WEC 53 Henderson vs. Pettis

WEC 53 Henderson vs. Pettis December 16th, 2010 from Glendale, Arizona


As the WEC has now merged with the UFC, who ever wins the two titles on the line tonight will be the last to every hold that belt. In the bantamweight fight, the winner also becomes the first bantamweight Champion in the UFC. In addition to featherweight, this is another new weight class being added to the UFC, these guys fight at 135 pounds. Unfortunately there were only two fights televised so I haven't gotten to know a lot of the new fighters that will be joining the UFC but the two fights they did show were awesome. Joe Rogan is announcing these fights but I definitely miss his partner in crime Mike Goldberg, I don't like this Todd Harris' voice

Dominik Cruz (champion) vs. Scott Jorgensen - bantamweight Championship
Not at the same level but this fight reminded me of GSPs most recent fight against Josh Koscheck. Jorgensen was hurt in the first round and the rest of the fight his right eye just got bigger and bigger. Cruz wasn't able to finish the fight but kept pushing all five rounds. He did not let up. Even into the later rounds Cruz was still moving extremely well and landing amazing combinations. Cruz looked a lot like the boxers I have seen fight. He was very aggressive putting together good, fast combinations. He does fight with his hands very low though. I'm not sure how anyone else in the division fights but I can't imagine that ever being a good habit to have. He was bobbing and weaving a lot to avoid punches and was able to get out of the way for a lot of them while still being able to get in and throw very precise strikes of his own. He wasn't just a boxer though, he was definitely great on the mat. He got a big takedown in the second round and landed some rough elbows to Jorgensen's face and hard strikes to his body. Cruz landed an impressive right at the beginning of the third round that knocked Jorgensen down. He also consistently landed really hard leg kicks. The last two rounds were more of the same. 2 or 3 punch combinations finished with a big leg kick or kick to the body throughout the fight, Cruz completely dominated. Dominik Cruz won the unanimous decision 50-45 from all three judges and is the last ever WEC Bantamweight Champion and first ever UFC Bantamweight Champion. A big night for the kid adding to his 17-1 mma record. In his post fight interview he was very humble and well-spoken. Thanking everyone and looking forward to a fight against Urijah Faber (an extremely well known WEC fighter, 24-4 record and the only fighter he has ever lost to).

Ben Henderson (champion) vs. Anthony Pettis - lightweight Championship
Unlike the bantamweight fight, who ever wins this championship will not take over Frankie Edgar's place in the UFC but I have a pretty good idea that will put them high in the ranks for the next title shot. You can tell these guys know what's on the line, they were super intense, got right in each other's faces when ref Herb Dean was going over the rules. Pettis has some attitude, he did not touch gloves when the fight started and when Henderson had him up against the fence and was landing knees he motioned like he was yawning! I can see why the announcers were calling Henderson gumby. He wiggled out of a kimura attempt by Pettis in the second round and avoided a guillotine in the third. Pettis got Henderson's back and landed some really big strikes to his ribs. Two minutes left in the third round my tv stopped recording because the fights were going over the scheduled time so I didn't see how it finished but I did catch the highlights. In the last minute of the fifth and final round Pettis did some parkour/ninja move and jumped up against the fence, used it to propel himself off and landed a kick right to Henderson's face! Should have taken it more seriously when "creative striker" was listed as one of Pettis' strengths. Henderson was knocked down but not out, this guy can definitely take a hit. The judges gave the unanimous decision to Anthony Pettis but it was definitely close (48-47, 49-46, 48-47) and was even awarded fight of the night.

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If this is a preview of what the WEC is bringing to the table I am definitely looking forward to the merge. Both fights went the distance but were exciting the whole time. I'm sorry I didn't start watching it sooner.

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UFC 124 GSP vs. Koscheck

UFC 124 Georges St-Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck December 11th, 2010 from Montreal, Canada

So this was a terrible night for my picks but a fantastic night for Canadian fighters. The Canadians were with 4 wins, 2 losses, and 1 majority draw. I have some new fighters to watch and gained more respect for guys I was on the fence about before. Another great night of fights for a record breaking North American crowd of 23 000.

Sean Pierson vs. Matt Riddle - welterweight

This was the UFC debut for Canadian Sean Pierson and wow, welcome to the big leagues. Riddle did not let up at all. Even when none of his strikes were landing, he kept pushing forward like some sort of robot caveman, swinging, hoping to catch Pierson with something. Pierson didn't throw as many punches as Riddle but was definitely more effective with them. When they slowed down the tape you can see Riddle throwing 6-8 punches not connecting with any of them and Pierson snuck in and got two stiff jabs right to Riddle's chin. When the fight went to the mat Pierson dominated there too. He wasn't able to get a good enough choke hold to submit Riddle but did control him. This was a fun fight to watch, Pierson got 30-27 from all judges to take the unanimous decision and I will definitely be cheering for him in his next bout.

Joe Doerksen vs. Dan Miller - middleweight

They didn't air this fight and I can't watch it on UFC.com because my buddy ordered the fights but unfortunately El Dirte lost the split decision. I'm guessing they'll probably have Doerksen somewhere on the card in Toronto in April, hopefully he can pull off the win there.

John Howard vs. Thiago Alves - welterweight
Not sure what I was thinking when I went against the pit bull, I know better than that. I still like Howard, this was a great fight, Alves was just one step ahead. Alves stuffed a takedown in the first round and was quick to escapes a potential knee bar. He landed a hug leg kick towards the middle of the round that definitely hurt Howard and followed it with some big knees to Howards face. Both guys were throwing combinations but Alves just seemed to be faster the whole time. His punches were a little crisper, not round about haymakers I guess you would call them. The other two rounds were a lot of the same. Alves controlling the pace and landing way more punches. You have to give Howard credit though, he was obviously favoring his left leg after the huge leg kick in the first round but continued to push. Unfortunately for him, each time he went in Alves was ready with an even stronger counter. Alves ended the fight with a big kick to Howard’s body and another leg kick. This wasn't an easy fight for Alves but he took the unanimous decision without a doubt. 30-27 from every judge, I still don't want to see another Alves GSP matchup but I like watching Pit Bull fight, that was a great one. AND Alves made the effort to learn a few French lines for the crowd.

Mark Bocek vs. Dustin Hazelett - lightweight

Again, what was I thinking? While watching the fights I came to discover that Bocek is one of, if not the top Canadian lightweight fighter, woops. Right away Bocek got the takedown and after a bit of a battle he is able to get his legs around Hazelett for a triangle choke. He didn't have it perfectly right away but kept at it and forced Hazelett to tap. With this win Bocek also received one of the two submission of the night bonuses.

Mac Danzig vs. Joe Stevenson - lightweight

Poor guy, knocked out on his son's 10th birthday, harsh. Danzig looked really good in this fight. Not sure what happened in his last 5 fights where he lost 4 of them but this guy is good. I also didn't know going into this fight that he had won the 6th season of TUF. That’s a season I'll have to get on dvd, Hughes and Serra. And duh his coach was Hughes! I will definitely be rooting for this guy in his next match. Even just going from watching a welterweight fight to the lightweight guys there is a big difference in how they move. At the start of the fight the two guys were both jumping around a lot, moving around the cage feeling each other out, not just rocking on their feet. Stevenson about a minute and a half in started throwing more, he landed a few right on Danzig's chin. He went in for another combination and as Danzig was backing up he threw a left and landed square on Stevenson's chin. Out cold! Danzig won by KO at 1:54 in the first round. Perfect timing on that one, good enough for the knockout of the night bonus.

Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira - lightweight

Yet another dumb pick by me. Jim Miller is a beast. His only two losses have been to the top dogs in the division right now, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. He's defeated Mac Danzig and Mark Bocek who both dominated in their own fights tonight. It looked like he was getting close to being caught in both a guillotine and an armbar before he flipped the switch and grabbed the leg lock forcing Oliveira to tap. With this win Miller won one of the two submission of the night bonuses. That’s got to be one of the worst ways to loose. Oliveria is watching Miller hold his leg and tighten his grip, As soon as Miller lets go of his leg Oliveira probably feels like he could get right back up and fight again, he wasn't hurt otherwise. That’s rough.

Stefan Struve vs. Sean McCorkle - heavyweight

I'm not really sure how I feel about this fight. First off, its just plain crazy to see these two guys in the cage. They're both way taller than the height of the fence at 6'7" and 6'11" they make everyone look mini. McCorkle got a big takedown about 30 seconds in. Right away it looked like Struve was in trouble. But he backed himself up against the cage and explained in the post fight press conference he wasn't nervous, he knew for McCorkle to finish that submission he would not only have to lift his arm, he'd have to lift Struve's body because he was against the fence. That was really impressive to see him stay so calm and relaxed and get out of the hold. He ate some ground and pound from McCorkle but with about a minute and a half left he flipped McCorkle, got on top and dealt the real damage. The ref called the fight, maybe a couple strikes too soon but McCorkle was definitely turtling and lost via TKO. This is what I was talking about in another blog, Lesnar was eating way more punches than McCorkle was and there was blood all over his face in his match against Carwin but it wasn't called. This fight doesn't matter as much so it's called a little easier. I can definitely understand that, a title fight is way more important but I just wanted to point out this is what I'm talking about sometimes. At the post fight press conference Struve was pretty funny is saying he was happy to come out of a fight with his face intact.

Georges St-Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck - Welterweight Championship
Everyone knows the critics are going to love talking about this one. Another 5 round battle for the defending champion. But this was a totally different gameplan seen from GSP, almost the entire fight was a stand up game. Every single round went to GSP, no question. He dominated Koscheck all 5 rounds. GSP said at the post fight press conference that he is not happy with his performance, he apologized in his post fight interview with Joe Rogan that he did not finish the fight. He wanted a knockout or submission but wasn't able to get it. I don't think any true GSP fans think he needs to apologize for anything though. I think we all wanted to see GSP finish Koscheck but that fight was one sided start to finish, GSP took Koscheck to the cleaners! GSP started the fight with left jabs and did not let up. He got a takedown within the first 20 seconds of the fight but the rest of the time he was on his feet. The 3rd or 4th hit he landed did the damage that only got worse from then on. Koscheck was already blinking lots 30 seconds in and touching his right eye that just kept getting bigger. It was basically completely swollen shut by the end of the second round. The doctor was looking at it pretty closely and I feel like in any other fight it would have been called then, but Koscheck said he wanted to keep going, even though he was flinching every time someone tried to put ice on his face. GSP continued to throw jabs and high kicks to Koscheck's right eye while at the same time avoiding every single punch Koscheck threw. I have to give respect to Koscheck, even with only one eye and a ripped off toenail (ew) he was still fighting. He was still throwing punches, was able to defend against a couple famous GSP takedowns, actually got one himself, and every time GSP knocked him down he would get back up right away. He literally walked in to enemy territory, GSP's hometown the boos that came from the 23 000 plus crowd were louder than I have ever heard. He showed really great takedown defense and if he wasn't such a jerk I would cheer for him in his fights to come.

After the fight was over he hugged GSP for a long time and in the post fight press conference GSP was explaining that Koscheck was apologizing for all the trash talking and it was just to hype the fight. I think there is a line between hyping the fight and just being a tool and Koscheck did more than just hype the fight. Overall this was an awesome display of athleticism from both guys. If GSP was more like Clay Guida he would have just ran after Koscheck and attacked him with that one eye closed. But GSP thinks about every move and knew that if Koscheck is still throwing, there is a chance he could get clipped. If you don’t fight smart in a stand up game it’s like flipping a coin, he is too smart to take that risk. In the end I saw what I wanted to see, two guys working the whole fight. GSP pulls off another unanimous victory 50-45 from all 3 judges.

I'm not sure what will be next for GSP. All the guys he has fought and beat are still winning. Thiago Alves, Jon Fitch, guys that he has defeated are finishing each other, KOs TKOs, submissions, they're all amazing fighters but when they get to GSP they can't beat him. I'd like to see him take on Jake Shields next because that's what Dana has said will happen then finish Carlos Condit and after that maybe move up to 185. But those guys are a lot bigger. Its not just moving up a little bit, 15 pounds is a big difference, especially when a lot of those guys walk around at over 200 pounds and are usually taller than GSP. I'm excited to see where he goes.

Upcoming UFC 124 GSP vs. Koscheck

UFC 124 Georges St-Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck December 11th, 2010 from Montreal, Canada

Georges St-Pierre (champion) vs. Josh Koscheck - welterweight Championship

This is not the first time these two guys have met in the cage. They fought back in August of 2007 at UFC 74. That was GSP's first fight since loosing for the second time in his professional mma career. He had just lost his belt and after taking the unanimous decision over Koscheck GSP has won every single fight. After taking out Koscheck he got the interim title before taking the belt that he had lost to Matt Serra right back. 

Some people have said that GSP has become boring. He used to finish guys by KO and TKO and recently all his fights have been going the distance. With the exception of his match with BJ Penn that ended by corner stoppage after the fourth round. I admit that I said for a while that I felt like GSP had to finish someone. He hasn't knocked anyone out lately and he absolutely has the power to. But I don't care how a fight finishes as long as both fighters work the whole time. He may not knock a guys jaw in half but he works the entire fight. He gets huge takedowns and dominates guys on the mat, leaving them completely neutralized. GSP says he is a specialist in rematches, taking out trash talkers and defeating wrestlers. Koscheck has all three checked off. We've seen recently that it can be risky to leave it in the judges hands and I really don't see GSP letting this fight go more than 3 rounds. GSP has trained himself against an army of men so one fighter will not defeat him. He says he is at his best when he is in a rematch position. He says the pressure is not on him. He has beat Koscheck before. And when he beats him this time they will never have to fight each other again. He has never been so motivated for a fight. I think he will defeat Koscheck before the fight goes the distance. It would be such poetic justice also if Koscheck was to loose by rear naked choke after his team on the 12th season of the ultimate fighter lost that way so many times. 

Koscheck and his team blame the last fight on Koscheck being a dumb fighter at the time. He was a world class wrestler and had been wrestling since the age of 4 so was confident in those skills and focused his training on his stand up game. He went into training thinking no one could take him down. Wrong move going against Rush. Koscheck is not a bad fighter, that is not why I dislike him. He's actually a really great fighter. He has improved so much since the first time he faced GSP. Since their first fight Koscheck has lost to Paulo Thiago and Thiago Alves (fighting on this card) but he has also won 6 other fights. Facing and completely dominating guys like Frank Trigg, Anthony Johnson, Chris Lytle and Yoshiyaki Yoshida. 4 of those 6 wins coming from knockout, TKO, or submission. He has evolved from the beginning of being solely a wrestler to becoming a legitimate mixed martial artist. Koscheck just has a really rank attitude that I can't stand. Some people say he didn't start this was but has embraced the role of villain after constantly receiving boos from the fans. This is a whole bunch of baloney. He was on the very first season of TUF and even then was running his mouth, acting like a punk before he was named a "villain". His wrestling coach from college even said he was a loner, he didn't get along with anyone because he was such a prick. People respected him because he could knock them out but that's not the way I would want to have respect.

I feel like Koscheck is like a little boy that's acting out for attention. Even when he was coaching on the Ultimate Fighter, whenever he yelled something out he would look around, waiting for someone to react. He would chirp at GSP, trying to get a reaction out of him as well. He said GSP was cowering out when he would just walk away. Hmm, most people call that being a man. Until someone is physically threatening you, what’s the point in giving them the satisfaction of a reaction? GSP said it himself, he'll do his talking in the octagon.

I like that Koscheck mentioned he has tried to make GSP angry so he is motivated to train so when they face each other in the cage GSP will be at his best. But be careful what you ask for Kos, because as Joe Rogan so eloquently put it, a pissed off Georges St-Pierre is a dangerous mother f*cker. We'll see who the better fighter is on Saturday night. It’s easy to look tough. The real tough guy just shows you, he doesn't have to constantly tell you how bad*ss he is.

Stefan Struve vs. Sean McCorkle - heavyweight

I am absolutely going for the skyscraper, Struve for this fight. He's a 6'11" giant that is only getting bigger. When he started in the UFC he was still tall but he was really lanky and a skinny looking heavyweight only about 230 pounds. There is no way I could ever imagine him taking on big guns like Velasquez, Carwin or Lesnar which as he gets better he would eventually have to do. His two loses in the UFC came to Roy Nelson and Junior Dos Santos, the current number one contender for the heavyweight belt. Now at 22 years old, he is still very young but has 4 UFC wins under his belt. He is still improving each time he gets into the cage and I'm looking forward to see how far he has come since his last fight against Christian Morecraft where he was dominated in the first round and came back to win by KO 20 seconds into the second round. For all those reasons and the fact that Sean McCorkle's nickname is "big sexy" I am going with the Dutch boy on this one.


John Howard vs. Thiago Alves - welterweight
I think this fight will be sick. Fight of the night potential right here. Alves is coming off two loses to Jon Fitch and GSP and Howard also just lost to Jake Ellenberger. I really like Alves but he had his shot at the title, he can have a shot again but for now I'd like to see someone else moving up in the ranks and that guy is John Howard.


Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira - lightweight
My pick is simple, this fight is going to be good, both guys are great fighters but Oliveira has an undefeated record and it a ridiculous submission artist. I want to see him put Miller to sleep tonight too.


Mac Danzig vs. Joe Stevenson - lightweight
Have to go with Joe Daddy Stevenson here. His record going into this fight is 36-11 but when ever Stevenson fights really well known names like BJ Penn, Kenny Florian, Diego Sanchez and George Sotiropoulos he looses. Yeah he won the second season of the ultimate fighter but whats the point of a guy climbing the ladder if he just gets knocked out when he reaches the higher level guys. I don't think I've ever seen Danzig fight but he's lost 4 of his last 5 fights so this could be a must win for him. This looks to me like its a desperate matchup, both guys have to come out with the win, but only one will.


Mark Bocek vs. Dustin Hazelett - lightweight
I'm sorry, I have to go against the Canadian. I just like Dustin Hazelett. I don't have any real reason why I do but I like watching him fight. And I'm pretty sure his 5" height advantage will pay off in this one. 


Joe Doerksen vs. Dan Miller - middleweight

Of course I'm going with the hometown boy, el dirte here! No other reason other than he's from my province Manitoba.

Ultimate Fighter Season 12 Finale

Saturday, December 4th, 2010 from the Palms in Las Vegas

Nam Phan vs. Leonard Garcia - featherweight
Of course Phan was on this season of TUF, being eliminated in an intense semi-final fight against Johnson. He has moved down to the featherweight division for the first live featherweight fight in UFC history. As announced at UFC 123, the featherweight division, 145 pounds compared to 155 in the lightweight division, is being brought to the UFC. Its big in WEC but this will bring a whole new group of fighters into the mix. 

The first round was pretty even. Both fighters threw some good combinations, landing a lot. Garcia's punches look bigger because he had huge wind ups but Phan landed a few big body shots like he did against Cody Mckenzie on the show. The second round was all Phan. Garcia got an early takedown but Phan landed a big combination then dropped him with a big side kick to his body. Phan had Garcia's back and was almost had a choke hold and it really looked like Garcia tapped. But his arm was across Garcia's face so he wasn't actually choking him at that time. Joe mentioned it was probably just an unfortunate hand gesture he made and it's true, immediately after the quick tap movement he was grabbing Phan's arm to get out. The third round Garcia looks really gassed. He's still throwing big punches but a lot fewer because of his crazy wild style. Garcia is a really weird fighter to watch, his style is all over the place. Not in the way that he fights in a lot of different styles, he is literally all over the place. He throws some crazy punches that even Joe Rogan says is like a style for rock throwing. He puts everything behind every punch he looks completely off balance each time like he has no discipline in the movements. You have to be really careful against a guy like that, he looks so tired but his punches come from such weird places and they're really powerful he could easily sneak in a knockout.

So it goes to the judges, they score it 29-28 Garcia, 30-27 Phan and 29-28 Garcia!! What the heck were these judges watching?! They gave the split decision to Garcia, really? Phan completely deserved to win. How does one judge score all three round going to one fighter while two others say two of those three went to the other? It does not make sense to me. Garcia was shaking his head after the fight as if he was disappointed in himself. Even Joe Rogan agreed with the score of 30-27. Everyone was booing, in the entire place. Garcia took the booing really well. He said he felt Phan had him beat standing up! The whole fight was standing, the only part that wasn't was when Phan knocked him down and almost submitted him. Oh and a couple small takedowns that he didn't do anything with. This is not the way a fight should go at all, I'm pretty disappointed. But again, that’s why you ever let it go to the judges.

Cody McKenzie vs. Aaron Wilkinson - lightweight
Immediately McKenzie went to the takedown. He goes for his signature guillotine and Wilkinson gets out of it. As they stand up he goes for it again but isn't able to hold on. Back on the mat he keeps going for it. He knows what works for him and he kept attacking Wilkinson's neck. Eventually he gets not a full guillotine but he gets his arm across Wilkinson's jaw and goes for it. He never gets the hold under Wilkinson’s chin but with the power he has in the move he is able to tap him out with just that and pulls off another submission win for team GSP. 

Another Season 12 contestant fight was Sako Chivitchian from team Koscheck against semi-finalist Kyle Watson from Team GSP. They didn't air this fight but Watson took the unanimous decision with 2 of 3 judges giving him all three rounds. Two more TUF alum fought on Saturday, Kendall Grove who won the 3rd season unfortunately lost to Demian Maia and also Stephan Bonner who was a finalist on the 1st season. He won the decision win over Igor Pokrajac.

Finally on to the main event...

Jonathan Brookins vs. Michael Johnson - TUF Season 12 Lightweight Championship
This was an awesome final fight in my opinion. Both fighters have definitely been training hard and in their semi-final fights showed a lot of improvement. From fighting on the same team during the season they became friends and have shown so much respect for each other. The fight started off really exciting for Johnson. They were both throwing punches but Johnson was landing some really huge hits right to Brookins’ jaw. This guy can definitely take a punch. He took hit after hit. He definitely got rocked a couple times and was knocked down but never out. His technique was the reason he was hit so many times though. As they said on the show he fits with his chin way up, not down and protected and he holds his hands really low too. Johnson completely dominated the first round, he showed great takedown defence and he won that one hands down. Brookins messed with his hair a lot, each time he was clipped he would push the hair out of his face. Even if that only takes a second, its a moment his head is not entirely in the fight. Clay Guida has hair like Brookins but just lets it all fall in his face and fights through it. I think Brookins needs to get used to that or perhaps consider a haircut, which would be my recommendation. 

The second round was totally different. Brookins took Johnson down in the first minute and once again Johnson was not able to progress form an inferior position. It wasn't a great looking takedown Johnson was defending well but the strength of Brookins was too much. Johnson was able to defend himself, he ate some big elbows but he didn't get slaughtered. This was a weakness I noticed in Johnson in his earlier fights. It is absolutely something he needs to work on. But I can imagine its not something you want to train for. Its easy to train to be the agressor, its fun to know the different ways you can finish your opponent when you have control. But in my opinion Johnson needs to get in a position in training when he is on the bottom, in an inferior position then learn, okay, what do I do from here... Even the best fighters end up on the bottom from time to time and the best ones know how to get out of that spot. He was able to stand up with about a minute and a half left and landed some big elbows of his own to Brookins' head but was soon after slammed to the mat with a minute left.

The guys go into the third round one and one, and unfortunately for Johnson it looks like it would be a repeat of round 2. Taken down in the first minute Johnson definitely looks a little tired. After trying a few times to stand up Johnson is finally able to get control of Brookins briefly before Brookins lands a lateral drop (fancy takedown) to take control back. The last two minutes Brookins maintained control and continued to apply pressure and deliver some nice ground and pound. The decision now goes to the judges. 

JONATHAN BROOKINS wins by unanimous decision 

and is The Ultimate Fighter Season 12 Winner!

The right guy won in my opinion. He has some things to work on but he's the type of guy that knows that. He is a great ambassador to the sport. He brings a laid back, humble attitude and is very grateful for every opportunity he is given. Both fighters showed so much respect for each other before and after the fight. Of course Johnson was carrying his head a little lower but I don't think this is the last we will see of him in the UFC. 

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Ultimate Fighter Season 12 Episode 11

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

No I did not miss a week, there was no episode last Wednesday, November 24^th because of American Thanksgiving. So here we are, back in action. Both semi-final fights are happened in the 2-hour special episode leading up to the finale this Saturday, December 4^th.

So this episode we hear that it is not just editing, Koscheck’s team is actually disappointed in the training, or more so, lack of training they have received being on team yellow. Spending a lot of time in the sauna or texting on both of his phones, it seems like Koscheck sees he only has one guy left so he's given up on training. 

Even Stevens, mini Koscheck, doesn't feel like he got much out of the experience, he doesn't feel like they have learnt a lot. Sako says he’s learnt a lot, at least more than he expected to learn. I’m really not sure that’s a good thing though. Better than I expected, that’s not exactly a big compliment. One of the fighters also mentions that they haven't said anything to the coaches about how they feel. But I don’t think they should have to. GSP hasn’t held anything back with his training, he has explained this is how I beat this fighter, and this is how I got that win... And why wouldn't he? GSP has made it clear that his goal is to clean out his division and then move up to take on champs in higher division, not move down and dominate the lightweight guys. 

Koscheck’s team brings up all the great people GSP has brought in as well. It has to be hard to hear all about the great training sessions the red team is having with some crazy talented people. The team may not bring it up in front of the coaches but Stevens has no problem venting about it with a little bit of alcohol in him, impersonating Koscheck very well back at that house. Koscheck walks in, perfect timing, and offers his team some shots. Koscheck says the guys have to point the finger at themselves for their loses. Which is true, but that doesn't mean you stop training them, they have come on the show not just to win, but for the training experience.

First fight shown is Jonathan Brookins vs. Kyle Watson

These are both really great guys. Both from team GSP so again GSP will not corner either fighter. Its time to be selfish in their training though, its not about the team anymore, they are individual fighters. John Danaher, one of GSP's coaches agrees with me that this fight probably should have been the final. These guys have way more experience than Johnson and Phan and I think are overall more talented.

Watson left a great opportunity to move up in the company he was working for in Chicago before he decided to take a job as a coach at Matt Hughes' camp. Just goes to show that doing what you love is what really matters. Watson could have been making great money at a 9-5 office job but that’s not what he is passionate about. Now look at him, semi-finalist on The Ultimate Fighter and a coach at one of the top UFC fighters of all time’s gym.

Brookins just gets cooler and cooler. He has taken full advantage of this experience.  He doesn't want to influence people too much. He barely carries a cell phone and doesn't use the computer too often. A lot of people may see him as weird and different. However someone who is different like he is, often gets respect. He’s not a weirdo, he’s just humble and polite and calm, not common for a fighter. He says as long as you are prepared there is no such thing as pressure. He seems more nervous than he was before other fights, saying he thinks he is prepared, but I still think he's got it. His gameplan against Watson is to simply be quicker. He has a ton of respect for Watson and with good reason. He has won his fights by submission but Watson won’t be as easy to control.

Semi-final fights are three rounds, no more two round fights with a third if there is a tie, this is how the real boys fight now. You can loose the first two and come out with a devastating knockout win in the third.

Round 1
Watson has Stevens and Johnson in his corner while Brookins will be cornered by Bruce Leroy, Sako, and Nam. Both fighters are staying calm, throwing combinations of punches, knees and leg kicks with Watson definitely getting the advantage as far as connecting and doing damage. Brookins gets the first and second takedowns of the round. Brookins doesn't do a lot with the control he maintains after the second takedown until the last 30 seconds or so when he lands some big ground and pound. He definitely took the first round with that finish.

Round 2
Brookins gets a big takedown pretty quick. He gets top control and starts to land some ground and pound. Each time Watson tries to get up Brookins is able to keep him down. He isn't doing a whole lot of damage but is smothering Watson not allowing him to make any progress. Watson is completely neutralized, he's tired and cannot improve his position. Brookins without a doubt won that round as well.

Round 3
Watson definitely starts off as the aggressor, he gets Brookins against the cage lands some big knees and punches. But when they get back to the middle of the cage Brookins goes for another takedown. Watson just isn't able to defend against that takedown. Watson lands some nice punches to Brookins' jaw as then get up but right after Brookins gets a big slammed takedown right in front of the judges. Watson is able to land some more punches from the bottom but Brookins maintains control and I think won that round as well to get the decision win.

Jonathan Brookins wins by unanimous decision. Brookins has made all his other fights look easy and this one definitely was not a cake walk for him. In his interview he says he wants to be worthy of the word humble. This is crazy talk for a fighter. He's pretty amazing. Dana White also says he is the most polite, respectful and humble fighter. Watson is very appreciative of the experience he has had as well, especially under GSP's leadership. Its sad to see Watson out of the running but as he has been somewhat of a liaison for the UFC representing this season I have no doubt he will be back fighting in the UFC, possibly even in the finale. 

I was pretty impressed with each fighters corner too. Phan mostly just repeated what Sako said but between the rounds they were giving helpful advice, more so that Koscheck usually does in my opinion. Sako told Brookins to keep his chin down when going in for the combos, because Watson keeps clipping him. Johnson told Watson he can't accept the takedowns, he needs to work back up to his feet because thats where he has had the advantage. I like that the yellow team is backing red fighters, even Stevens, who I haven't been a big fan of, once he mae fun of Koscheck I started to like him a bit, no surprise.

Michael Johnson vs. Nam Phan is the next semi-final fight.

GSP is not shy in saying that Phan has a better standing and ground game on paper. But Johnson is a great overall athlete. He has a good transition from going to striking to the ground. He has a lot of motivation and is very confident going into this fight.

So I didn't see a point in bringing up the Phan shower situation but this joke was funny! What does the yellow team and Phan's stuff have in common... they've both been choked on national television! Oh no!! So funny. I agree with Phans reaction and also Brookins feelings towards the situation though. Pranks are one thing and they're funny, but its about the timing, don't prank a guy that still has a fight coming up, especially such an important fight. They pick on him because Phan is accused of being two-faced, talking about other people behind their back. He is completely alienated by his team. Even Brookins has realized he has taken a step back and think about it, he may be nice to me now but is he going behind my back and not wishing me well when we are not face to face?

I still think Phan is a pretty cool guy though. He has to go to a day of training by himself. His team had a late night and his coaches, as he says, are "doing their own thing". That definitely shows a lot of dedication to have the motivation and self discipline to do that. Phan compares himself to a honda civic. Im not the biggest strongest or fastest on the lot. But I'm great on gas, so the longer the fight goes, the more beneficial to him. Personally I would not want to be compared to a civic but the metaphor makes sense.

Round 1
Johnson gets a really fast takedown but Phan throws some major elbows to Johnson's head from his bottom position. They get back up and Phan throws some big punches and kicks to the body. Johnson is able to get a few hits in to but goes back to what he does best and takes Phan down again. In the second half of the round Johnson definitely steps his game up and lands some big punches to Phans face. I have to give this round to Johnson, Phan landed some big hits but Johnson landed more in addition to getting a few takedowns. While they were in the clinch Johnson also landed a big knee that opened up a cut on Phans face. 

Round 2
Neither fighter is letting up at all. Phan shows some great takedown defence but Johnson keeps pushing forward with combinations, pushing Phan against the fence. When Johnson goes for another takedown Phan is able to maneuver out of harm and ends up getting top position. This is when Johnson has fallen apart in past fights, unable to defend from the inferior position but he gets out of trouble really quick and they get back on their feet. This round was a lot more even and I think Phan probably did more damage, landed some huge body shots and snagged the 10. So going into the third I think its one and one. 

During the round Koscheck yells "he's tired" a lot. I'm not sure how this helps. If that was me and someone was yelling they're tired, talking about me, that would give me motivation to push through. I'd say eff you, no I'm not, look! He's creating motivation not just for Phan but for Johnson as well. Saying it in the corner is one thing, pump up your own guy, but yelling it during the round I see kind of pointless.

Round 3
Johnson gets the first takedown but Phan does more damage from the bottom landing elbows and punches to Johnson's head. The round is a complete back and forth battle, Johnson and Phan both landing combinations and Phan getting some big body shots. Both fighters are completely gassed by the end of the fight but neither gives up. As Dana says, it was a dog fight. Takedowns count for a lot but each time he gets it Phan has landed 4 or 5 enbows to Johnsons head. It will depend a lot on what the judges give more points to, damage or aggression.

Koscheck is really grasping at straws, yelling takedowns don't do damage, he didn't do anything with it loud enough to try to persuade the judges while they are awaiting the decision. While GSP is calmly telling his own fighter, you won that. I agree that after a fight you can't look defeated, you have to walk around the cage, raise your arms, feel confident. Trying to yell to persuade the judges is a little silly. 

Michael Johnson wins by split decision!!! Koscheck only blames himself for not having a fighter in the finale. He's right, he picked the team, that was his decision. This is so weird that earlier in the episode he was mad at his team for blaming him, now he's putting it all on his shoulders. Oh well, either way, its both of their fault. Yes these fighters are the ones in the cage, once the training is over its up to them to use the skills they have been taught and win. But Koscheck didn't do enough teaching. So its unfortunate for team yellow and a haha right at Koscheck.

Next episode...

Saturday, December 4th, 2010 live from Las Vegas...

JOHNATHAN BROOKINS vs. MICHAEL JOHNSON!!!

and a TUF marathon leading up to the finale all day! Wohoo!

Johnson has improved so much since his first fight where he used to turtle as soon as he was on the bottom, he didn't know how to defend or improve his position. Brookins also went the distance in a fight for the first time this season. He really is an incredible fighter and I think this fight will be a real battle.

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