The Ultimate Fighter: USA vs. UK Episode 1 Recap

As we get started with the newest season of The Ultimate Fighter, we’re reminded that of the 13 TUF champions so far, Michael Bisping is the only British champion.  Sixteen British fighters will compete to see who will represent their country in the first episode.  Will one of them be the next British TUF champion?  We’ll find out this season.

Bisping welcomes Dana White to his training grounds, the Wolfslair, where a number of young British tough guys are waiting for their chance.  Dana gives a speech and is surprisingly f-word free as he reinforces the importance of the competition to the young bucks.  Oh, spoke too soon- “welcome to The Ultimate Fighter, motherfuckers”, White finishes.

This was filmed prior to UFC 93, so the U.S. coach was still unknown, so both Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson are both in attendance.  They’re going to observe the proceedings, so they can…scout the U.K. guys?  I don’t know.  Our first fight is coming, as Gary Kelly (2-1) is shown being interviewed and we have our first subtitles of the season, just a few minutes in.  Andre Winner (9-2-1) reiterates his confidence without needing subtitles, curiously enough.

We’re underway as Winner looks aggressive before getting clinched against the fence by Kelly.  The two trade knees and some dirty boxing, with Kelly being prompted to circle off of the fence.  “Watch the balls,” comes some helpful cage-side advice from Bisping, who is teammates at the Wolfslair with Kelly.  Then, just like that, Winner gets the separation he needs and knocks Gary out badly with a huge knee to the face.  Kelly (with subtitles) expresses his regret regarding being knocked out, as Dan Henderson accurately notes that there will be a lot of subtitles on this show.  Kelly is out for a minute but ends up being okay after getting some oxygen.

Jeff Lawson (13-2) is up next, and he admits that he is not a physically imposing guy.  James Bryan (3-1), on the other hand, looks more the part and is raging out a bit in the locker room, getting psyched up for the bout.  He says he wants it more than Lawson, and will knock him out.  Stop me if you’ve heard those lines before.

We get a shot of the Burger King logo, and then two guys who appear to never eat it, as Lawson and Bryan face off.  A scramble finds Lawson on top in Bryan’s open guard, as he stands and punches before passing to half-guard, then side mount.  They end up in north-south, then side mount again as Bryan uses his legs to get Lawson back under control.  Lawson goes to spin into an armbar from the top, but can’t get it and after another scramble, Bryan is briefly on top.  Lawson rolls through and goes for the arm again from the top, and this time gets it for the submission victory.  Some nice, fluid jiu-jitsu there, and a celebratory back flip from Lawson to punctuate it.

Che Mills (7-2) likes the one-on-one aspect of fighting, and predicts a knockout (really, stop me if you’ve heard these lines before).  James Wilks (5-2) has lived in the U.S. for the last eight years, but is British.  Wilks is aggressive to start, and Mills appears to have a bad case of “chin ups” in the stand up.  Luckily, it goes to the ground before Wilks can capitalize, but he quickly works a heel hook and it’s over quickly.  Surprisingly, Bisping (who knows these fighters much better than I do) says afterwards that Mills was one of the favorites to win the whole show.  I wouldn’t have guessed that from what we saw in the fight, though.

Up next we have HOLY CAULIFLOWER EAR it’s Martin Stapleton (5-1).  His ear looks as if it is about to burst, and if it does I’m betting we’ll get a grotesque spray of a Pizza Roll-like substance.  He’s facing off against Dan James (3-0), who will be trying to pop that ear a la Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson.  After some uneventful (but energetic) standup, we have Stapleton on top against the cage in James’ guard.  After a scramble, Stapleton takes mount, then James’ back and goes for a rear naked choke.  James is flattened out and it’s academic at this point as Martin Stapleton gets the win, ear intact.

A.J. Wenn (7-2) is sick of the U.K. and wants to go to Vegas, which may be the most unpatriotic motivation yet for wanting to represent your country in a sporting event.  He’ll face Ross Pearson (9-3) of Sutherland, England for a spot on the show.  The fighters look more evenly matched than the others so far in the early going, as they clinch against the cage and frequently pin each other against the fence.  Finally, a nice takedown by Pearson breaks the stalemate, but Wenn stands back up in no time.  Pearson appears to be controlling the action, as he’s landed a few more knees to the body to this point, and is starting to work knees to the head with two minutes left. 

Wenn is really just holding on, as he’s able to stand up from another takedown but not do anything offensively.  As the round ends, Wenn finally gets a brief takedown and a couple of punches, but eats a flying knee to the dome as the round ends.  In a funny moment, Pearson is shoved off of Wenn as the round ends for safety’s sake, but apparently referee Dan Miragliotta put a little too much stank on the shove, as Pearson gives him a harsh stare.  Pearson looks as if he’s thinking about giving Miragliotta a little taste of his knee, too.  I like this kid.  Wenn doesn’t look good and is rocked badly.  White and company are openly wondering whether he’ll be able to fight in the next round.

After commercial, Pearson hops right back to the middle of the octagon to take on Wenn, who surprisingly looks pretty with it.  He doesn’t look that way for long, though, as Pearson lands a huge right hand and finishes on the ground.  Bisping says Pearson reminds him of himself, and even sheds a little tear.  OK, I made that last part up.  Pearson says he’s excited and “a bit confused”.  Not as confused as Wenn is right now.

Tommy Maguire (5-2) comes out looking like a bizarre mix of Tito Ortiz and Gabriel Gonzaga facially, and then completely rips off Phil Baroni, saying he fights because “I can’t sing and I can’t act, and it beats work”.  Nick Osipczak (3-0) will fight to uphold Baroni’s honor in the face of such plagiarism.  He’s much taller than the slightly chubby Maguire.  After some tentative standup, we get some clinch work and a takedown by Maguire.  He rains down some pretty good punches but takes a nice upkick in the process.  He’s controlling the action but overzealously goes for the mount and lets Osipczak escape.  Maguire goes for the standing guillotine and gets taken down for his trouble.  The fight is stood up aaaannnnnd my wife’s asleep.  Nice two punch combination by Maguire, who then eats some knees and a barrage from Osipczak against the cage, as the two appear to be motivated by my wife’s lack of respect.  Osipczak then finishes with a nice combination, as Miragliotta steps in to end the festivities.

Alex Reid (10-9-1) says it’s “Reidernator time”.  He’s the “Reidernator”.  Reid says he wants to look in his opponent’s eyes and “see in his soul…see in his soul.”  Dean Amarsinger (4-1) decides to take a different route and imitate a movie character instead of inventing his own, channeling Mr. T and saying the “pity the fool” line.  Amarsinger goes for the takedown early on, as The Reidernator is unable to get his many triangle attempts to work.  This is the first “video package fight” we’ve seen so far, which means it must go the distance.  The Reidernator has Dean gasping for air in a triangle in the second round, but Dean escapes and lays on some light ground and pound.  The Reidernator, for his part, says “come on, Dean” and “hit me, Dean”.  It’s ruled that the fight will go to a sudden victory round three, and The Reidernator is all smiles.  However, he forgets that he also has to fight, and is getting peppered by shots from Dean in the standup before giving up a takedown.  Dean advances, and the “woos” and smiles are all gone from The Reidernator once the decision is announced.  Reid says he lost by a millimeter, as we are of course using the metric system tonight.

James Bateman (2-1) is confident and predicts a right cross will end the fight.  David Faulkner (2-1) is another Wolfslair fighter and Bisping says he’s a leg lock specialist.  Bisping says he’s mentally weak, however.  We’ll find out momentarily as the two face off, with Faulkner looking to take it to the mat immediately.  Bateman appears to have decent takedown defense though, and the two are clinched against the cage.  Bisping wants Faulkner off the fence, and Faulkner explodes and obliges.  Bateman tries to work the Muay Thai plum and some knees to the body, and Faulkner is still working for the takedown.  Faulkner finally gets it, and ends up putting on a super-quick heel hook that nobody saw coming, least of all Bateman.  Very impressive submission from Faulkner.

White is impressed with the “killer instinct” of the British fighters, and gives the boot to the losing fighters, who get a round of applause from the winners.  Bisping muses about forming his team into a group of “little Bisping fighters”, and team jerseys are handed out.  Are they hideous?  Kind of, but at least the basketball style jerseys are gone.  I never understood the connection there.

Overall, a good start, and next time we’ll see the U.S. side come together.  From the looks of the preview, some guys have some trouble making weight (of course!), and things get off to a shaky start.

by Jon Hartley for Fightmania.com

Tags: Dan Henderson, Dana White, Gabriel Gonzaga, Rich Franklin, Tito Ortiz, UFC