The Ultimate Fighter 10: Episode 3 Recap

On tonight’s show, the moment we’ve all been waiting for arrives, as Kimbo Slice steps into the octagon to take on veteran fighter (and former IFL champion) Roy Nelson.  Does Kimbo have what it takes to beat what many consider to be one of the favorites to win the whole thing?  Can Team Rampage finally start getting things rolling?  There’s only one way to find out.

Last week, James McSweeney represented Rashad proudly, winning against Wes Shivers after the big man visibly became exhausted.  But enough about that, as “the fight you cannot miss” has arrived.  We already know that Kimbo will get his shot to fight in the UFC, but will he move on in the show?

We start off with Kimbo talking about how he has prayed a lot more since coming onto the show.  He apparently equates his beard with Kimbo Slice the…character?  Person?  I don’t know.  He plays some fun word games by saying his “enemy” is his “inner-me”.  Get it?  In the house, some of the guys are talking about how the fight is pay-per-view caliber.  Well….we’ll see about that, won’t we?  Kimbo’s jogging a bit, and he’s struggling for sure.  I wonder how his cardio will hold up.  Hopefully it’s not a few minutes of fury and seven minutes of two really tired guys not knowing what to do, like last week.

Nelson arrives at the gym, and Rashad is talking about how Nelson has no real team, no manager, and how he trains out of his house.  That, in addition to his obviously outstanding nutritional and conditioning program, is probably not a good omen for his future in the UFC. 

Meanwhile, the Keith “Dean of Mean” Jardine shows up, and he and Rampage exchange some good-natured banter.  Then, Rashad decides to take the opportunity to talk trash about Rampage and Jardine’s fight.  Rampage says Rashad “wanted to keep his belt longer” and that’s why he had to fight Jardine instead of Rashad.

Rampage gets a few of his token jokes about Rashad’s breath, which we’ve heard before.  It’s nice to see Rashad point out the repetitiveness of Rampage’s digs, though.  McSweeney butts in, and Rampage talks him to “speak American”.  Sigh.  He does tell us that McSweeney needs to “take Rashad’s nuts out of his mouth”, which is nice.  Wait…who’s fighting this episode again?

Rampage questions Kimbo about his beard (he’s had it for over four years) and jokingly asks if he’s Jewish because of his little beanie he wears all of the time.  Rampage says that Kimbo is very laid back and has no ego to speak of, and talks about his work ethic as well.  In the cage, we see Kimbo wrestling, and his escapes look pretty good.  Rampage doesn’t like Kimbo’s mount defense, so they work on that, because “the guy he’s fighting has a big-ass belly”.  Rampage wonders if Nelson’s feet get wet when he takes a shower, or if he can see his “little friend”.  “We don’t have nobody on our team with the big-belliness of Big Country,” he says.

At the house, Nelson’s teammates put over his ability to jab, and talk about Kimbo’s style of movement.  Nelson talks about how it’s a good idea to count out loud when you throw unanswered strikes on the ground, because the ref has to acknowledge it.  Interesting idea, I suppose.  Can’t say I’ve ever seen it done, though.

At Team Rampage’s training, the fighters are working hard on their conditioning, and a few guys look banged up.  Rampage asks if Marcus Jones is “changing his tampon” after he disappears from the practice mat.  Jones gets into a bit of an argument with Rampage because he wants to fight soon, but Rampage says if he can’t do up-downs on the mat with the rest of the team, he’s obviously not ready to fight.  “He’s a big man, but he’s sensitive,” Rampage says.  He asks Jones if he’s on his period.  Jones apologizes and Rampages jokes with him like usual.

At the house, Jones’ teammates tell him he’s a “sensitive ass dude”, and Jones admits to being a bit of a softie.  “It’s so much easier to be courteous to people than to go out of your way to be a jerk,” he says.  He also says he’s a “passionate gardener”, comic book collector and enjoys Dungeons and Dragons.  Teammate Mike Wessel says he hates flowers.  Who hates flowers?  What could they do to provoke such a response?

Jones and Kimbo talk at the house about how Kimbo dealt with his sudden fame when his fights gained him so much attention on YouTube.  Kimbo says he just tried to stay humble and go with it.  He seems like a good dude, honestly.  Jones talks about how Kimbo does nothing but works hard and tries to learn, and how can you not respect that, right?

Weigh-ins!  Castrol GTX!  Stop sludge in its tracks!  RARRRR!  Sorry, got a little excited there.  Apparently we have sponsors for weigh-ins that were conducted in an empty gym months ago, now.  Hmmm.  White says that Nelson looks like he just left every buffet in Vegas.  He’s a big boy, for sure, weighing in just under the limit.  White- “You don’t look 264.”  Nelson lifts up his shirt, and White says, “okay, you look 264.”  Ha!

Kimbo says, “I can’t even spell jiu-jitsu, but I want to know it!”  He spars with Rampage and others at the training session, and looks pretty ready.  He’s quick with his sprawls, and is working hard on escapes.  Wes Shivers says “Roy’s got his hands full.”  Then we see Nelson training, and he, like Kimbo, is surprisingly flexible.  He works some standup, and his teammates talk about his all-around skills, while Rashad assures us that Roy is not out of shape.  After Kimbo’s workout, we’re treated to a shot of Rampage sporting the Kimbo male pattern baldness reverse-bull cut, which is blended into his beard just like Slice’s.  Pretty funny.

It’s fight time, and Nelson is out first, sporting a huge belly and an Elvis coif.  Next is Kimbo, who is a bit scarier than Nelson.  He has a pretty sweet chest hair pattern going, as usual.  This may be the biggest contrast in body type between opponents in UFC history.  Referee “Peaches and” Herb Dean is out to get us started, and we’re about to see what Kimbo’s got against a credible fighter.

They take the center, and Nelson is exploring with a jab.  Kimbo looks very calm.  Nelson is the first to really land a punch, as one of his jabs lands.  The two continue to stalk each other, and Kimbo lands a leg kick.  Kimbo seems to be settling in, and he throws some hard shots at Nelson as he backs him into the fence.  Nelson is able to escape and clinches Kimbo up against the cage.  Kimbo is trying to avoid the takedown, and Nelson has double underhooks.  Kimbo works to create some space as Rampage tells him to circle away from the cage.  Not much is going on at all.  Finally, Nelson “explodes” into a takedown and immediately mounts Kimbo near the fence.

Kimbo is holding on, and Nelson hasn’t done anything yet, though he breaks Kimbo’s grip and tries to flatten Kimbo out.  He passes over to side mount and pins Kimbo’s left arm down, maybe isolating him for a kimura.  Kimbo tries to push off the cage to sweep Nelson, but is unsuccessful.  Nelson throws some light-looking shots at Kimbo’s forehead, and Kimbo is pinned and can’t move.  The shots are very unconvincing, and Nelson wants the stoppage but isn’t going to get it, as the round expires.  I guess his “counting the punches” technique didn’t work on Herb Dean?  It’s kind of lame to try to get a stoppage on pitty-pat punches at the end of a round, to be honest.

“He does not want to stand with you, Kimbo,” says Tiki Ghosn.  Well, no crap.  Kimbo needs this round.  They meet up in the center of the cage, and Kimbo is looking for an opening.  He throws a big right and moves in aggressively, which makes Roy come forward and clinch.  He throws takedown defense to the wayside to land another nice shot, but also throws a knee into Nelson’s inviting belly and pays for it as Nelson falls forward and brings him down, ending up in side mount again.

Nelson’s not doing much, although he is trying to control Kimbo’s arms and either land some unanswered punches or work a submission.  He throws the limp-looking punches to Kimbo’s forehead again, and his team counts.  Dean stops it, and I’m kind of shocked.  Those punches had Kimbo in no harm whatsoever, honestly.  Dana White agrees.  White says, “this guy’s acting like the whole world should be blown away…(Roy) did just enough to win”.  Nelson seems to think he put on a show.  Sure, he was a far superior grappler, but pinning someone and landing the softest punches this side of wrestling with your two-year old daughter in the living room to get a standup is not an impressive highlight for any reel.

Still, Nelson was at least on his way to a decision victory, as Kimbo wasn’t going to be able to escape that position anytime soon.  You have to wonder if the anticlimactic fight and disappointing loss by Kimbo against Nelson will hurt the show’s momentum in the ratings department.  Of course, you know if anyone…ANYONE gets hurt, Kimbo will be back in a heartbeat, which Dana acknowledges.

by Jon Hartley for Fightmania.com

Tags: Dana White, UFC