Here is Tom Lawlor appeasing Dave Kaplan and knocking him the *@#% out on TUF 8.
Lawlor(10-5, 6-4 UFC) next fights Corey Anderson(7-1, 4-1 UFC) at UFC 196.
Showing posts with label TUF 8. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TUF 8. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Diamond Dave Kaplan Makes An Entrance
Here is TUF 8's "Diamond" Dave Kaplan making his entrance to fight Junie Browning at the TUF 8 Finale. On the show, Kaplan, then 4-1, made it into the house by submitting Fernando Bernstein, then 2-0, now 4-8. His MMA career took a nose dive after that, as he would be submitted by Philipe Nover in the next round of the tournament. He then challenged 205 pounder Tom Lawlor to punch him as he believed he could never be knocked out, that didn't go well. His final bout of his career was a 2010 TKO loss to Dominque Robinson, finishing his career at 3-4.
*Kaplan would not be done with the spotlight, as he won $50,000 on the television show, "The Singing Bee."
*Kaplan would not be done with the spotlight, as he won $50,000 on the television show, "The Singing Bee."
Monday, December 15, 2008
TUF 8 Finale Results
The TUF 8 finale lived up to the hype as it featured some excellent fights. Gameplans proved to be key in the tournament finals, as Bader kept the fight standing and Efrain used his superior wrestling.
Efrain Escudero def Phillipe Nover via unanimous decision for the TUF lightweight tournament championship- Efrain dominated in the takedown and ground and pound department to win a unanimous decision. It was a great strategy as Phillipe didn't have an answer from Efrain's relentless attack. Phillipe's best offense came in the third round when he was able to lock in a shoulder lock/omaplata attempt. Phillipe just couldn't finish the move. Efrain, at 22 years old, has some definite potential in the 155 pound division.
(Efrain Escudero pictured)
Ryan Bader def Vinny Magalhaes via TKO (strikes) R1, 2:18 for the TUF light heavyweight tournament championship- Bader's strategy for the fight was to keep it standing to avoid Vinny's submission game. Bader threws some punches and kicks before a launching a big overhand right. The punch was partially blocked but clipped Vinny in the temple. Vinny crumpled to the canvas, and tried to roll on his back. Unfortunately, Vinny had to eat a few more punches before the ref stepped in. Bader showcased superior power throughout his stint on the show. He will give 205 pounders problems for some time.
(Ryan Bader pictured)
Anthony Johnson def Kevin Burns via KO(kick) R3, 0:28- Johnson got revenge after sitting out 5 months after getting poked in the eye in their last fight. Burns was close with a triangle choke attempt in the first but was unsuccessful. In the second, we saw mostly Johnson ground and pound. In the third, Johnson let loose a nasty high kick that saw Johnson's shin strike Burns directly in the jaw. Burns went straight back, knocked unconscious. That kick will be on the UFC's highlight reel for years to come.
*Johnson won KO of the night.
Wilson Gouveia def Jason MacDonald via sub (strikes) R1, 2:18- Gouveia made short work of Jason MacDonald, despite missing weight by 3 pounds the day before. Gouveia landed a straight right to MacDonald's jaw then a barrage of hammerfists and punches to win the fight.
Junie Browning def Dave Kaplan via sub (armbar) R2, 1:32- Junie looked crisp in his striking and cardio. He landed strike after strike on Kaplan in the first. To his credit, Kaplan wasn't knocked out. He was armbarred in the second round however, as Junie looked much improved from his time on the show.
*Browning and Kaplan won fight of the night.
Krzysztof Soszynski def Shane Primm via sub (kimura) R2, 3:27- Krzysztof's awkward stand-up style looked to confuse Shane Primm from the start, as he was able to land punches on Primm. Near the end of the first, Krzysztof almost had a kimura. In the second, Krzystof went for the submission again and tweaked Primm's arm for the tapout.
*Soszynski won submission of the night.
Eliot Marshall def Jules Bruchez via sub (rear-naked choke) R1, 1:27- Marshall walked through Bruchez to get the rear naked choke.
Tom Lawlor def Kyle Kingsbury via unanimous decision
Shane Nelson def George Roop via split decision
Roli Delgado def John Polakowski via sub (guillotine choke) R2, 2:18
Efrain Escudero def Phillipe Nover via unanimous decision for the TUF lightweight tournament championship- Efrain dominated in the takedown and ground and pound department to win a unanimous decision. It was a great strategy as Phillipe didn't have an answer from Efrain's relentless attack. Phillipe's best offense came in the third round when he was able to lock in a shoulder lock/omaplata attempt. Phillipe just couldn't finish the move. Efrain, at 22 years old, has some definite potential in the 155 pound division.
(Efrain Escudero pictured)
Ryan Bader def Vinny Magalhaes via TKO (strikes) R1, 2:18 for the TUF light heavyweight tournament championship- Bader's strategy for the fight was to keep it standing to avoid Vinny's submission game. Bader threws some punches and kicks before a launching a big overhand right. The punch was partially blocked but clipped Vinny in the temple. Vinny crumpled to the canvas, and tried to roll on his back. Unfortunately, Vinny had to eat a few more punches before the ref stepped in. Bader showcased superior power throughout his stint on the show. He will give 205 pounders problems for some time.
(Ryan Bader pictured)
Anthony Johnson def Kevin Burns via KO(kick) R3, 0:28- Johnson got revenge after sitting out 5 months after getting poked in the eye in their last fight. Burns was close with a triangle choke attempt in the first but was unsuccessful. In the second, we saw mostly Johnson ground and pound. In the third, Johnson let loose a nasty high kick that saw Johnson's shin strike Burns directly in the jaw. Burns went straight back, knocked unconscious. That kick will be on the UFC's highlight reel for years to come.
*Johnson won KO of the night.
Wilson Gouveia def Jason MacDonald via sub (strikes) R1, 2:18- Gouveia made short work of Jason MacDonald, despite missing weight by 3 pounds the day before. Gouveia landed a straight right to MacDonald's jaw then a barrage of hammerfists and punches to win the fight.
Junie Browning def Dave Kaplan via sub (armbar) R2, 1:32- Junie looked crisp in his striking and cardio. He landed strike after strike on Kaplan in the first. To his credit, Kaplan wasn't knocked out. He was armbarred in the second round however, as Junie looked much improved from his time on the show.
*Browning and Kaplan won fight of the night.
Krzysztof Soszynski def Shane Primm via sub (kimura) R2, 3:27- Krzysztof's awkward stand-up style looked to confuse Shane Primm from the start, as he was able to land punches on Primm. Near the end of the first, Krzysztof almost had a kimura. In the second, Krzystof went for the submission again and tweaked Primm's arm for the tapout.
*Soszynski won submission of the night.
Eliot Marshall def Jules Bruchez via sub (rear-naked choke) R1, 1:27- Marshall walked through Bruchez to get the rear naked choke.
Tom Lawlor def Kyle Kingsbury via unanimous decision
Shane Nelson def George Roop via split decision
Roli Delgado def John Polakowski via sub (guillotine choke) R2, 2:18
Thursday, October 23, 2008
TUF Episode 6 - Brown Out
In this past week's episode of The Ultimate Fighter reality show we finally get to see Junie fight again after all the hype. I really hope the later episodes focus more on the training and less on the Junie antics. The episode kicks off with Mir asking Junie if he wanted to take out Roli Delgado. Delgado is a skinny 6'3" 155 pound fighter, who Junie sees as a nerd and team Mir's weakest link.
Celebrating the win, Team Mir coaches go to the TUF house. While there Frank Mir asks Roli about getting his black belt. Roli has a long a circular story. Simple fact is belts don't really matter too much when punches are flying.
Junie does his usual trash talking routine, which at this point is getting kind of old. Everyone on team Nogueira wants Junie to lose as they are sick of his antics. At fight selection, Junie takes a blackbelt with McDojo BJJ on it and throws it at Roli's feet and pushes him. Then he spits on it.
At this point Anderson Silva, Antonio Nogueira and quite a few other guys are very angry. They see it as a sign of disrespect. Roli next seen with Stankie, Al Stankiewicz, the veteran trainer throwing punches in a training montage. Stankie is a master motivator, keeping his fighter in high spirit as Roli hits his targets.
After Junie struggles to make 156, the fight is on. The first round is all Delgado who lands jabs, leg kicks, body kicks and combo's. Junie is able to catch a couple kicks and send Delgado to the floor by sweeping the plant leg, but Delgado keeps popping up. Junie showboats by allowing Roli to tag him with free shots, but this just gives the round to Delgado.
In the second, Junie starts finding his mark with his jab and body punches. Near the end of the round, he hits Roli flush and probably gets a flash KO. Roli regains his composure and makes it back to his feet. As the round ends, another overtime round is required.
In the third, Junie continues to find his mark with Delgado throwing mainly counters. Junie probably wins of getting Delgado down after a kick then standing over him throwing leg kicks. A tough fight ends and Junie gets the split decision victory. One thing is for sure, some serious kinks have been found in Junie's armor.
*Junie's hand grenade tattoo
Celebrating the win, Team Mir coaches go to the TUF house. While there Frank Mir asks Roli about getting his black belt. Roli has a long a circular story. Simple fact is belts don't really matter too much when punches are flying.
Junie does his usual trash talking routine, which at this point is getting kind of old. Everyone on team Nogueira wants Junie to lose as they are sick of his antics. At fight selection, Junie takes a blackbelt with McDojo BJJ on it and throws it at Roli's feet and pushes him. Then he spits on it.
At this point Anderson Silva, Antonio Nogueira and quite a few other guys are very angry. They see it as a sign of disrespect. Roli next seen with Stankie, Al Stankiewicz, the veteran trainer throwing punches in a training montage. Stankie is a master motivator, keeping his fighter in high spirit as Roli hits his targets.
After Junie struggles to make 156, the fight is on. The first round is all Delgado who lands jabs, leg kicks, body kicks and combo's. Junie is able to catch a couple kicks and send Delgado to the floor by sweeping the plant leg, but Delgado keeps popping up. Junie showboats by allowing Roli to tag him with free shots, but this just gives the round to Delgado.
In the second, Junie starts finding his mark with his jab and body punches. Near the end of the round, he hits Roli flush and probably gets a flash KO. Roli regains his composure and makes it back to his feet. As the round ends, another overtime round is required.
In the third, Junie continues to find his mark with Delgado throwing mainly counters. Junie probably wins of getting Delgado down after a kick then standing over him throwing leg kicks. A tough fight ends and Junie gets the split decision victory. One thing is for sure, some serious kinks have been found in Junie's armor.
*Junie's hand grenade tattoo
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Roli Delgado Video
Here is Roli "The Crazy Cuban" Delgado's highlight reel. He wears a crazy pink singlet in a few matches, interesting fashion statement. I think Roli showed some serious heart in his fight with Junie. He does need to work on a takedown to use to get stronger guys to the mat.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
TUF Episode 4 - Efrain Backs It Up
In another fantastic episode of TUF, we mainly see another breakdown of fighter Junie Browning. In the previous episode we had been clued into Junie's inability to drink alchohol. In this episode we see a mean drunk come out again, but this time we see that he is crazy with or without the bottle.
The episode kicks off with the fighters watching UFC 84. This is a huge treat for the fighters as they haven't been able to watch any television so far during their stay in the house. Shane Nelson and Junie, both Mir team 155'ers, decide to break open some wine. After a few bottles while watching the show both guys snap.
Prior to this incident Shane Nelson had been actually a nice guy according to most fighters. However as someone put it, he has the alchohol tolerance of a 16 year old girl. Shane begins to pick a fight with Efrain Escudero and Roli Delgado, pushing and harassing the fighters.
Junie meanwhile torments the 205 pound guys, mostly Shane Primm and Kyle Kingsbury at this point. It comes to a head when Junie throws nuts and eventually his wine glass at Kyle. After it breaks and the prospect of cutting yourself is realized, Junie and Shane are banished to the downstairs to find somewhere else to play.
Unfortunatley, more drama insues as Shane and Junie throw a bunch of furniture in the pool. Krzysztof Soszynski, who had enough of Junie's antics that day, decided it would be a good idea to throw Junie's clothes in the pool. As predicted Junie snaps and pushes Krzysztof, Bader, Kyle and everyone else. For the second episode in a row, Junie apologizes and cries.
Dana appears the next day and calls Junie and Nelson's behavior retarded. He gives both a second chance, but tells Nelson that he is fighting next. According to Ryan Bader's blog, he stated that Dana said he wouldn't have cared if Krzysztof or Bader had knocked Junie out. Team Nogeria decides what better than to have Nelson fight one of their top dogs Efrain. Efrain was happy about the fight as Nelson had tried to pick on him the day before.
The fight was a two round affair that saw Efrain doing all the work. The only danger Efrain came in were a couple high kicks that he blocked. Efrain will have to watch his head movement in further fights. Efrain landed some good knees in the clinch. He was able to get a takedown in round one and land a couple strikes.
In the second round Efrain was able to get a takedown and get control. Nelson was able to try to get an ankle lock, and when unsuccessful Nelson ended up in top position. Nelson had to work fast to try to win the round, and after taking some bait from Efrain, ended up in a triangle choke. Efrain worked it over and Nelson tapped.
Afterward, Junie started yelling loudly from outside the cage that the UFC didn't need another boring wrestler. That statement is almost comical as Efrain just finished his opponent with a triangle in the second round. It was a very exciting fight. Nogeria and Efrain implied from inside the cage that Junie is next. Junie in turn jumps over the octogan fence ready to rumble and the episode ends. Talk about a cliffhanger.
*Pic of Efrain found on photobucket
The next episode will feature a guest appearance with Anderson Silva, so don't miss it. He looked to be almost kicking the bags out of guys hands.
The episode kicks off with the fighters watching UFC 84. This is a huge treat for the fighters as they haven't been able to watch any television so far during their stay in the house. Shane Nelson and Junie, both Mir team 155'ers, decide to break open some wine. After a few bottles while watching the show both guys snap.
Prior to this incident Shane Nelson had been actually a nice guy according to most fighters. However as someone put it, he has the alchohol tolerance of a 16 year old girl. Shane begins to pick a fight with Efrain Escudero and Roli Delgado, pushing and harassing the fighters.
Junie meanwhile torments the 205 pound guys, mostly Shane Primm and Kyle Kingsbury at this point. It comes to a head when Junie throws nuts and eventually his wine glass at Kyle. After it breaks and the prospect of cutting yourself is realized, Junie and Shane are banished to the downstairs to find somewhere else to play.
Unfortunatley, more drama insues as Shane and Junie throw a bunch of furniture in the pool. Krzysztof Soszynski, who had enough of Junie's antics that day, decided it would be a good idea to throw Junie's clothes in the pool. As predicted Junie snaps and pushes Krzysztof, Bader, Kyle and everyone else. For the second episode in a row, Junie apologizes and cries.
Dana appears the next day and calls Junie and Nelson's behavior retarded. He gives both a second chance, but tells Nelson that he is fighting next. According to Ryan Bader's blog, he stated that Dana said he wouldn't have cared if Krzysztof or Bader had knocked Junie out. Team Nogeria decides what better than to have Nelson fight one of their top dogs Efrain. Efrain was happy about the fight as Nelson had tried to pick on him the day before.
The fight was a two round affair that saw Efrain doing all the work. The only danger Efrain came in were a couple high kicks that he blocked. Efrain will have to watch his head movement in further fights. Efrain landed some good knees in the clinch. He was able to get a takedown in round one and land a couple strikes.
In the second round Efrain was able to get a takedown and get control. Nelson was able to try to get an ankle lock, and when unsuccessful Nelson ended up in top position. Nelson had to work fast to try to win the round, and after taking some bait from Efrain, ended up in a triangle choke. Efrain worked it over and Nelson tapped.
Afterward, Junie started yelling loudly from outside the cage that the UFC didn't need another boring wrestler. That statement is almost comical as Efrain just finished his opponent with a triangle in the second round. It was a very exciting fight. Nogeria and Efrain implied from inside the cage that Junie is next. Junie in turn jumps over the octogan fence ready to rumble and the episode ends. Talk about a cliffhanger.
*Pic of Efrain found on photobucket
The next episode will feature a guest appearance with Anderson Silva, so don't miss it. He looked to be almost kicking the bags out of guys hands.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Darth Bader Strikes First
The 3rd Episode of Ultimate Fighter debuted on Wednesday. It is the fighters introduction to the house as the previous two episodes featured fighters fighting for their spot in the house
Unfortunately quite a few fighters were injured during the first round of fights to get into the house. I can see how that can happen with wanting to make it in the house, trying to impress the coaches and Dana White, and other factors will lead fighters to go all-out. Karn Grigoryan and Brian McLaughlin had very short stays in the house. Each sustained fractures to the nose which prompted 180 day suspensions from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. In addition, Krzysztof Soszynski noted in his blog that he had injured his hand during the KO of his first round opponent.
In to replace Grigoryan is Kyle Kingsbury, who fought hard in the opening round against one of the front-runners Ryan Bader. Replacing McLaughlin is originally a mystery fighter before Roli Delgado. Both fighters seemed very happy to be back, with Kingsbury sporting a little bit of a black eye.
Next, teams are picked with Mir using his first pick on Soszynski. Nogeria chooses Ryan Bader. Nogeria won the right to choose the first match as Mir got first pick.
Team Mir
205
Krzysztof Soszynski
Vinny Magalhaes
Eliot Marshal
Tom Lawlor
155
Junie Allen Browning
Shane Nelson
David Kaplan
George Roop
Team Nogueira
205
Ryan Bader
Shane Primm
Kyle Kingsbury
Jules Bruchez
155
Phillipe Nover
Efrain Escudero
John Polakowski
Roli Delgado
We got to see a decent amount of training time. Mir introduced Ken Hahn for stand-up and Robert Drysdale for BJJ as his two coaches. Drysdale is world class in his ju-jitsu game as he is a blackbelt and ADCC champ. Mir looked pretty good teaching technique to his fighters. He remarked that fighting is an individual thing, even though you are on a team, you are fighting for yourself.
Nogeria in contrast talks about having respect for the team and coaches. He wants to build team unity, reminding me of Tito Ortiz when he was a coach on TUF 3. Nogeria has dinner with the guys the day before the first fight and they all sit around a table like a big family. Nogeria has Daniel Valverde for his BJJ and a 67 year old maniac Al "Stankie" Stankiewicz.
In the meantime, Junie Browning got pretty drunk and Soszynski and others shrink wrapped Team Nogeria's undies to the diving board. Bader also had some clothes shrink wrapped to his bed.
The first fight is set by Nogeria as Ryan Bader v. Tom Lawlor are set to fight. Each has a pedigree in wrestling, but Bader has the 2X All American thing going for him. Neither fighter has a problem making weight as Lawlor looks to maybe have a little extra weight on him.
The fight starts with brief exchanges of punches. Bader next tried to get a take down and failed. After, Bader was able to get the takedown and was trying to work in some punches and another arm triangle, but Lawlor was able to escape back to his feet.
Lawlor next rushed in on Bader, however that is not a smart thing to do against a wrestler. Bader got the double leg slam take down that took the wind out of Lawlor's sails. Bader landed a couple punches, and then was standing holding one of Lawlor's feet. After an attempted up kick, Bader threw a nasty punch directly to Lawlor's face, knocking him out.
After the victory, Stankie led the cheers and Bader was eventually hoisted on someone's shoulders. Nogeria will be picking the first 155 pound bout next week.
*Picture of Ryan Bader from photobucket
Unfortunately quite a few fighters were injured during the first round of fights to get into the house. I can see how that can happen with wanting to make it in the house, trying to impress the coaches and Dana White, and other factors will lead fighters to go all-out. Karn Grigoryan and Brian McLaughlin had very short stays in the house. Each sustained fractures to the nose which prompted 180 day suspensions from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. In addition, Krzysztof Soszynski noted in his blog that he had injured his hand during the KO of his first round opponent.
In to replace Grigoryan is Kyle Kingsbury, who fought hard in the opening round against one of the front-runners Ryan Bader. Replacing McLaughlin is originally a mystery fighter before Roli Delgado. Both fighters seemed very happy to be back, with Kingsbury sporting a little bit of a black eye.
Next, teams are picked with Mir using his first pick on Soszynski. Nogeria chooses Ryan Bader. Nogeria won the right to choose the first match as Mir got first pick.
Team Mir
205
Krzysztof Soszynski
Vinny Magalhaes
Eliot Marshal
Tom Lawlor
155
Junie Allen Browning
Shane Nelson
David Kaplan
George Roop
Team Nogueira
205
Ryan Bader
Shane Primm
Kyle Kingsbury
Jules Bruchez
155
Phillipe Nover
Efrain Escudero
John Polakowski
Roli Delgado
We got to see a decent amount of training time. Mir introduced Ken Hahn for stand-up and Robert Drysdale for BJJ as his two coaches. Drysdale is world class in his ju-jitsu game as he is a blackbelt and ADCC champ. Mir looked pretty good teaching technique to his fighters. He remarked that fighting is an individual thing, even though you are on a team, you are fighting for yourself.
Nogeria in contrast talks about having respect for the team and coaches. He wants to build team unity, reminding me of Tito Ortiz when he was a coach on TUF 3. Nogeria has dinner with the guys the day before the first fight and they all sit around a table like a big family. Nogeria has Daniel Valverde for his BJJ and a 67 year old maniac Al "Stankie" Stankiewicz.
In the meantime, Junie Browning got pretty drunk and Soszynski and others shrink wrapped Team Nogeria's undies to the diving board. Bader also had some clothes shrink wrapped to his bed.
The first fight is set by Nogeria as Ryan Bader v. Tom Lawlor are set to fight. Each has a pedigree in wrestling, but Bader has the 2X All American thing going for him. Neither fighter has a problem making weight as Lawlor looks to maybe have a little extra weight on him.
The fight starts with brief exchanges of punches. Bader next tried to get a take down and failed. After, Bader was able to get the takedown and was trying to work in some punches and another arm triangle, but Lawlor was able to escape back to his feet.
Lawlor next rushed in on Bader, however that is not a smart thing to do against a wrestler. Bader got the double leg slam take down that took the wind out of Lawlor's sails. Bader landed a couple punches, and then was standing holding one of Lawlor's feet. After an attempted up kick, Bader threw a nasty punch directly to Lawlor's face, knocking him out.
After the victory, Stankie led the cheers and Bader was eventually hoisted on someone's shoulders. Nogeria will be picking the first 155 pound bout next week.
*Picture of Ryan Bader from photobucket
Thursday, September 25, 2008
TUF 8 Episode 2
In this episode, the next 8 fighters to enter the house is determined. The episode wastes little time as virtually all we see are the preliminary fights. I was very dissapointed to see the two most experienced 155 pounders fight in the first round. I was also dissapointed to see two of the most experienced 205 pounders fight eachother. Whatever, it is easy to be critical of the UFC.
Westly Murch v. John Polakowski- This was the fight between two interesting characters. Murch is from England making the trip over to represent his country. Polakowski has ADHD and enjoys giving people hugs. After a brief exchange, Murch spent a great deal of time on top of Polakowski. However, Polakowski got in quite a few strikes from the bottom. When they stood up, Murch let loose a snapping low kick, however it was checked by Polakowski. The bell sounded right after that kick and Murch fell to the ground. He was in some serious pain, but came out like a true warrior. However, it didn't take long before he couldn't put any pressure on the leg and went to the ground.
Polakowski, who was very happy wasted no time in giving Big Nog, Dana White and Frank Mir hugs. Frank said that if John was on his team there would have to be a 3 second rule on the hugs.
Sean O'Connell v. Shane Primm- O'Connell spoke about his love of Forrest Griffin and having watched every season of TUF. However, he was simply outmatched by Primm. After taking some knees, O'Connell got a double leg takedown. However he is immediately defending an arm-bar, then a guillitine, then is submitted with a rear naked choke.
Ido Pariente v. Efrain Escudero- This match should have taken place in the semi-finals, not the prelims as these the most experienced of the 155 pounders. Ido was able to get a trip takedown on Efrain, however Efrain soon gets to his feet. Efrain then gets his own takedown and gets Ido's back, securing a rear naked choke victory.
Ryan Lopez v. Tom Lawlor- Lopez is a bounty hunter by day, and fighter by night. While Lopez came out absolutely shredded at 205, he probably should have worked on his technique a little more. Mir talks about how he likes Lopez' raw talent and athletisim. However, this isn't a body building match, it is a fight. Lawlor takes Lopez down, rains down punches and gets a rear naked choke.
Roli Delgado v. George Roop- These two very tall 155 pounders. It was a sloppy fight that was shown pretty in highlight fashion. Roop outworks Delgado and gets the unanimous decision victory.
Ryan Bader v. Kyle Kingsbury- This was a very questionable match-up as they have the 2nd and 3rd highest win totals of any other 205 pounders. Kingsbury was able to get the best of Bader standing landing some punches. However, Bader was able to get some slam takedowns and pushed the pace of the fight. In the second round Bader was able to secure an arm-triangle right before the bell for the submission win. On a side-note, Kingsbury looked good.
Charles Diaz v. Shane Nelson- According to Frank Mir, Diaz was talking a huge game before the fight, hyping himself up. Well, don't believe the hype, as Nelson worked his kicks and overwelmed Diaz taking the unanimous decision.
Eliot Marshall v. Karn Grigoryan- This was actually a pretty entertaining fight, but one in which I thought Marshall should have won in the first two rounds. When there was a third round I was kinda shocked. While in the third, Marshall almost had a triangle, got mount, opened up a cut on Grigoryan, and almost had him finished. By some fluke occurence the judges handed the victory to Grigoriyan. I don't know what they were watchign during the fight, but it wasn't the fight. Those judges have to be reprimanded.
Anyway, it is disclosed that Antwain Britt, who had won in the previous 8 fights, broke his hand and will be out for 6 weeks. That opens the door for Dana to bring back Eliot Marshall. Justice is served I guess.
*On a sidenote- That was one of the worst decisions I have seen in a while. I hope NSAC does something about those judges.
205
Krzysztof Soszynski (15-8, 3-4 IFL)
Ryan Bader (7-0)
Vinicius Magalhaes (2-2)
Eliot Marshall (5-1) replaces Antwain Britt (3-1)
Shane Primm (2-0)
Tom Lawlor (4-1, with DQ loss to Shane Primm)
Jules Bruchez (0-0)
Karn Grigoryan (4-0)
155
Shane Nelson (9-3)
"Junie" Allen Browning (2-0)
Efrain Escudero (10-0)
George Roop (8-3)
Phillipe Nover (5-0)
Brian McLaughlin (5-0, wins in Ring of Combat)
John Polakowski (2-1, all three fights v. Olaf Alfonso, 2 in the WEC)
Dave Kaplan (3-1)
-Looking at those records, I'm sure you can tell why I was a little upset that 205 pounder Kyle Kingsbury at 7-1 didn't get an easier first round fight. Also Ido Pariente at 155 who is 13-4 didn't get an easier fight.
Westly Murch v. John Polakowski- This was the fight between two interesting characters. Murch is from England making the trip over to represent his country. Polakowski has ADHD and enjoys giving people hugs. After a brief exchange, Murch spent a great deal of time on top of Polakowski. However, Polakowski got in quite a few strikes from the bottom. When they stood up, Murch let loose a snapping low kick, however it was checked by Polakowski. The bell sounded right after that kick and Murch fell to the ground. He was in some serious pain, but came out like a true warrior. However, it didn't take long before he couldn't put any pressure on the leg and went to the ground.
Polakowski, who was very happy wasted no time in giving Big Nog, Dana White and Frank Mir hugs. Frank said that if John was on his team there would have to be a 3 second rule on the hugs.
Sean O'Connell v. Shane Primm- O'Connell spoke about his love of Forrest Griffin and having watched every season of TUF. However, he was simply outmatched by Primm. After taking some knees, O'Connell got a double leg takedown. However he is immediately defending an arm-bar, then a guillitine, then is submitted with a rear naked choke.
Ido Pariente v. Efrain Escudero- This match should have taken place in the semi-finals, not the prelims as these the most experienced of the 155 pounders. Ido was able to get a trip takedown on Efrain, however Efrain soon gets to his feet. Efrain then gets his own takedown and gets Ido's back, securing a rear naked choke victory.
Ryan Lopez v. Tom Lawlor- Lopez is a bounty hunter by day, and fighter by night. While Lopez came out absolutely shredded at 205, he probably should have worked on his technique a little more. Mir talks about how he likes Lopez' raw talent and athletisim. However, this isn't a body building match, it is a fight. Lawlor takes Lopez down, rains down punches and gets a rear naked choke.
Roli Delgado v. George Roop- These two very tall 155 pounders. It was a sloppy fight that was shown pretty in highlight fashion. Roop outworks Delgado and gets the unanimous decision victory.
Ryan Bader v. Kyle Kingsbury- This was a very questionable match-up as they have the 2nd and 3rd highest win totals of any other 205 pounders. Kingsbury was able to get the best of Bader standing landing some punches. However, Bader was able to get some slam takedowns and pushed the pace of the fight. In the second round Bader was able to secure an arm-triangle right before the bell for the submission win. On a side-note, Kingsbury looked good.
Charles Diaz v. Shane Nelson- According to Frank Mir, Diaz was talking a huge game before the fight, hyping himself up. Well, don't believe the hype, as Nelson worked his kicks and overwelmed Diaz taking the unanimous decision.
Eliot Marshall v. Karn Grigoryan- This was actually a pretty entertaining fight, but one in which I thought Marshall should have won in the first two rounds. When there was a third round I was kinda shocked. While in the third, Marshall almost had a triangle, got mount, opened up a cut on Grigoryan, and almost had him finished. By some fluke occurence the judges handed the victory to Grigoriyan. I don't know what they were watchign during the fight, but it wasn't the fight. Those judges have to be reprimanded.
Anyway, it is disclosed that Antwain Britt, who had won in the previous 8 fights, broke his hand and will be out for 6 weeks. That opens the door for Dana to bring back Eliot Marshall. Justice is served I guess.
*On a sidenote- That was one of the worst decisions I have seen in a while. I hope NSAC does something about those judges.
205
Krzysztof Soszynski (15-8, 3-4 IFL)
Ryan Bader (7-0)
Vinicius Magalhaes (2-2)
Eliot Marshall (5-1) replaces Antwain Britt (3-1)
Shane Primm (2-0)
Tom Lawlor (4-1, with DQ loss to Shane Primm)
Jules Bruchez (0-0)
Karn Grigoryan (4-0)
155
Shane Nelson (9-3)
"Junie" Allen Browning (2-0)
Efrain Escudero (10-0)
George Roop (8-3)
Phillipe Nover (5-0)
Brian McLaughlin (5-0, wins in Ring of Combat)
John Polakowski (2-1, all three fights v. Olaf Alfonso, 2 in the WEC)
Dave Kaplan (3-1)
-Looking at those records, I'm sure you can tell why I was a little upset that 205 pounder Kyle Kingsbury at 7-1 didn't get an easier first round fight. Also Ido Pariente at 155 who is 13-4 didn't get an easier fight.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
TUF 8 Premier Episode
By MMA Blaster
The first episode of TUF 8 did not disappoint. From the get go you know it will be a crazy season. Phillipe Nover fainted in the opening frame of Dana White's speech. The look on the guy standing in front of him is hilarious as Nover initially starts to lean and then goes out.
The coaches Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Big Nog, come out and the fighters don't seem too excited. Reason being, they have to make weight the next day and fight to get into the house.
It will be interesting to see how much talk time each coach gets. Big Nog, a native Brazilian, seems to have the subtitles flowing after every sentence. Mir is a well spoken guy as a WEC color commentator.
We don't see how they are matched up to fight, so I hope that Joe Silva seeded them somehow and Dana White didn't just randomly match them up.
*Pic of Frank Mir as champ
While weight cutting, Jason Guida has by far the worst time. He is 217 off the start, and needs to get down to 206. During his cut, Mir commented on how it looked like Guida was having the worst of everyone else. The next scene brings those comments to life, as Guida, with a towel slightly covering his groin experiences some bad leg cramps. His legs go stiff, like a grounded Frankenstein, and he has a couple guys try to loosen him up.
When they manage to get him on the scale, he comes in at 207, one pound over. The doctor monitering the situation and Ken Kizer of NSAC end up not letting Guida continue. To Guida's credit he wanted to lose the pound, but he just wasn't allowed to as the doctor knew how dehydrated he Guida had become.
Mike Stewart jumps in to replace Guida in his fight against former IFL fighter Krystof Soszynski. Soszynski is a big guy who had a spat in pro wresting before MMA. In his mma career, Soszynski has fought in the IFL on the big stage, then at heavyweight. Stewart looks to maybe have an amateur fight or two on his resume.
The fight is quick as Soszynski drops Stewart with punches and keeps going as Stewart goes to his knees. The ref stops the fight shortly thereafter.
The next fight is Fernando "The Machete" Bernstein and Dave Kaplan. While Bernstein threw some snapping kicks and looked decent on his feet, he proved to lack a ground game. Kaplan took him down from the clinch, got his back, and the fight was done in a couple minutes.
Phillipe Nover and Joe Duarte faced off next. I was a little disappointed because I thought each of these fighters would have decent showings in the house. They battled back and forth on their feet in the first. Both throwing some mean punches and kicks. Duarte almost had Nover finished in the first before the bell sounded.
In the second, Nover pressed the action getting a takedown, elbows, then sinking in a rear naked choke. While losing, Duarte still looked good and I wouldn't be surprised seeing him back in the house if a fighter was injured.
Eric Magee and Jules Bruchez faced off next in what I would call a lackluster fight. Neither 205 pounded looked in great shape or to have too much skill. Bruchez was able to get a rear naked choke victory and talk some junk after the fight. He is a farmer and gets his power country style.
Vinny Magalhaes and Lance Evans- The first round was more of a highlight montage, and we see Evans get kicked in the ribs. Evans, brother of Rashad Evans, clutches his ribs as he goes to his corner at the end of the round. He is not able to continue and sent packing. Magalhaes looks in good shape and moved well on his feet.
Antwain Britt and Ryan Jimmo also get the highlight montage treatment. Britt wins a split decision.
Brian McLaughlin and Garner fought next, as McLaughlin looked to be winning the bout in the first. In the second Garner threw a knee while McLaughlin had both knees on the ground. McLaughlin when to the canvas and told the doctor he was dizzy. The ref called the bout a no contest and the knee unintentional, but Dana White decided McLaughlin would move on.
Junie Browning fought Jose Aguilar in the final bout of the night. Aguilar talks some interesting trash talk as he proclaims himself to be on the level of historic greats, like Napoleon and Alexander the Great. If Aguilar was in the BC times, he'd be conquering people. He proclaims himself as a, "straight up criminal."
Browning says there is no way Aguilar will beat him and that he has a, "better chance of getting me pregnant than beating me." Well Browning's trash seemed to be a little more accurate. Aguilar was taken down and punched and elbowed until the bell was rung. Aguilar promptly tells the ref that he has had enough.
If Ghengis Khan was in mma, he'd answer the bell, knock you out, then conquer your village.
Moving into the house are:
LHW - 205
Krzysztof Soszynski
Jules Bruchez
Vinny Magalhaes
Antwain Britt
LW - 155
Dave Kaplan
Phillipe Nover
Brian McLaughlin
Junie Browning
The first episode of TUF 8 did not disappoint. From the get go you know it will be a crazy season. Phillipe Nover fainted in the opening frame of Dana White's speech. The look on the guy standing in front of him is hilarious as Nover initially starts to lean and then goes out.
The coaches Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Big Nog, come out and the fighters don't seem too excited. Reason being, they have to make weight the next day and fight to get into the house.
It will be interesting to see how much talk time each coach gets. Big Nog, a native Brazilian, seems to have the subtitles flowing after every sentence. Mir is a well spoken guy as a WEC color commentator.
We don't see how they are matched up to fight, so I hope that Joe Silva seeded them somehow and Dana White didn't just randomly match them up.
*Pic of Frank Mir as champ
While weight cutting, Jason Guida has by far the worst time. He is 217 off the start, and needs to get down to 206. During his cut, Mir commented on how it looked like Guida was having the worst of everyone else. The next scene brings those comments to life, as Guida, with a towel slightly covering his groin experiences some bad leg cramps. His legs go stiff, like a grounded Frankenstein, and he has a couple guys try to loosen him up.
When they manage to get him on the scale, he comes in at 207, one pound over. The doctor monitering the situation and Ken Kizer of NSAC end up not letting Guida continue. To Guida's credit he wanted to lose the pound, but he just wasn't allowed to as the doctor knew how dehydrated he Guida had become.
Mike Stewart jumps in to replace Guida in his fight against former IFL fighter Krystof Soszynski. Soszynski is a big guy who had a spat in pro wresting before MMA. In his mma career, Soszynski has fought in the IFL on the big stage, then at heavyweight. Stewart looks to maybe have an amateur fight or two on his resume.
The fight is quick as Soszynski drops Stewart with punches and keeps going as Stewart goes to his knees. The ref stops the fight shortly thereafter.
The next fight is Fernando "The Machete" Bernstein and Dave Kaplan. While Bernstein threw some snapping kicks and looked decent on his feet, he proved to lack a ground game. Kaplan took him down from the clinch, got his back, and the fight was done in a couple minutes.
Phillipe Nover and Joe Duarte faced off next. I was a little disappointed because I thought each of these fighters would have decent showings in the house. They battled back and forth on their feet in the first. Both throwing some mean punches and kicks. Duarte almost had Nover finished in the first before the bell sounded.
In the second, Nover pressed the action getting a takedown, elbows, then sinking in a rear naked choke. While losing, Duarte still looked good and I wouldn't be surprised seeing him back in the house if a fighter was injured.
Eric Magee and Jules Bruchez faced off next in what I would call a lackluster fight. Neither 205 pounded looked in great shape or to have too much skill. Bruchez was able to get a rear naked choke victory and talk some junk after the fight. He is a farmer and gets his power country style.
Vinny Magalhaes and Lance Evans- The first round was more of a highlight montage, and we see Evans get kicked in the ribs. Evans, brother of Rashad Evans, clutches his ribs as he goes to his corner at the end of the round. He is not able to continue and sent packing. Magalhaes looks in good shape and moved well on his feet.
Antwain Britt and Ryan Jimmo also get the highlight montage treatment. Britt wins a split decision.
Brian McLaughlin and Garner fought next, as McLaughlin looked to be winning the bout in the first. In the second Garner threw a knee while McLaughlin had both knees on the ground. McLaughlin when to the canvas and told the doctor he was dizzy. The ref called the bout a no contest and the knee unintentional, but Dana White decided McLaughlin would move on.
Junie Browning fought Jose Aguilar in the final bout of the night. Aguilar talks some interesting trash talk as he proclaims himself to be on the level of historic greats, like Napoleon and Alexander the Great. If Aguilar was in the BC times, he'd be conquering people. He proclaims himself as a, "straight up criminal."
Browning says there is no way Aguilar will beat him and that he has a, "better chance of getting me pregnant than beating me." Well Browning's trash seemed to be a little more accurate. Aguilar was taken down and punched and elbowed until the bell was rung. Aguilar promptly tells the ref that he has had enough.
If Ghengis Khan was in mma, he'd answer the bell, knock you out, then conquer your village.
Moving into the house are:
LHW - 205
Krzysztof Soszynski
Jules Bruchez
Vinny Magalhaes
Antwain Britt
LW - 155
Dave Kaplan
Phillipe Nover
Brian McLaughlin
Junie Browning
Friday, September 12, 2008
Videos of the Day - Ryan Bader
The first is a highlight video of sorts from TUF 8 participant Ryan Bader. This was from his first six fights, he fought and won once more after this video was made. The second is his "interesting" audition video he made to get on TUF 8. He said it was all a joke.
TUF 8 application video:
Bader and CB in Mexico
TUF 8 application video:
Bader and CB in Mexico
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)