TUF 3

[SteveB]

My impressions: Bisping has more skills than any of the Light Heavyweights. I can see him winning either standing up or on the ground. Josh is pretty one dimensional with good standup, but is only defensive once he is on the ground.

I'm not that impressed with Ed Herman. He keeps talking about taking over the Middleweight division in the UFC, but his standup is weak. Did you guys see him throwing punches? He punched like a girl. I don't care for Kendall, but he is a much better striker than Herman. If he keeps it on his feet, he will beat Ed. Hopefully Ed has been working with a good boxing coach leading up to the fight so he learn how to throw a punch.

 

[JD074]

Good points, Socal and Steve. I admire Josh for his tenacity. He wore Jesse down. He didn't quit when he was choked. Kendall could definitely beat Ed. I think Ed will take him down, but he'll have to a) avoid those long arms, long legs, and knees before he gets him down, and b) keep him on the ground once he gets him there. That won't be easy. He better look for a submission as early and often as possible.

 

[White_Savage]

What can I say?

I am not at this point sorry to be away from any source of television and missing TUF.

I think perhaps their problem is that the fighters out there with real potential are actually working their way up by fighting, and not interested in a reality show. Or perhaps they are looking too hard for "personalities" instead of hard-working journeymen fighters who just want a shot.

Next season, they should consider taking a different approach and consider basing the show around training some relative neophytes over the course of a few months to fight in an entry-level MMA competition. On the slim chance that Dana White does something like this, I further suggest that Shogun and I should join the cast and represent Castefootball as team "Hammer".

 

[White Shogun]

On the slim chance that Dana White does something like this, I further suggest that Shogun and I should join the cast and represent Castefootball as team "Hammer".

I've been frequenting several of the "UG" message boards, some of which the fighters themselves frequent, and read an interesting anecdote about the method used for selecting the fighters for TUF.

One fighter claimed to have gone to the auditions and tapped out his opponent in under 30 seconds. He says that he never fought another match, and was not selected for the show. He said that he questioned a member of the production team on site about the selection process and they told him that he did not fit the mold for the characters they had in mind for the show, that they already had an idea of what they wanted and were looking specifically for certain character types.

If this is true, it certainly helps to explain the odd cast of characters on the show:

1) a deaf wrestler
2) a Muslim
3) two British fighters
4) a Katrina victim who 'lost everything'
5) a "Chris Leben" type, sure to urinate on camera
6) a tattoo artist and self-proclaimed 'street fighter'
7) a Native American / Hawaiian
8) an anal obsessive/compulsive Jewish RN
9) the token affalete
10) the "All-American" kid (Jesse)

Add a few others, guys with connections like Tait, who was/is Joe Rogan's bodyguard, and you seem to have a perfect set up, with lots of potential drama. Too bad most of the fighters selected didn't seem to have the will or the ability to fight, which is ostensibly what the show is about.

Having said that, I look forward to seeing Bisping, Ross Pointon, and Matt Hamill in future UFC's. I'm sure we'll see a lot of Ed, Kendall, Solomon, and Calib on a few undercards, the same way they have the other fighters from previous seasons, but the only guys that appear to me to be really competitive right now are Bisping and Matt.

I mean, after all, even Kenny Florian is still fighting in the UFC!

 

[JD074]

Reality shows suck! We just want to see fights! It's too bad they couldn't have two fights for every show, like they had for the last show. That was so much better. There would still be some air time for all that other crap. I guess that would be too many fighters (couldn't fit them all in that big luxurious house.)

 

[White Shogun]

Not a bad night of fights.

I was surprised that Keith Jardine came back to win his fight against the Brazilian. Govieau (sp?) handled him easily in the first round, but Jardine bounced back in Rds 1 & 2 and beat the Brazilian by UD.

Ed Herman lost, but was also awarded a contract by Dana. Kendall had Ed a couple of times in submissions that I thought for sure would win the fight for him, but Ed managed to escape each time. The two went back and forth exchanging blows and submission attempts for three solid rounds. It was a great fight.

In the fights that were not televised, Calib beat Danny Abaddi by RNC, and gap-toothed Solomon of Team Dagger lost his fight to Luigi Fioravanti by hard KO. Rory Singer tapped Ross Pointon though by triangle choke after being knocked to the ground by a hard punch.

I'm looking forward to the Ultimate Fight Night fights this Wednesday.

You know, after watching mixed martial arts for so long, even boxing is boring, let alone baseball and the NBA.

 

[JD074]

These guys need to work on their conditioning. Herman looked like death warmed over after that fight. He couldn't express any emotion whatsoever after being given the contract. And Bisping looked a little heavier than he did on the show.

How about Bonnar vs. Evans, that should be interesting. Before the fight with Jardine I would've had Bonnar over Evans, but now I don't know. I know styles make fights, and Jardine was an improved fighter when he fought Bonnar, but still.

 

[White Shogun]

There are some gifs floating around of the Groves-Herman fight, of when Ed had Kendall in a triangle. It certainly looks like Kendall tapped out but was free a second later and the fight continued. Maybe that is why Ed didn't react to the contract; he might have felt he won anyway but didn't want to come across as anymore of whiner and complainer than he already has on the show.

To be fair, there are others saying the same about Ed, complete with gif, but it isn't nearly as clear cut as Kendall's 'tap.'

I think Bonnar will beat Rashad anyway, the Jardine fight not withstanding. Edited by: White Shogun