Not so TUF

[White_Savage]

SPOILER ALERT</font>

Well, what can I say? Last night's episode sucked. The Tom Murphy vrs. Rashad Evans fight was a total bust. Tom Murphy did nothing, Evans did little more except for ******* slap dancing in the ring (Forget my praise of him for exhibiting nearl human behavior.) The really sad part is that when Murphy actually did what his corner told him-throw some elbows in the clinch, late in the final round, his elbows and back-hand were the best blows in the whole fight. But it was too little too late, the deciscion had to go to Evans. Dana White aptly described it as the "Sh****tiest fight he's ever seen. I wonder if he's going to have to issue an appology for this season of TUF at the end.

Shogun old buddy, we'd best start getting in shape, if this trend continues we'll be better than anything they find for the third season and need to step up-assuming there IS a third season

 

[White Shogun]

I missed the last episode, and now I'm not even sure I want to see it. Maybe only to see Dana's reaction more than anything else.

Not that I was off watching MNF, either.

I can tell you one thing - if I applied for that show and they actually agreed to have me on, I wouldn't show up 20 lbs over my selected weight limit, and I wouldn't complain about all those damn cameras, either.

 

[Guest]

Yes, that episode was pretty bad. I was screaming at Murphy to do something, anything. After the second round I knew it was done, Murphy needed a knockout or sub and I didn't see him getting either.

Next weeks looks better. In the previews it shows Hughes telling Rashad that he didn't like his behavior during the fight, and he's glad he(Rashad) isn't on his team. I've always liked Hughes but I just keep gaining more and more respect for him.

I have a feeling next weeks fight is going to be Von Flue vs Gurgel. Just a guess though.

 

[White Shogun]

Just watched the highlights of the last fight with Rashad. - dancing, showboating, jiggling around, flapping his arms... geez. Who'd have thunk it?

 

[White Shogun]

SPOILER ALERT </font>

Just finished watching tonights episode. Great fight! I admit, Jason Flue had me fooled. He looked a little intimidated during the pre-fight interviews; he was staying up late thinking about the fight, he talked about how great a fighter was Jorge Gurgel, with a black belt in BJJ and 6 years of Muay Thai.

And then they got into the octagon.

As our local fight prognosticator, White Savage, always says, "Always bet on the lighter skinned fighter." The unheralded, scrawny, Abe Lincoln-looking white man beat the braggadocious Mestizo with black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He beat him standing, in the clinch, and on the ground.

Awesome.

 

[Guest]

SPOILER ALERT </font>

Just finished watching tonights episode. Great fight! I admit, Jason Flue had me fooled. He looked a little intimidated during the pre-fight interviews; he was staying up late thinking about the fight, he talked about how great a fighter was Jorge Gurgel, with a black belt in BJJ and 6 years of Muay Thai.

And then they got into the octagon.

As our local fight prognosticator, White Savage, always says, "Always bet on the lighter skinned fighter." The unheralded, scrawny, Abe Lincoln-looking white man beat the braggadocious Mestizo with black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He beat him standing, in the clinch, and on the ground.

Awesome.

Ya, it was a very entertaing fight, made up for last weeks snooze fest. I was really glad to see Von Flue take it, I didn't really like Gurgel too much. Gurgel should have tried to take it to the ground, he's a black belt, he should have showed it.

Man, that Stevenson is a monster, he did that challenge 200+ times. Crazy.

 

[White Shogun]

Gurgel should have tried to take it to the ground, he's a black belt, he should have showed it.

He didn't seem to show a lot of grappling skill, IMO. Oh, he'd grab an ankle or an arm once in a while, but he didn't seem like he knew what to do with it. I am perhaps underestimating Flue's counter abilities, though, as he did seem to reverse a number of positions on Gurgel during the fight.

Man, that Stevenson is a monster, he did that challenge 200+ times. Crazy.

That was something else, wasn't it? I think Rich's strategy was perhaps a good one, but I think they made too big a deal out of those guys running the challenge that long. If Rich's team had attempted it and lost, the Hughes team could have taken a fresh fighter and chosen Gurgel anyway, who would have been gassed. Likewise, if Gurgel had won, they could have chosen Stevenson againt one of Franklin's welters. Obviously, Hughes wasn't going to use Stevenson in the fight, so what did it matter if he and the heavyweight were a little tired afterwards? Their training should be of similar difficulty everyday, if you ask me.

 

[White_Savage]

Okay, here's what I learned from last nights TUF

Team Hughes cannot win a HW fight.

Team Franklin cannot win a WW fight.

And no one can summon the balls to tell Couture some of his challenges are really lame.

Seriously though, it was an interesting episode. I can't say I can entirely agree with Hughes deciscion to trade Von Flue. Logically it makes sense, but emotionally, that guy just battled out a win when no one thought he was in Gurgel's league, so it's hard to swallow from that standpoint.

The fight: There can be no arguing with Petrezulli's performance. Dominant fighting against a much bigger, longer reaching man, despite taking two un-intentional groin hits. Even landed a spinning hook kick of all thngs. This fight almost reminded me of Baer vrs. Carnera, maybe even Dempsey vrs. Willard.

 

[White Shogun]

And no one can summon the balls to tell Couture some of his challenges are really lame.

The last thing I expected to see on a TUF episode was heavyweight mud wrestling.

Maybe we should email Dana and request to have the ring card girls available for the next challenge, if they keep this up.

I didn't like Hughes decision to trade Von Flue, either. Kinda disrespectful and disloyal, after the guy fought his heart out and beat the best WW on Franklin's team.

Personally, the whole show to me is just a prelude to watching a fight. The whole challenge thing and roomies strategizing with each other I could do without. I want to see these guys train, what methods they use, what they focus on, the weigh-ins, all that good stuff. I'd like to see that without all the rest of the reality TV-show stuff as a backdrop.

 

[Guest]

And no one can summon the balls to tell Couture some of his challenges are really lame.

I was thinking the same thing. Mud wrestling?

I have always been a big fan of Hughes but even last nights episode had me thinking he is a little harsh. I think he just doesn't like Von Flue for some reason. I see why he got rid of him though, he's got stitches and they may open up rather easily. It was the fact that he seemed to not care that Von Flue won, especially since Hughes obviously hates losing anything.

Petruzelli had some nice kicks, it was entertaining to watch. I was glad they didn't go with Whitehead vs Jardine, my two favorite guys on the show, I didn't want to see them fight eachother yet. I thought I heard Dana White say that Petruzelli beat Bob Sapp, they did fight but Petruzelli didn't win. Maybe I misunderstood.

 

[jaxvid]

panzer: you need to post more, you've got the best avatar on the site!!!

 

[Kaptain]

Panzer where did you get that avatar? and did you install it yourself or send it to Jaxvid? It is the best!

 

[dkr77]

What did you guys think of Seth Petruzzili. His standup looked pretty good for a big guy. I am also a little curious as to how good of a ground game he has.

 

[Guest]

panzer: you need to post more, you've got the best avatar on the site!!!

LOL, thanks man.

Panzer where did you get that avatar? and did you install it yourself or send it to Jaxvid? It is the best!

I found it floating around the internet a while back, I can't really remember exactly. But when I saw it, I saved it. I uploaded to image shack then put the URL into the box below the other avalible avatars in the 'Edit Profile' page.

 

[White_Savage]

SPOILER ALERT</font>

THE NERD CAN FIGHT!

Luke Cummo made his Octagon debut last night, and it was one of the best fights I've ever seen! He dominated with his striking and did extremely well on the ground, even getting out of a rear naked choke that I thought had him done for. Once again, the pattern holds, Hughes team always wins the WWs, we'll see if Franklin's wins the next HW bout again.

You know, I have a pretty good suspicion this kid will be the WW champion on the show, since he appeared with Hughes, Franklin, and Griffin on that t.v. interview about MMA I mentioned. Why else would they bring him?

 

[White Shogun]

Whats cool about this guy is he walks around the house the complete nerd, eating garlic and kelp for dinner, gets in the octagon and actually ENJOYS FIGHTING. There were times during the fight this guy was SMILING. Did you see him after the fight was over? He said that this feeling is the greatest thing in the world, it just makes him want to get right back into the octagon and do it again.

One thing we noticed as well, Luke throws elbows, shoulders, knees, you name it, from all angles and from all depths. A lot of guys won't bother with an elbow if they can't rain it down like thunder, but Luke took whatever he could get - he'd lay an elbow in even if it was only about 4" off the top of the guy's head. Same with shoulders. I've butted people with my shoulders in training. Not going to knock anybody out but its just another way to put cumulative damage on a person and make them adjust their position so maybe you can get something else going.

And finally, that front kick to the face was a thing of beauty!!!

 

[White_Savage]

And finally, that front kick to the face was a thing of beauty!!!

Yepper. I was surprised his opponent wasn't knocked out by some of these shots. Must have a hard chin.

 

[White Shogun]

BOOOOOOOOO!</font>

Hiss! BOOOOOOO!

WTF????

That heavyweight fight was lame, white or black, it was lame. Rashad won it, but not by much, I mean how many punches do you have to throw when the other guy doesn't do anything? For a guy who has been training that long and is an assistant instructor, the white guy's takedowns were WEAK. I thought he looked inept enough to get choked out with a guillotine.

I'm hoping though that the welterweight they bring back will be Josh Burkman (sp?).

The show has become kinda lame.

 

[JD074]

It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't for all the hype about Whitehead before the fight. "He's the best heavyweight," "I can do everything that he can do but better," "he can outrun all my fighters," yadda yadda yadda. Minus all that, he would've been just another guy who performed poorly. Not an uncommon feat for this show.

There was not one shred of his supposed greatness. He couldn't take down the "smaller" opponent. (I'm not sure he was that much bigger. Most of the "size difference" appeared to be fat. He didn't seem "structurally" that much bigger in the sense that Tim Sylvia, for example, would've been bigger.) He couldn't hit him. Couldn't do anything. At one point he was so gassed he couldn't muster the energy to raise his arms to protect himself when he was on his forearms and knees. It was really quite sad.

And what about basically quitting before the fight was over? Rashad actually took pity on him and didn't land a few more shots just for fun. Quitting like that might actually might be worse "misbehavior" than Rashad's "jungle dancing," in my opinion.

The only thing he showed in the fight is that he has a good chin- or that Rashad doesn't hit very hard. Either way, perhaps he should've just brawled with him. Just start throwing punches, kicks, knees, anything, like the way the skinny guy (forget his name) did against Jorge. Trade blows. Ward/ Gatti. Nothing else that he did worked. The most important fight of his career and he showed no heart, no courage.

Somebody better beat Rashad. Eventually he may have to fight his teammate, Seth. How do you guys think that fight would go? Seth better land some shots like he did against Dan.Edited by: JD074

 

[JD074]

Rashad won it, but not by much, I mean how many punches do you have to throw when the other guy doesn't do anything?

Well, maybe he won it by default, but he still won by a large- really, really large- margin. He beat him on the ground and he beat him in the stand up. That's dominance. He's beat two guys now. Sorry to be sadistic, but I want to see him get beaten up real good. (Like what Nate Quarry did to Shonie Carter on UFC Unleashed they showed before TUF. Did you see that? That was awesome!)

I'm hoping though that the welterweight they bring back will be Josh Burkman (sp?).

Who beat him?

 

[White Shogun]

Nobody beat Burkman. He won the fight but broke his forearm doing so. He couldn't continue because of injury. The other fighter was the mouthy black guy - he broke his fist in that fight, too, I believe. It was the first fight of the new season.

Just because you win, doesn't mean you 'dominated.'

 

[Alpha Male]

How does a guy like Mike Whitehead who was considered to be in the best cardio vascacular shape run out of gas? It seems to me that running long distacnes on a treadmill is very different than competeing at high intensity during a MMA fight.

I'm really starting to get more into this sport. Matt Hughes is a genetic freak and condcuts himself with grace and intelligence. When people say this sport is just for brutal thugs, I always point out how so many of these fighters have college educations.Edited by: Alpha Male

 

[JD074]

Nobody beat Burkman. He won the fight but broke his forearm doing so. He couldn't continue because of injury. The other fighter was the mouthy black guy - he broke his fist in that fight, too, I believe. It was the first fight of the new season.

I see. I remember that fight now. I missed most of the early episodes and didn't know he had to leave. (I mostly just watch the fights.)

Just because you win, doesn't mean you 'dominated.'

Again, maybe he won partly by default, because his opponent was so ineffectual, but he did dominate the fight. Whitehead quit before the fight was even over. He was totally manhandled. He couldn't take down Rashad, and Rashad punched him repeatedly. He won all three rounds. If that's not dominance, I don't know what is.

I'm all for rooting for white fighters, but only when they're worthy of my praise. Whitehead didn't earn that. I wish him the best in the future; hopefully he'll use this as a very valuable education and get a whole lot better. But I also believe in trying to be objective while I'm rooting for my favorite white athletes. I'll criticize a white athlete if he deserves it. Objectively speaking, Rashad dominated a very weak opponent. That's not a difficult task, but that's what he did.

Let me be clear on one thing: I HATE it when a white athlete loses. It's embarrassing. I hate it hate it hate it.

But it's over. The past is past and I just want to see Rashad get beat.

 

[White Shogun]

Just to be clear JD, I was upset with Whitehead's performance as well. Rashad did win the fight, although I took it more as Whitehead losing rather than Rashad winning, if you know what I mean.

Rashad deserved the win no doubt.

We'll have to agree to disagree on our definition of "dominance." Unless she's wearing leather and carrying a cat o'nine tails... then in that case I'm sure we'd both agree on the meaning of "DOMINANCE."

 

[White_Savage]

Why do the HWs suck so much on TUF?

I saw this fight last night. Boy, so much to be pissed about.

I just don't understand all this choking. I mean, these guys have all fought in MMA events before right? Why is this venue freaking them out so much?

Whitehead probably indeed had all the skill needed to easily defeat Evans, otherwise I doubt Hughes would have said so. He had the raw strength to pick him up TWICE in the first round, yet couldn't bring him to the ground brutally and take the mount? If you're a 200+ lbs guy who's hefted another 200+ guy onto your shoulder, you should damn well try to make sure that fool gets something broken when he hits the ground.

Whitehead didn't even TRY to slug it out. In Guillard's fight and Evan's two fights, it looks like the white just plain don't want to even try boxing with the black guy. WTF? Is the stereotype buried that deep in the collective White psyche. Hey guys, you ain't in there with Joe Louis or Sugar Ray, punch it out for Pete's sake.

The few times that Whitehead actually TRIED to throw a round kick and put something together, he had good results.

And don't even get me started on the takedown attempts. No changing level, no driving through, just bending over and grasping Evans' leg. Of COURSE that's not going to work on someone who vaguely knows how to grapple defensively.

I think the cardio issue is worth considering. Yeah, there was talk of him out-gutting the other guys on tread-mills, but a fight is different. In a fight, you can't fake it by out-gutting the other guy, you've got to have the where-withal left to execute complex motions intelligently. So going into the ring that over-weight, probably not good, even if you are a HW.

Rashad came to fight, so he won. There's nothing special about this guy, so far he's shown some decent boxing, fairly quick hands, and good defensive grappling, but basically the issue is he's had no opposition. The HWs in the big show, Arlovski for instance, would no doubt eat him for breakfast, but still, this stuff is embarassing.