declares that “Jonathan Brookins doesn’t even know how good Jonathan Brookins is.” Brookins is quite the philosophical figure, doing yoga and meditation while declaring that he is but a speck in the universe with a purpose to win The Ultimate Fighter, pretty deep stuff for a mixed martial artist.
When training with Brookins, GSP gushes at how good he is and how well he soaks up everything he learns. Then GSP manages to get a gash above his eye while training, which he unsuccessfully tries to hide from Koscheck. Koscheck describes Sevak as a wild man, an alpha male, outspoken with a great personality and that he’s twisted, kind of a weird combo.

Dana White thinks the fight will be won on the ground with both fighters going back and forth. Brookins believes he is destined to win while Sevak says that he won’t quit and that this fight is win or die for him.

Fight 2 – Round 1

Like the first fight this one doesn’t last very long either. After the bell sounds, both fighters circle the Octagon waiting for the other to make the first move. Sevak bites and goes in for a takedown, but Brookins reverses the takedown and gets side control on Sevak. After a few seconds both fighters stand up with Brookins taking Sevaks back, and from that point it doesn’t take very long for Brookins to lock in a very impressive rear-naked choke and submit Sevak.

Brookins wins in impressive fashion (here’s karma again for Team Koscheck), but he hopes that the rest of the fighters don’t label him as a good fighter and don’t fear him (going into another philosophical spiel) but rather respect his fighting.

Down 5 fights to 1, Team Koscheck has one more chance to get a win, will he get it? Tune in next week to find out.

Josh Koscheck

Josh Koscheck is down two fights to zero and the frustrations of his team losing is getting to him. Regardless of how well his fighter’s perform they are still losing and when his fighter’s lose it’s a reflection of how effective his coaching is and how well he is training his fighters. Although, GSP having Tyson in his corner does give him a bit of an advantage, especially when Tyson spews his words of wisdom that do nothing but motivate and inpire GSP’s team, especially Johnson, who is ecstatic about winning a fight in front of Tyson.

Koscheck sees being down 2-0 as motivation for his fighters to work even harder and get that win, and some of his fighter’s feel the same way. Koscheck adds that if the fighters listen to what he has to say then they will improve, which further pumps everyone even more.

The drama in the house is starting to unfold with Koscheck’s team sounding like a bunch of flower loving hippies, in reaction to the way Caceres cheered on Johnson in the 2nd fight, which in all honesty was nothing all that bad. Sevak and Lentz clearly have a problem with Caceres with Sevak being overly irrtated with Caceres’ actions to the point where he charges him. Nothing materializes out of it (unless you count Sevak throwing a napkin at Caceres lethal) but Sevak is determined to fight Caceres and hopes to do in the later rounds (you gotta win first Sevak). Caceres later chimes in that the house just loves to hate him, and, well, he just may be right.

Koscheck just loves ridiculing GSP, and unfortunately, GSP just takes it. Not sure if it’s because he can’t come up with a suitable comeback to Koscheck’s insults or if he just enjoys the abuse. Either way it makes for some awkward like humor, for the sole reason that GSP doesn’t really react to it.

At the fight announcement, GSP announces that Kyle Watson will take on Andy Main, pitting the oldest man in the house against the youngest man in the house. Both fighters are from a BJJ background with the main difference being the experience of Watson over Main.

Watson admits that he is nervous before a fight and claims that everyone gets nervous before a fight, whether they admit it or not. At the same time Watson works on creating a fight plan in his head so that when he gets into the Octagon he is fully prepared to deal with everything Main throws at him.

Koscheck’s next attempt at ridiculing GSP is in the form of speedo shorts, according to Koscheck those are GSP’s favortie attire when fighting, hilarity ensues (not really). Main thinks the fight will be at a slow pace and very technical. Although he is working more on his boxing, he is also very excited to improve his ground game with expert grappling coach Dave Camarillo.

Koscheck is nervouse about the fight, admitting that he does not want to go to 3-0 (especially to a french guy, as Koscheck stated). He does his best to motivate his team and Main in general, but he’s cautious not to start freaking out and making his team nervous as a result. Koscheck’s main driving point: you do not want to be stuck in the house with the guy you lost against.

Both Watson and Main feel that they have something to prove and both feel that they absolutely need to win the fight. Main wants to make a statement to the rest of the house, while Watson feels he deserves it more. The fight is ready to get underway with both fighters making their entrances.

Round 1

As both fighters step out, Main makes the first attempt by connecting with a strike, Watson counters with kicks. The fighters end up against the Octagon for bit, until Main get’s Watson’s back and wastes no time jumping on. While Main controls Watson’s back he attempts a rear naked choke, but Watson shows great defense by holding Main’s wrist and not giving him the oppurtunity to get the submission. The fight then gets to the ground, where Watson recovers and takes control by jumping up on Main. Watson lands a few big hits and elbows, ending the round on a positive note. Main takes the round due to his aggresiveness and the amount of time that he controlled the fight.

Round 2

Round 2 begins much the same way as the first, with Main coming out swinging, landing some key strikes on Watson. Watson is unfazed by Main and manages to get a takedown on Main. Watson later gets into full control, landing strikes and elbows from the top. Once Watson gets side control on Main, it spells danger for Main. From there Watson gets Main’s back and after a few seconds Watson gets the rear naked choke on Main and gets the win by submission.

Final Thoughts

Koscheck is pretty upset at losing a thrid straight fight and is disappointed in Main for not listening to him and following the game plan, which Main is very well aware of. Watson stated that he was disappointed at how he performed in the fight, but happy nonetheless with the outcome.

Next weeks episode has a few guest appearances. GSP brings in another guest to shape up his team while Koscheck brings in John Fitch to whip up his team into winning form. A familiar face to the TUF series, Chuck Liddell also makes an appearance.

If you missed the previous weeks, here are the updates:

TUF 12: Episode 1
TUF 12: Episode 2
TUF 12: Episode 3

TUF 12: GSP vs Koscheck

Episode 3 begins hot off the heels of Caceres’ win, with Caceres getting in the face of Lentz and gloating about his win. With Caceres’ win, GSP retains control of the fight selections, making everything great in camp GSP, Koscheck’s side, however, is a different story. Koscheck was visibly upset that his team lost the first fight and proceeds to lecture his fighters in frustration, telling them that “you need to get your minds right” and start working harder, while focusing on what’s at stake: a contract with the UFC. Koscheck’s pep talk seemingly worked on his fighters as they picked up the pace and started training harder. GSP also pulls another ace from his sleeve as he brings in world champion wrestler Gia Sissaouri to show his team a few moves and tricks in wrestling.

As the fighters gather for the announcement of the next fight, GSP announces that his #1 pick Michael Johnson will be fighting Aaron Wilkinson. Koscheck is content with the match-up as he feels Wilkinson has what it takes to beat Johnson.

While GSP is training Johnson, Koscheck decides to commit the first prank of the season by blocking GSP’s car doors, making it very dificult for GSP to get into his car. Though I have to admit, it was kind of funny watching GSP squeeze into his car from the passenger side. After GSP’s 1 on 1 with Johnson, Koscheck steps into the octagon to give Wilkinson a few tips. While Johsnon is a wrestling ace, Wilkinson specializes in boxing and trains out of the famed Wolfslair gym in the UK. After his training, Wilkinson boldly states that his wrestling is good enough to keep up with Johnson and get him the win.

At the weigh-ins Dana White believes Johnson is the best fighter, but also states that Wilkinson is pretty tough and that the fight can go either way.

Later in the show GSP pulls another rabbit out of the hat by getting White to reach out to MIke Tyson for his team. Low and behold Tyson shows up in GSP’s waiting room to give a bit of a pep talk to Johnson. Needless to say, everyone is star struck to be in the same room as one of boxing’s greatest fighters.

Johsnon is determined to make Tyson a fan and walks out to the Octagon motivated to get a dominant win, however, Wilkinson would not make this an easy fight for Johnson.

As the first round gets underway, both fighters dance around for a bit with Wilkinson swinging in the air attempting to connect. Johnson lands the first big takedown of the match, but Wilkinson quickly recovers, bringing the fight back to the stand up position. Johnson scores another huge takedown on Wilkinson, but he quickly regains composure and brings the fight back to stand up. Finally, after some clincing on the cage, Wilkinson scores a takedown and controls Johnson on the ground with some very effective ground and pound for the remainder of the round. The judges score the round in favor of Wilkinson.

Round two begins much the same as round one, with both fighters standing and trading punches. However, Johnson gets the better of Wilkinson in the stand up game as he scores key hits on Wilkinson. Johnson becomes determined in the second round and with the support of Mike Tyson, he controls the majority of the second by showing great takedown defence, good ground control, and more importantly, key takedowns. The last minute and a half of the round was spent circling the cage with both fighters looking for an opening to strike. The judges score the second round in favor of Johnson.

To White’s excitement (and Tyson’s) we go to a third round.

As the third round begins, Johnson wastes no time by charging out to Wilkinson and throwing down a barrage of hits. Johnson then procedes to score another takedown and ruthlessly pounds Wilkinson on the ground. As Wilkinson struggles to defend himself, Johnson gets Wilkinsons back and puts in a rear naked choke, forcing Wilkinson to tap out.

Johnson is happy with the win and states that he was ready to fire on all cylinders for the entire third round. Koscheck, on the other hand, believes Wilkinson won the first two rounds and that the fight should not even have went to a third. The past two fights were hard for Koscheck to swallow as they were both close fights. Regardless of the outcome, Koscheck is still extremely pround of his team and lets them know that even if they lose there is always the possiblilty of entering the wild card round.

That’s it for episode three and next weeks episode looks to be even better as Caceres and Sevak seem to get into a bit of a scrap in the house, can’t wait.