The Ultimate Fighter Nations - Discussion and Results

[Keithlewis]

[Keithlewis]

TUF Nations: Episode 8 Recap

Courtesy of Dan Downes - UFC.com


The episode opens at the house in the aftermath of the Olivier and Jake’s fights last week. As the victorious Olivier celebrates with poutine (how French Canadian of him) Jake is upstairs in his bed. He may be only 19 years old with a bright future ahead of him, but he’s taking the loss hard. His teammates come to cheer him up, but it doesn’t seem like their words are having much effect.

The focus then transitions to this week’s matchup between Team Australia’s Vik Grujic and Team Canada’s Luke Harris. Vik knows that he has the biggest fight of his life ahead of him, but his mind is back on his family at home. He has a wife and three daughters, and the time away has been very difficult. He realizes that his career choice has placed a great strain on the family, but he hopes that his run on The Ultimate Fighter will change things. He wants to give them a certain lifestyle, and he sees the UFC as his chance to make that come true.

We move to a Team Australia training session. After Coach Kyle Noke convinces Jake to stop feeling sorry for himself and get on the training mat, he has a special surprise for the team. A hooded figure walks in the doorway and it turns out to be light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. A teammate of Noke’s at the Jackson-Winkeljohn camp in Albuquerque, he was brought in to “light a fire” under the Australians. We’ll find out later if it works out, but Vik calls the champ’s appearance a “massive morale booster.” After showing some elbow techniques, Jones talks to the Aussies and tells them to keep their head up. Some of them may have been eliminated from the tournament, but they still have a chance to compete in the UFC.

Back on Team Canada, Sheldon Westcott has some more bad news. Besides a knee injury that has hampered him the entire season, he recently heard his neck pop while grappling with Patrick Cote. He’s been noticing some numbness in his hands and waits for the MRI results.

We then learn more about Luke Harris. A judo practitioner since the age of eight, Harris also holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. A self-proclaimed “shy guy,” Luke was drawn to MMA because he enjoys the crowds. It brings him out of his element and allows him to break out of his shell. His coach Patrick Cote tells us that when Luke gets his hands on you, “you’ll go flying.” Cote is confident in Luke’s grappling ability, but he wonders about his standup skills. Conversely, Kyle Noke calls Vik’s wrestling the weakest part of his game. Looks like we’ll have a classic striker vs. grappler match.

Coach Cote has a lot more to worry about than Luke’s punch defense, though. With the inevitability of two teammates fighting each other, tensions are starting to heat up. Kajan and Chad continue their argument over who should get to fight Richard Walsh. Chad tries to explains that he wants Richard because they’ll have the fight of the season. Kajan is a bit more honest. He wants Richard because he’s, “the easiest fight.”

As the Canadians continue to bicker, Cote counters Noke’s Jon Jones appearance by bringing in former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le in to teach. While Cung Le teaches spin kicks, we see Sheldon in a neck brace. He meets with the doctor who runs him through a battery of tests. The situation appears to have gotten better, but the physician won’t give a definite answer. Sheldon will have to wait another couple of days to find out if he’ll be allowed to fight in the next round. In the meantime, Sheldon tells Nordine (his possible replacement) that he better win the whole thing. After a few last minute preparations, it’s fight time!

ROUND ONE

Vik opens the round with a solid uppercut. He paces himself well, though, and isn’t rushing in wildly. Making sure he doesn’t tie up with Luke, Vik pops his jab and follows up with a hook. That second punch looks to daze Luke and Vik wastes no time turning it up. He grabs a waistlock, slams Luke to the ground and moves to side mount. He drops some vicious elbows and referee Yves Lavigne jumps in quickly to call things off. Only 50 seconds into the fight, Vik Grujic brings the Australians back into the win column by first round TKO.

Overjoyed at his impressive victory, Vik explains how this win means some much more. He knows how much he owes his family for letting him pursue his dream, and the win brings him one step closer to making things even. Even Cung Le, who only gave Vik “a puncher’s chance” at winning, is impressed by the performance. As Luke makes his way to the back to get stitched up, he’s clearly disappointed at his performance. He feels like he let down his coaches, but also admits that he doesn’t know what’s next for him. At 36 years old, he may be in the same situation as Australia’s Dan Kelly. Perhaps it’s time for him to hang up the gloves.

On that somber note we get a snake peek into next week’s episode.

We end with a sneak peek into next week's episode. Does Team Canada implode? Who gets to fight Richard Walsh? Does Jake Matthews cheer himself up with Justin Bieber karaoke? Find out this and more on The Ultimate Fighter!


Season at a Glance:

Team Canada

Welterweights:

Olivier Aubin-Mercier (1-0, decision win over Jake Matthews in episode 7)
Matthew DesRoches (0-1, decision loss to Richard Walsh in episode 5)
Kajan Johnson (1-0, first-round submission win over O'Reilly in episode 1)
Chad Laprise (1-0, decision over Chris Indich in episode 3)


Middleweights:

Luke Harris (0-1, Lost to Grujic via first-round TKO in episode 8)
Nordine Taleb (0-1, decision loss in episode 4)
Elias Theodorou (1-0, decision over Zein Saliba in episode 2)
Sheldon Westcott (1-0, First-round KO of Daniel Kelly in episode 6)


Team Australia

Welterweights:

Chris Indich (0-1, decision loss to Chad Laprise in episode 3)
Jake Matthews (0-1, decision loss to Olivier Aubin-Mercier in episode 7)
Brendan O’Reilly (0-1, Lost to Johnson via first-round submission in episode 1)
Richard Walsh (1-0, decision win over Matthew DesRoches in episode 5)


Middleweights:

Vik Grujic (1-0, First-round TKO of Luke Harris in episode 8)
Daniel Kelly (0-1, lost to Sheldon Westcott in episode 6)
Tyler Manawaroa (1-0, decision win over Nordine Taleb in episode 4)
Zein Saliba (0-1, decision loss to Theodorou in episode 2)

[Keithlewis]

[Keithlewis]

TUF Nations: Episode 10 Recap

Courtesy of Dan Downes - UFC.com



The episode opens in the vans on the way back from last week’s fight between Vik Grujic and Luke Harris. Excited about eanring his first knockout, Vik remarks that Luke now “looks like Frankenstein,” with all the stitches in his head. Back at the house Sheldon lets everyone know that he’s been cleared to fight in the semifinals and we go straight to the semifinal deliberations.

Coaches Cote and Noke join Dana White via satellite as they call each individual fighter into the room to ask whom they want to fight. Kajan is the first to go in and repeats his desire to fight Richard Walsh. Richard follows next and asks for Kajan because, “He’s got the biggest mouth.” Chad Laprise is third to come in and asks for Richard as well. His stated reason is that Richard will stand and trade with him so it would make for an entertaining fight (how selfless of him). As Kajan has told us in the past, though, that might not be 100% truthful. The rest of the fighters come in, give their opinions and it’s time for the fight announcements. The semifinal round this season will be:


Welterweights:

Kajan Johnson vs. Chap Laprise
Oliver Aubin-Mercier vs. Richard Walsh


Middleweights:

Elias Theodorou vs.Tyler Manawaroa
Sheldon Westcott vs. Vik Grujik


The first fight up with be between teammates Kajan and Chad. They both state that they’re upset that two Canadians have to fight one another, but won’t let that get in the way of achieving their goal. Patrick Cote refuses to pick a side in the matter, and will step aside. As a result, the have to decide how they will split up the remaining coaches. Chad even asks Team Australia jiu jitsu coach Roberto Tussa to help out.

We hear some more from Kajan and he discussed the tough road he’s traveled up to this point. “I live in the ghetto. I don’t know if I can pay rent.” He goes on to emphasize how he’s sacrificed everything for his career and his whole life as he knows it is at stake. Chad opens up more about his rough childhood and how he began fighting for all the wrong reasons. Before he just wanted to hurt people, but now he does it to give glory to God. His dream would be to open up his own “fight church,” where he’s both pastor and coach.

Weigh-ins go without a hitch, but the same cannot be said for the Team Canada dynamics. Kajan asks teammate Nordine to help him, but Nordine says that he does not feel comfortable being put in that position. Kajan ends up having the team’s jiu jitsu coach Fabio Holanda, and that’s it. Chad, on the other hand, has Team Canada striking coach Kru Ash, wrestling coach David Zilberman and the help from Tussa. Even Patrick Cote, who said that he wanted to be left out of it, gives Chad some tactical advice beforehand. How will the lack of coaching affect Kajan? We’re about to find out because it’s fight time.

ROUND ONE

This is a straight kickboxing fight. Both men stay on the outside and trade jabs back and forth. Chad definitely has the power advantage, but neither one seems to be able to land sustained combinations. Kajan is kicking a lot more, but nothing makes a large difference. Halfway through the round Chad’s punches start to find their mark and Kajan shoots in for a takedown that’s easily rebuffed. They exchange a few more strikes and Kajan moves in for another takedown. Chad shrugs him off and the two continue to trade punches on the outside. At the ten second mark, Kajan reaches for another takedown and almost finishes it, but Chad saves himself by grabbing the cage. The round ends and the ref warns Chad not to do it again or he’ll lose a point.

ROUND TWO

The second round mirrors the first in many ways. Both men stay on the outside, and Kajan works his low kicks while Chad keeps power punching. Kajan attempts his first takedown earlier this round, but eats a big hook for his troubles. The head movement and footwork from both men has slowed down this round. More strikes are starting to slip through defenses and the damage is starting to show. Kajan backpedals more this round and Chad keeps stalking him down. Both are moving and exchanging shots, but at the 46-second mark it all changes. Chad lands a thunderous overhand right and Kajan is out. As he comes to, the first thing he says is, “I think my jaw is broken. Aww, that sucks.”

Kyle Noke says that Chad was just too good for Kajan. Patrick Cote believes that Chad won because he broke Kajan mentally. Olivier, though, doesn’t feel the same way. He calls the way that the coaches helped Chad and avoided Kajan “unfair.” Even Vik Grujik talks about how the way things played out for Kajan didn’t sit well with him. We cut to an emotionally distraught Kajan and he feels singled out. “Nobody helped me,” he tells us. “Everybody helped him. Fabio didn’t say [expletive]. It’s still my fault, but [expletive].” As Kajan is carted off in an ambulance he closes with one of the most poignant things we’ve ever heard on The Ultimate Fighter. “[It’s] just another test, I just don’t know why I’m tested so much.”

We close with a preview into next week’s episode. Will Elias be the second Canadian to make it to the finals? Can the young Tyler Manoawaroa rise to the occasion? Does Kajan air his grievances? Find out this and more next week on The Ultimate Fighter!

[Keithlewis]

[Keithlewis]

TUF Nations: Episode 11 Recap

Courtesy of Dan Downes - UFC.com



The episode begins with Chad and Team Canada discussing his devastating KO over Kajan from last week. Chad still seems to be shaken up over injuring Kajan while the other team members are more concerned with the fact that Team Australia cheered for Kajan. We cut to the Brendan O’Reilly. Even though he’s had his differences with Kajan, he and the rest of the Australians wish they could have helped somehow.

We’re back at the house and Chad’s guilt increases when Kajan walks in the door bruised and swollen. “This whole day has been weird,” Chad sighs. “I just picked up the biggest win of my life and I feel terrible.” Kajan reveals his jaw was broken in three places and that fact hits Chad even harder. Kajan tries to put his teammate’s mind at ease. “I would have done the same [thing] to you...if you would have tried less, I would have been insulted.”

We move to Team Australia’s training session as they prepare Tyler Manowaroa for his semifinal match against Elias Theodorou. Tyler tells us he’s earned the nickname “Wild Thing” because he doesn’t really go into fights with a game plan. He just does whatever seems to work. Teammate Zein Saliba calls Tyler’s striking “unorthodox” and underlines how hard Tyler’s hard to follow because he attacks at different angles. Coach Noke doesn’t seem to be worried about Tyler’s chances and calls the fight “his to lose.” Tyler also shows off how he puts as much thought into his tattoos as he does his game plans. He has an owl “because it looks cool” and even gave himself a tattoo. Back at the house we can add diet to the list of things Tyler doesn’t think all the way through. He cooks french fries and tater tots in about 3 inches of oil and then douses them in cheese.

The focus shifts to Elias and Team Canada. In contrast to the preliminary round fights, the semifinal fights will be a full three rounds. Elias comments that this is perfect for his style because, “I’ll punch him just as hard in the third as I did in the first.” He also talks about how he figured out a few of Tyler’s tendencies from his first round fight against Nordine Taleb. Most notably, Tyler drops his hands after exchanges and Elias will be able to counter effectively. In contrast to Tyler’s style of fighting, Elias takes a more deliberate approach toward fighting. “[Tyler’s] going to be throwing things for the sake of it, I’m going to be calculated.”

At weigh-ins Elias dons his gladiator mask and yells, “This is Sparta!” in Tyler’s face. Coach Noke is not too impressed with Elias’s performance and wonders if he’s even seen the movie 300. He knows that Leonidas dies at the end of the movie, right? Action movie spoilers aside, its fight time!

ROUND ONE

Elias opens with a body kick and the two are clinching within the first 10 seconds. They trade position against the fence a few times and Elias drops for a single leg. Tyler defends, Elias moves to a bodylock and drags Tyler down. The Aussie makes it back to his feet quickly, but Elias continues pressuring him against the fence. Elias lands a few more takedowns, but Tyler rises to his feet immediately each time. The two spend the majority of the round doing this dance until the 1:40 mark when Tyler scores a trip takedown of his own. He takes Elias’s back, but can’t flatten him out. Elias stands up and falls back, aggressively slamming Tyler to the ground. This shakes Tyler loose and Elias scores one more takedown as time expires.

ROUND TWO

Tyler comes out hard in the second round and quickly dives in to attack. Elias ducks and secures another waistlock. Elias can’t keep Tyler on the ground, but Tyler can’t shake Elias off. Tyler finally reverses position and they break apart. Tyler lands a solid knee, but misses his spin kick attempt. Elias answers back with kicks and shoots. He holds Tyler against the fence, but loses position. Tyler attempts a takedown of his own, but Elias is ready. He comes back with a single leg, switches to a double leg and puts Tyler on his back with less than a minute to go. Elias doesn’t generate much offense, but he finishes the round in the dominant position.

ROUND THREE

Before the round starts Kyle Noke tells Tyler, “We’re down two, you need to finish this guy.” As the round beings, the two fighters clinch up and exchange knees. Elias changes levels and brings the fight back to the ground. Tyler tosses up armbar and triangle choke attempts, and Elias defends easily. Tyler has an active guard and keeps trying to cut angles for submission, but Elias continues to smother him and give few openings. As Elias moves to advance position, Tyler uses this opening to get back to his feet. He’s not given and breathing room, though, and Elias continues to press forward working for a variety of different takedowns. There’s finally some separation, but Tyler doesn’t use it wisely. Visibly frustrated, he jumps in recklessly and is taken down again. He has a chance for a last minute guillotine, but Elias pulls his head out. Tyler continues to fight until the end, but Elias passes to side mount and that’s where the fight ends.

The judges’ scorecards come back and Elias takes the unanimous decision. Patrick Cote credits Elias’s strength and says, “He was too much for Tyler on the ground.” Noke disagrees and calls the fight “not very entertaining” because Elias “grapple humped” Tyler the entire time. He also comments that Tyler never made it out of first gear and that “both fighters are responsible for a boring fight.”

We close with a preview for next week. Can Richard Walsh beat Olivier? Who wins the coaches’ challenge? Why do Australians hate Canadian Moose? Find out this and more next week on The Ultimate Fighter!

[Keithlewis]

TUF Nations: Episode 12 Recap

Courtesy of Dan Downes - UFC.com



The episode kicks off with the coaches challenge. Since we’re keeping it rustic this season, it’s only appropriate that the challenge force the coaches to channel their inner lumberjack. It comes in three parts and includes: The challenge comes in three parts involving throwing axes, crossbows and sawing logs. The winning coach not only earns some bragging rights, but they’ll also win $20,000 for their team (no word on if the money will be given in Australian, American or Canadian denominations).

The first of the challenge requires the coaches to throw axes at a target. Neither coach can hit the target on their first or second attempts. Noke misses again on his third throw, but Cote finds the mark and takes the first round. The crossbow round goes a bit smoother and Noke ties things up when he splits an apple right down the middle. The third and decisive round is a time challenge. Each coach has to saw off the end of a log and the fastest time wins. Noke goes first and clocks in a time of 49.33 seconds. Cote walks up, transforms into a French Canadian version of Paul Bunyan and finishes in 41.87 seconds. Team Canada celebrates and Cote drops his best line of the season when he tells us, “I’m not going to let an Australian show me how to cut wood.”

After the teams feast on moose, bison, bear and deer meat, we shift focus to this week’s semifinal fight between Richard Walsh and Olivier Aubin-Mercier. Knowing that Olivier has an impressive grappling pedigree, Team Australia brings in Division III All-American wrestler David Silva to help. Richard calls the work with Silva a “reality check,” and assistant coach Izzy comments, “Now we look like we know what the [expletive] we’re doing.” Since Olivier is a southpaw, Kyle Noke also works with Richard on avoiding Olivier’s power shots. Richard seems pretty self-assured and remarks, “I’ve got a game plan worked out.”

Over at Team Canada, they expect Richard to avoid the ground at all costs. Coach Cote confidently states “I’m sure [Richard] won’t try to pass guard. If he feels in danger, he’ll try to get up.” Olivier is surprisingly forthcoming and even admits that his stand-up game is his glaring weakness. He won’t be totally lost on his feet, though. The coaches drill a jab, cross, uppercut combination that will help him close the distance. Despite that, he knows that bringing the fight to the mat is his best chance for success and he’ll do everything he can to get it there. The only reason he’ll box with Richard is to, “get him to forget about the takedown, and then take him down.”

As Olivier works on his tactics, Kajan and Luke sneak into the Team Australia locker room and vandalize Team Australia’s photos. When the Australians return to the gym, Vik Grujic causally announces to the rest of the team, “Our pictures have been defaced.” Not willing to take this insult lightly, the Australians send a message -- by beheading a stuffed Canadian moose. Most people would be content with destroying a stuffed animal, but not Brendan O’Reilly. When the Australians return to the TUF house, he puts on his detective hat and interrogates every member of Team Canada. It soon becomes apparent that we do not have a budding Aussie Matlock on our hands. He’s nowhere close to figuring out who did it.

The fighters get a snow day, Brendan O’Reilly continues to Mr. Magoo his way to a suspect and it’s fight time!

ROUND ONE

Richard lets his hand fly as soon as the opening bell sounds. He hits an inside low kick, follows up with a hard right hand and connects with another. Olivier finally finds his legs and throws a body kick. Richard charges in, but is a bit too wild and eats a counter punch for his troubles. Oliver scores that jab, cross, uppercut combo he told us about and starts to find his groove. Richard low kicks then closes the distance again. Olivier avoids his attack and shoots a takedown. He runs Richard against the fence, grabs an ankle and the two are on the mat. Olivier immediately tries to put his hooks in, but Richard stands up. Olivier quickly drags him to the mat again. This time he secures the back mount and locks in the rear naked choke. Richard taps and we have an all Canadian welterweight finale.

Coach Cote is impressed with Richard’s performance, but knew that he was totally outclassed once the fight hit the ground. Kyle Noke felt like everything was going according to plan until Richard decided to clinch up. Olivier seems like the only person displeased with his performance and concludes, “I still have homework to do.” Richard blames himself for the result. “I wasn’t thinking. I got too comfortable.” He goes to rinse of in the shower and comes back totally clean shaven. His teammates and coaches don’t even recognize him.

The episode closes with a sneak peek into next week. Can Vik Grujic give Team Australia at least one finalist? Will Sheldon Westcott’s injuries hold him back? How bad do you think Brendan O’Reilly is at the game Clue? Find out this and more next week on The Ultimate Fighter!

[Keithlewis]

TUF Nations: Episode 13 Recap

Courtesy of Dan Downes - UFC.com



The final episode of the season opens with Team Australia’s Richard Walsh trying to come to grips with his defeat last week. He blames his performance on over-thinking and just not flipping the switch. Sheldon tries to comforts him by telling Richard that Olivier does the same thing to all of them in practice, but his words fall on deaf ears. Chad tries to make the conversation about him and how he’ll be facing Olivier in the finals, but no one pay much attention to that either.

Next, there’s a knock at the door and former welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre appears. His presence alone changes the mood of everyone in the house. If you had to sum it up in one word, it would be giddy. Olivier says, “It’s like Christmas,” and many other fighters are starstruck. GSP has a meal with them and everyone sits with rapt attention to his every word. He discusses his last fight against Johny Hendricks. He says, “I’m not happy with that fight,” because he wants to win emphatically and feels that many people (Hendricks specifically) think that Hendricks won that fight. He also gives the fighters a bit of career advice, “See your career as a marathon, not a sprint.”

After GSP’s visit, we shift focus to this week’s fight between Vik Grujic and Sheldon Westcott. The last hope for Team Australia, Vik thinks about what winning The Ultimate Fighter could do for his family. He has daughters and a mortgage and that money could really make the sacrifice worth it. Besides the mental anguish, the long grind of the season appears to have gotten to him. Much like his teammate Richard, he worries that he’s psyching himself out. All this time between his first round fight and now has been more of a curse than a blessing because, “You tend to over-think things. Simple things become complicated.” Coach Noke notices that Vik has been flat the last week for so and runs him through some fight simulations. He doesn’t want to push him too much and seems more concerned with giving Vik some confidence.

As for Team Canada’s Sheldon Westcott, he too has faced many setbacks up to this point. Battling a combination of neck and knee injuries, he wasn’t even sure he’d be allowed to compete. Summarizing his experience in one word, he calls it a “nightmare.” He’s seen six different doctors this season, and he’s never really felt relaxed before a fight. As for his strategy against Grujic, he drills a lot of different chokes and seems to be looking to catch Vik’s neck. Coach Cote is excited for the fight just from a spectator’s perspective. He thinks the fight will be a “slugfest” a “barnburner” and every other catchphrase he remembers from his days working as a carnival barker. The reasons behind this prediction are simple. “Vik hits like a truck and Sheldon only knows how to go forward.”

Patrick Cote wears a Sasquatch outfit (personally I would characterize it as more of a Yeti), the Australians discuss the difficulties of wearing snow shoes and then its fight time!

ROUND ONE

Living up to Patrick Cote’s prediction, the two fighters meet in the center of the Octagon and get right to action. Vik whips a hard low kick, and the two clinch up. They spin a few times to jockey for position and Sheldon gets the advantage. He pushes Vik against the fence, drops his level and puts the Australian on his shoulder. He casually walks over to his corner and dumps Vik right on his back. Vik quickly transitions to grab a guillotine choke and holds on tight. Ultimately, it proves to be a poor choice. Sheldon shifts his hips, drives his shoulder into Vik’s neck and secures the tap at the 4:15 mark of the first round.

No one really knows what to call it. Referee Yves Lavigne asks Cote and assistant coach Holanda what to say and they settle on “side choke.” The hold is reminiscent of the famous Von Flue choke, it’s technically a brand new submission because Sheldon pulled it off from half guard. Sheldon reveals that it’s one of his go-to chokes, but he hasn’t shown it during training because he wanted to keep some of his techniques secret. Vik calls the loss “humiliating” because a fighter of his caliber should not lose to such a technique. He often teaches his students about the dangers of holding onto a guillotine choke for too long and he didn’t follow his own advice.

The show closes with all the fighters packing up their belongings and preparing to head back home. There are a lot of bittersweet emotions in the house. Despite all the stresses and personality clashes that come with being in a house of 16 fighters, a certain bond develops. It’s like being in a dysfunctional summer camp where you have to fight each other.

Finally, we have a sneak peek into the finale on April 16th. Can Kyle Noke get one win for Team Australia? Will Olivier Aubin-Mercier submit Chad Laprise? Does Elias Theodorou grind out another victory against Sheldon Westcott? Find out this and more at The Ultimate Fighter Finale!