The Ultimate Fighter 16 - Discussion, Rumors & Results

[Keithlewis]

“Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson – Can’t Fix Stupid” (Airs October 5, 10:00 pm e/p)

Dana treats the fighters to a special outing away from the house. After Roy uses a bizarre method to pick the next matchup, one fighter's weight problem puts his future in jeopardy. Then, two more welterweights face off in the Octagon.

[Keithlewis]

The Ultimate Fighter 16: Episode 4 ‘CAN’T FIX STUPID’ Recap:



TEAM CARWIN PULLS AHEAD AS MARUNDE DEFEATS LANE


The Ultimate Fighter Fridays episode four – ‘Can’t fix stupid’ – aired on FX on Friday evening and saw Team Carwin take the lead in the competition.

Las Vegas native Bristol Marunde, 12-7 in his mixed martial arts career, defeated Julian “Night Train” Lane, 4-0, of Mansfield, Ohio by unanimous decision to see coach Shane Carwin’s squad go 2-1 in the season.

Experience proved to be the difference in the bout, which was recorded at the TUF Gym in Las Vegas. Marunde, 30, has been fighting professionally since 2007, working his way through regional MMA promotions before facing the highly-ranked Renaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza in the STRIKEFORCE organization earlier this year.

Happy to make it to the second round, Marunde said: “I was relieved to get the first fight out of the way. I didn't fight smart at all - I was trying to force a finish and suffered some pretty bad damage to my face as a result. It was worth it, though. Team Carwin was fired up to get a win and just as happy to have control of the fight pick again.”


Team Nelson’s final team pick, a father of a two-year-old daughter with another child on the way, was disappointed not to advance in the competition.

He said: “It was a tough fight, I wish I had pushed it harder to make it go to the sudden victory round. I wish I would have taken control and not backed-up. It was a hard loss. I don’t ever want to feel that way again. I’m going to use the pain I felt and grow from this experience.”



Results after episode four:


Team Carwin (2-1):

Sam Alvey (0-1, lost to Joey Rivera by decision in episode 3)
Bristol Marunde (1-1, defeated Julian Lane by unanimous decision in episode 4)
Mike Ricci
Neil Magny (1-0, defeated Cameron Diffley by decision in episode 2)
James Chaney
Eddy Ellis
Igor Araujo
Matt Secor


Team Nelson (1-2):

Dom Waters
Michael Hill
Cameron Diffley (0-1, lost to Neil Magny by decision in episode 2)
Colton Smith
Jon Manley
Nic Herron-Webb
Joey Rivera (1-0, defeated Sam Alvey by decision in episode 3)
Julian Lane (0-1, lost to Bristol Marunde by decision in episode 4)

[Keithlewis]

[Keithlewis]

The Ultimate Fighter 16: Episode 5 ‘UNLEASH THE BEAST’ Recap:


The oldest fighter in the competition, Igor Araujo, won a majority decision over the youngest, Nic Herron-Webb, on The Ultimate Fighter Fridays episode five – “Unleash The Beast" – that aired on FX on Friday evening.

The victory - the second in a row for coach Shane Carwin’s team over coach Roy Nelson’s - gives them a 3-1 edge after four preliminary bouts.

The 6ft 3inch Araujo, aged 31, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is 22-6 in his mixed martial arts career; the 5ft 10inch Herron-Webb, 22, of Anchorage, Alaska, is 11-3.

Araujo, a father of two young children, lives in Switzerland six months of the year and has taught Brazilian jiu-jitsu at a school in Geneva since 2006. The French-speaking Araujo trains with TUF 14 winner, Diego Brandao, at Jackson's MMA in Albuquerque. Brandao is in action at UFC 153 tomorrow night.



Araujo said: “I felt really happy because I won my fight on my son's birthday. It was really strange fighting in the TUF gym, with Dana White watching, I felt so much pressure. I should have finished Nic, but I didn’t and I didn’t get the $5,000 bonus because of it. I respect Nic, he is a nice guy, he is young and a tough fighter, but in this situation being away from my family was my biggest opponent at that time.”



Herron-Webb , nicknamed “NAP-Time” as much for his fondness for snoozing as for his hard-hitting fighting style, said: “I was pretty disappointed after my fight. I felt like I got robbed of the chance to go to a third round. I wish I would have been more aggressive and fought harder. After my fight it felt like the team moral dropped because all of the guys on my team thought it was my fight to win and take back control for our team, so it sucked."


Results after episode five:


Team Carwin (3-1):

Sam Alvey (0-1, lost to Joey Rivera by decision in episode 3)
Bristol Marunde (1-1, defeated Julian Lane by unanimous decision in episode 4)
Mike Ricci
Neil Magny (1-0, defeated Cameron Diffley by decision in episode 2)
James Chaney
Eddy Ellis
Igor Araujo (1-0, defeated Nic Herron-Webb by majority decision in episode 5)
Matt Secor



Team Nelson (1-3):

Dom Waters
Michael Hill
Cameron Diffley (0-1, lost to Neil Magny by decision in episode 2)
Colton Smith
Jon Manley
Nic Herron-Webb (0-1, lost to Igor Araujo by majority decision in episode 5)
Joey Rivera (1-0, defeated Sam Alvey by decision in episode 3)
Julian Lane (0-1, lost to Bristol Marunde by decision in episode 4)



The series resumes next Friday, October 19, on FX at 10 p.m. ET/PT with the sixth episode of its 12-week run. In that episode - “????” – tempers flare in the house and training intensifies at the gym. Then two welterweights enter the Octagon for their Preliminary fight.

[Keithlewis]

The Ultimate Fighter 16: Episode 6 Recap:
By Dan Downes


http://www.ufc.com/news/tuf-16-recap-episode-1606


The episode begins with the fallout from last week’s fights. Dana walks into Nic Herron-Webb’s locker room to tell him that he thinks he was [expletive]. Roy agrees that Nic was robbed, but offers the old saying “you can’t let it go to the judges.” While Dana is comforting (in his own way), Roy takes the opportunity to criticize Nic’s performance. A few of the Team Nelson members don’t understand why Roy is kicking the guy while he’s down. Julian Lane tells us that he thinks Roy doesn’t understand how to be a coach because he’s still a fighter.

At the house the guys discuss the styles of their respective coaches. The ever open-minded Matt Secor tells us that his coach Shane is, “The most caring dude ever,” and the fact that Roy doesn’t use the same kid gloves in defeat means that he’s only in this for himself. Who knew that guys who fight grown men in a cage for money could be so sensitive?

The shenanigans at the house continue when Julian Lane and Colton Smith steal Team Nelson’s chicken out of the refrigerator and eat it. The justification they give is that, “we were hungry,” and frankly, it's like Les Mis in a McMansion. The great TUF chicken scandal escalates as Matt Secor accuses Michael Hill of the theft and Hill takes offense. This leads to the usual usual frat house-style confrontation:

Party One: Excuse me sir, I find your accusations to be warrantless.

Party Two: Well, I apologize if offense was taken, but I firmly stand behind my statements.

Party One: Do you? Seeing that we have come to an impasse, I believe the only logical conclusion is that we should engage in fisticuffs to determine the winner of our disagreement.

Party Two: To be honest, I find this recourse to perpetuate the classic ad bellum logical fallacy, but I would happily engage in a physical altercation.

I may have taken some liberties with the encounter, but you get the idea.

After a break, it’s time for the fight announcement. Coach Carwin tells us that his fighter Eddy Ellis will take on Team Nelson’s Colton Smith. Carwin believes that Eddy will be able to take Colton down easily and work his ground and pound. Coach Nelson says that Eddy isn’t outstanding at any one skill and that Colton's outstanding wrestling will make the difference.

Back at the the house we hear the Eddy Ellis story. He started competing in MMA when he was 16 years old. When discussing his professional record (17-15-1), he admits that it’s not the best. He says that he took fights for the experience instead of winning. I take that as code for, “I liked the money,” but I could be wrong (but I’m probably not). He also credits his wife for making him a better fighter and I’m sure every married man would agree.

At the Team Carwin training session we run into to UFC vet Eliot Marshall again. This time he’s showing some ground and pound skills which will aid Eddy in his game plan. Eddy doesn’t see this fight ending up on the ground, though. He predicts that he’ll hurt Colton on the feet, stuff his takedowns and further frustrate him until he gets the finish.

Next we hear from Colton Smith. Raised in Iowa, he calls himself a “bad kid” whose mother used sports to keep him out of trouble. He excelled in wrestling and expanded those skills when he joined the Army where he is now a combatives instructor at Fort Hood. He feels that though Ellis has had a lot of wars inside a cage, Smith's military experience gives him the edge because he knows what a real war is like. This is repeated approximately 70 times by Smith and his coaches. During his training sessions, though, he feels uncomfortable with the coaches’ strategy for him. Along with Julian Lane, he decides to just do what he wants and stick to the tactics that have carried him thus far.


Fight Day:

After some more bravado from the two competitors, it’s fight day. Round one begins with Colton quickly getting the double underhooks and a takedown. When he tries to open up and deliver some damage, Eddy is able to stand up and escape. After a couple short exchanges, Colton shoots again. He brings Eddy to the mat, but the two are up standing again shortly. As Colton comes forward, he eats a big right cross from Ellis that wobbles him. Eddy puts Colton on his back and soon moves to take his back. Colton defends an armbar attempt, stands up and is bleeding noticeably from his right brow. Another brief exchange and Ellis catches Colton with a crisp standing elbow. Wobbled again, Colton is back on his back and defending. He’s able to stand up and put Eddy against the fence, but with 30 seconds left the round soon ends.

In between rounds, Roy tries to give Colton some directions. He tells him to stop standing and trading with Eddy and go to his single leg takedown. Colton responds with, “Uh, could you say it one more time?”

Round two begins and Colton shoots immediately. He’s able to advance his position and starts dropping some nasty short elbows. He winds up cutting Ellis and continues to smother him. This continues for most of the round until Herb Dean bizarrely stands the two up with about 50 seconds left. There are a couple of exchanges and Colton even manages to daze Eddy, but the round ends with everyone expecting a third.

Everyone that is...except the judges. Dana can’t believe it, but Colton Smith winds up winning a majority decision victory due to two judges scoring the second round 10-8. Back in the locker rooms, Eddy doesn’t want any empty pats on the back and Colton wants some pictures of the cut over his right eye.

The episode ends and we get a preview of next week. What words of wisdom does Forrest Griffin have to share? Why is the next fight the most controversial of the season? Who’s the culprit that steals Roy Nelson’s Cheetos? Find out next week on The Ultimate Fighter!


Team Carwin (3-2):

Sam Alvey (0-1, lost to Joey Rivera by decision in episode 3)
Bristol Marunde (1-0, defeated Julian Lane by decision in episode 4)
Mike Ricci
Neil Magny (1-0, defeated Cameron Diffley by decision in episode 2)
James Chaney
Eddy Ellis (0-1, lost to Colton Smith by majority decision in epsiode 6)
Igor Araujo (1-0, defeated Nic Herron-Webb by majority decision in episode 5)
Matt Secor



Team Nelson (2-3):

Dom Waters
Michael Hill
Cameron Diffley (0-1, lost to Neil Magny by decision in episode 2)
Colton Smith (1-0, defeated Eddy Ellis by majority decision in episode 6)
Jon Manley
Nic Herron-Webb (0-1, lost to Igor Araujo by majority decision in episode 5
Joey Rivera (1-0, defeated Sam Alvey by decision in episode 3)
Julian Lane (0-1, lost to Bristol Marunde by decision in episode 4)


In the meantime, be sure to follow me on Twitter @dannyboydownes the show @TUFonFX

[Keithlewis]

The Ultimate Fighter 16: Episode 7 ‘Summer Camp’ Recap:


One of the season’s most recent feuds was settled in the Octagon on Friday as Canadian Michael Hill defeated Matt Secor with a split decision win on The Ultimate Fighter Fridays episode seven – ‘Summer Camp’ – that aired on FX.

After a heated argument in the house, the rivals finally got to settle their differences where it matters. And the victory - the second in a row for Coach Roy Nelson’s team - ties the series at three each after six preliminary bouts. Team Nelson eradicated the previous two-win lead held by Coach Shane Carwin’s team, and it is all to play for heading into episode eight.

Hill, 25, from Kelowna, British Colombia, is the first of two Canadian contestants this year to compete in the Octagon. While a winner in his fight, the former personal trainer, who is 4-0 in his professional mixed martial arts career, was dissatisfied by his performance.

“After my fight I felt embarrassed. I felt like I let everybody down, from Dana White, to the producers, my teammates and my country. I think everyone wanted to see Matt Secor’s mouth shut. I have never ever felt that pressure or jitters before. It was like I forgot everything I’d learned to this day. I just froze.

“It’s the worst feeling ever, to know that that fight would be talked about all season, and once I got out of the house, on TV worldwide. I have so much to improve on. Every fight can’t be pretty but you do what you can to win, and one thing’s for sure I won’t ever give up.”

Fighting out of South Glen Falls, NY, Secor, 25, has always been into thrill-seeking sports, even taking up snowboarding when he was only four years old. The 3-1 MMA fighter and movie buff was disappointed but not discouraged with his TUF result.

“I felt mad because of the loss. I was mad because my hand was broken and that I got robbed. I wish that my hand didn’t break. When something like that happens in a fight it makes the fight change completely. I was trying to finish but I couldn’t use my right hand at all. The mood on Team Carwin didn’t change after my loss because obviously I won that fight, it was more that everyone was pissed at the judges than anything else.”



Results after episode seven:



Team Carwin (3-3):

Sam Alvey (0-1, lost to Joey Rivera by decision in episode 3)

Bristol Marunde (1-0, defeated Julian Lane by decision in episode 4)

Mike Ricci

Neil Magny (1-0, defeated Cameron Diffley by decision in episode 2)

James Chaney

Eddy Ellis (0-1, lost to Colton Smith by majority decision in epsiode 6)

Igor Araujo (1-0, defeated Nic Herron-Webb by majority decision in episode 5)

Matt Secor (0-1, lost to Michael Hill by split decision in episode 6)



Team Nelson (3-3):

Dom Waters

Michael Hill (1-0, defeated Matt Secor by split decision in episode 6)

Cameron Diffley (0-1, lost to Neil Magny by decision in episode 2)

Colton Smith (1-0, defeated Eddy Ellis by majority decision in episode 6)

Jon Manley

Nic Herron-Webb (0-1, lost to Igor Araujo by majority decision in episode 5

Joey Rivera (1-0, defeated Sam Alvey by decision in episode 3)

Julian Lane (0-1, lost to Bristol Marunde by decision in episode 4)



The series resumes next Friday, Nov. 2, on FX at 10 p.m. ET/PT (check local listings for Central and Mountain Time). In that episode – ‘Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em’ – after the trash talk heats up, a scuffle ensues. Dana visits the house to give the fighters an eye-opening lecture. Then two more welterweights face off in the seventh preliminary fight.

[Keithlewis]

[Keithlewis]

The Ultimate Fighter 16: Episode 8 ‘Rock-em Sock-em’ Recap:

http://www.ufc.com/news/tuf-16-recap-episode-1608

The episode opens up revisiting the Matt Secor/Michael Hill decision debacle of last week. Dana bashes both the judges for terrible decision making and the fighters themselves for their poor performances. On the bright side, he does admit that he’ll save a bunch of money this season due to the lack of finishes.

Michael Hill tells us that he could care less about a $5000 bonus -- he’s here to get to the finals. Coach Roy Nelson echoes these sentiments and says that he doesn’t really appreciate Dana’s attitude. This is no surprise, as TUF 10 fans may recall Nelson sagely ignoring his coaches and lay-and-praying his way to the finals, inspiring spoken word poet and opposing coach Rampage Jackson to ask "That's like havin' the moon on you/how you gonna get the moon off you?" Anyway, Big Country's view is that there’s a bigger picture here and the TUF contestants shouldn’t jeopardize that for a few thousand dollars.

We cut to the TUF house where Dana decides to visit the fighters personally. After making an entrance that reminds me of this scene in Zoolander, the UFC president lays down the law. He tells the guys that if they thought they were guaranteed spots at the TUF Finale, they were sorely mistaken. There were more expletives, but that was the gist of it. Mike Ricci doesn’t have any interest in Dana’s speech. He tells everyone, “Don’t let Dana ruin your focus.” Michael Hill, though, takes the words a bit more personally and decides “to hit the bottle.”

Last season I often commented on the lack of booze- and testosterone-fueled antics. Well, this episode makes up for it spades. Michael Hill gets in Neil Magny’s face and delivers the usual drunken, “Let’s fight bro." Julian Lane, however, takes it to a whole new level. In his drunken stupor, he picks a fight with Dom Waters and will not let it go.

Alternating between crying, yelling and bashing his head against inanimate objects, he delivers one of the all-time greatest TUF drunken belligerent freakouts, which is saying something. Since I always see the silver lining, I think he found his new T-shirt slogan:

"It don’t matter that I’m out, MAN! Don’t mean that I ain’t in!"

No doubt a tribute to the lyrics of Coldplay's "Lost!" this line sums up so much about TUF, the sport of mixed martial arts and the everyday struggle of man. As the dust settles the next day, Dom Waters doesn’t hold any hard feelings, Julian admits that he was a jackass and Matt Secor “thought it was [expletive] hilarious.”

After That...

From drunken revelry we transition to the fight announcement. Roy awkwardly delivers the next preliminary contest, which will feature James Chaney and Jon Manley. Coach Carwin informs us that Chaney’s nickname is “The Snake” because he slithers up behind you and chokes you out. Sure it’s kind of a reach, but we’ve also been subjected to "Nap-Time jiu-jitsu" this season, so it could be worse.

At the Team Nelson training session, we learn more about Jon Manley. He’s given up everything for a shot at MMA glory. While it may be admirable from a sporting point of view, I hope he doesn’t use this video explaining how he doesn’t have a job and he sold his car on his eHarmony account. Manley goes on to say that he’ll use his “never say die’ attitude to get the victory, which never ever sounds like a sound strategy. He’s also, “Ready for war!” which is a refreshingly new perspective.

At the Team Carwin sessions, we hear how everyone thinks that James Chaney might be a serial killer. Not necessarily a compliment, but I don’t think they mean it as an insult, either. Whilst holding a coffee cup that screams morning talk show, Chaney tells us that he hears the crazy thing a lot and blames his face. He also informs us that since he sleeps on a mattress in his friends' garage that he’s in no hurry for the season to end. I wonder how long he needs to stick around the TUF house to earn squatters' rights....

Next up we have the coaches' challenge. This time it is a track and field competition that involves shot put, javelin, discus, long jump and a 400 meter run. Roy speaks what’s on everyone’s mind and says that this clearly favors Shane Carwin. Shane tries to play it off like he’s not qualified, but come on. Track and field against the mascot for Bog Boy donuts? Let’s be real. To no one’s surprise, Carwin sweeps all the events and wins the run easily with an unnecessary head start. While a few of the guys try to extrapolate a larger meaning from a guy with a belly losing a footrace, I have to agree with Roy Nelson -- it has no impact on their future match.


Right before the fight we learn a couple quick things:
1) Manley actually likes James Chaney.
2) Chaney likes to dress like Johnny Cash on fight day and gives us some weird ZZen stuff
3) Dom Waters prefers cliched animal analogies


Fight Time:

The first round begins as the antithesis of last week’s fight. Both guys come out swinging and stand right in front of one another trading blows. Manley gets the better end of the exchanges, though, and Chaney’s corner tells him to quit standing there. Chaney ties up, but Manley winds up getting the takedown. Chaney throws a triangle attempt up and locks it in. Manley picks Chaney up and carries him over to the cage. Chaney keeps his cool and slowly brings Manley down to the ground with the submission locked in tight. Jon keeps fighting, though, kneels on Chaney's face and angles off to alleviate some of the pressure. After a few short punches, Chaney relinquishes the hold and Manley gets side mount. He soon moves to full mount and locks in a guillotine. Chaney’s face starts to turn purple and he taps out.

Dana is ecstatic at having a finish, Shane Carwin admonishes his fighter’s strategy, but that pales in comparison to the other results. Manley utters two sentences rarely, if ever, heard before in the Octagon: "He bit me. He #&(*@ bit me!" and shows the two fresh puncture wounds that prove it. Now, Manley's first reaction is the same as mine -- Chaney lost his mouthguard and while he was getting choked, his teeth were pinched against Manley’s skin, right? Nope. James Chaney readily admits that he bit Jon Manley on purpose, in the hopes of getting Manley to loosen up on the guillotine. Manley sees the poetic justice in the fact that a guy called the Snake bites, but I doubt many others will be that forgiving.

On a somber note we get a sneak peek into next week’s fights. Who will win between Mike Ricci and Dom Waters? Why is Coach Carwin so upset? Does James Chaney reveal that he’s part vampire? Find out this and more next week on The Ultimate Fighter!


Team Carwin (3-4):

Sam Alvey (0-1, lost to Joey Rivera by decision in episode 3)
Bristol Marunde (1-0, defeated Julian Lane by decision in episode 4)
Mike Ricci
Neil Magny (1-0, defeated Cameron Diffley by decision in episode 2)
James Chaney (0-1, submitted by Jon Manley in episode 8)
Eddy Ellis (0-1, lost to Colton Smith by majority decision in epsiode 6)
Igor Araujo (1-0, defeated Nic Herron-Webb by majority decision in episode 5)
Matt Secor (0-1, lost to Michael Hill by split decision in episode 7)


Team Nelson (4-3):

Dom Waters
Michael Hill (1-0, defeated Matt Secor by split decision in episode 7)
Cameron Diffley (0-1, lost to Neil Magny by decision in episode 2)
Colton Smith (1-0, defeated Eddy Ellis by majority decision in episode 6)
Jon Manley (1-0, submitted James Chaney is episode 8)
Nic Herron-Webb (0-1, lost to Igor Araujo by majority decision in episode 5
Joey Rivera (1-0, defeated Sam Alvey by decision in episode 3)
Julian Lane (0-1, lost to Bristol Marunde by decision in episode 4)