The Ultimate Fighter Nations - Discussion and Results

[Keithlewis]

[Keithlewis]

TUF Nations: Episode 4 Recap

Courtesy of Dan Downes - UFC.com



The episode opens in the aftermath of last week’s battle between Chad Laprise and Chris Indich. While Team Australia hangs out in the gym’s common room, Nordine Taleb walks into enemy territory. Chris tells notices Nordine and wants has a message for him and the rest of Team Canada. “Tell them I can take a punch.” Apparently in the run up to the fight he heard the Canadians saying that he didn’t have a chin. Nordine plays it off like he doesn’t know what Chris is talking about, but Chris wants him to know that the Australians can hear everything the Canadians are saying. Back at the house Chad defuses the situation with some cheesecake (works every time).

From there the focus shifts to this week’s bout between Tyler Manawaroa and Nordine Taleb. Only 19 years old, the young Aussie seems to have made quite an impression on his teammates. Vik Grujic calls him a “crazy man,” and “our crazy son of a bitch.” Apparently in Australia these are terms of endearment. Coach Noke is familiar with Tyler since they both come from Brisbane. When asked to sum up his young fighter, Noke simply smiles and says, “Tyler loves to fight.” As for Tyler himself, he’s excited to take on Team Canada’s top guy. Despite all of the hype around Nordine, Tyler dismisses his abilities remarking, “He’s got muscles, but that’s about it.” In addition to pride and revenge motivations, Tyler has philanthropic goals. As he puts it, “People like watching me fight. I like making people happy. I like fighting. Looks like it all worked out.”

After a break, we learn more about Nordine Taleb. Patrick Cote praises his openness to learning, but adds, “Nordine has a short fuse.” Teammates confirm this and Cote adds that we shouldn’t blink during the fight because Nordine is going to hurt Tyler badly. An avid wine lover, Nordine is a bit annoyed with the discomfort of being away from home, but doesn’t expect to have many problems during the fight. He accuses Tyler of padding his 10-0 record with a bunch of easy fights and that he’s never fought anyone on his level before. Tyler tests Nordine’s patience at weigh-ins by trying to get in his face, but there’s not real confrontation other than a bit of shoving. The time for talking is done and we quickly move to fight time.

ROUND ONE

Nordine opens the round with an inside low kick. He then attacks with a right leg low kick and another. Tyler throws a quick flurry and tries to tie up but is brushed aside. Nordine throws another low kick, but this time Tyler times it and lands a right hand. Tyler swings a big hook and misses. Nordine clinches him and drives hard knees to the body. They break and Nordine goes back to attacking Tyler’s legs. Tyler stings Nordine with a stiff jab and the Canadian grabs a clinch to recover. Tyler goes for a takedown, but Nordine defends and now they’re jockeying for position against the fence. They reverse positions a few times and exchange knees, but no one person appears to be getting the advantage. As Tyler attempts a takedown, Nordine defends, reverses position and attacks with knees. With less than two minutes left, they break the clinch and return to the center of the Octagon. Tyler misses another big hook and Nordine counters with a couple knees and a big body shot. Tyler kicks and Nordine answers with a kick of his own. Tyler is holding his hands low, but Nordine isn’t taking advantage of it. The two exchange a few more strikes as time expires.

ROUND TWO

Tyler misses a left hand to start the round, but follows up with a hook that connects. He leaps in with an uppercut that lands, too. Nordine tries to answer back with a knee, but it’s a low blow. Referee Yves Lavigne tells Tyler that he has five minutes to recover, but the Aussie doesn’t want to wait. They restart quickly and Nordine dodges Tyler’s haymakers deftly. Undeterred, Tyler continues to attack with his right hand and Nordine answers with jabs. A cut starts to develop over Nordine’s right eye. Halfway through the round, one of Tyler’s punches knock Nordine to the ground. The Canadian immediately rises to his feet, and nails Tyler with some knees. Tyler escapes, but he soon eats a few jabs for his trouble. Nordine pushes Tyler against the fence and continues to hammer him with Muay Thai knees to the body. They break, but Nordine’s jab keeps landing and Tyler visibly slows down. Nordine clinches up again, but this time Tyler finds a home for the spinning elbow he’s been setting up. The round ends and both corners wait for the judges’ decision. We’re heading to sudden victory!

ROUND THREE

Tyler sets the pace with a strong jab. Both fighters then circle for a little bit trying to goad the other into action. Nordine tries to clinch up, but Tyler answers with an uppercut. Learning his mistake from earlier rounds, Tyler maintains proper footwork and avoids getting cornered against the fence. The two exchange hooks and Tyler follows up with a couple jabs. Tyler then knees and pushes off. The Australian is clearly tired, but Nordine doesn’t appear to be able to push the pace either. Nordine finally tracks down Tyler and lands two hard knees to the body. Tyler elbows over the top and breaks the tie up. In the last few minutes, Nordine finally takes control and pressures Tyler. He scores the first takedown of the match with 60 seconds left and starts working from half guard. He can’t get any offense going, but Tyler looks about stuck. Then out of nowhere, Tyler explodes in the last 20 seconds and rolls Nordine over. He starts the ground and pound immediately and even goes for a rear naked choke attempt as the round ends.

The judges’ scorecards come back and Team Australia picks up its first win of the season. Kyle Noke is happy to finally get a victory and credits Tyler’s pressure for making the difference. Coach Cote is disappointed, but lets us know that Nordine broke his foot in the first round. We move to the fight announcement and it will be in the welterweight division. Team Australia’s Richard Walsh will be taking on Team Canada’s Matt Desroches. Both coaches expect this to be a standup fight and (surprise) think their fighter is much better striker than the other.

We close out with a sneak preview of next week’s episode. Will Team Canada bounce back into the win column? Do the Australians keep the momentum going? What happens when a Canadian and an Australian walk into a bar? Find out this and more next week on The Ultimate Fighter!

[Keithlewis]

[Keithlewis]

TUF Nations: Episode 5 Recap

Courtesy of Dan Downes - UFC.com



The episode opens up at the TUF house in the wake of Tyler Manowaroa’s win over Nordine Taleb. Team Canada appears to be in shock. As Luke Harris puts it, “We [thought] Nordine was going to walk through Tyler.” Because of the loss, he goes on to say that the whole team feels lost. The effect on Team Australia has been the complete opposite. Brendan O’Reilly says the victory has lifted team spirits and re-energized them. Team Australia feels so good they even start having a snowball fight in the back yard. Team Canada’s Elias Theodorou decides to join them and even goes on to humble brag about his snowball throwing capabilities.

From there, things shift to focus on this week’s match between Canada’s Matt DesRoches and Australia’s Richard Walsh. A yoga enthusiast, Matt talks about how he actually likes living in the TUF house (don’t hear that too often). He says being in nature and the relative isolation of the setting helps calm him down. He finds the whole situation tranquil. As for his game plan for the fight, Coach Patrick Cote really wants Matt to focus on his boxing and use a lot of footwork to avoid being pushed against the walls of the cage. Cote also adds, “Matthew is quiet, but he’s our secret weapon.

On the Team Australia side, “Filthy Rich” Walsh discusses what sparked his interest in MMA. He remembers watching the UFC’s best knockouts DVD when he was 15 years old and has been hooked ever since. While not as complimentary of the living conditions as Matt, Richard credits The Ultimate Fighter for teaching him how to train and compete as a professional. Assistant Coach Izzy Martinez likes what he’s seen of Richard so far. He claims that DesRoches, “Just wants to throw big shots,” and that Richard’s superior striking will lead him to victory. As far as Richard is concerned, he thinks that experience will be the difference. The way he talks about himself (and that manly beard) will make you think that he’s much older than he actually is. At 24 years old, he’s only three years older than Matthew Desroches and holds a 7-1 record compared to Matt’s 4-0.

We cut to weigh-ins and they go on without incident. What is interesting, though, is how Team Canada’s confidence has been shaken. The normally cocky Canucks have been replaced with anxious doppelgängers. Both Kajan Johnson and Luke Harris worry about their teammate’s ability to stop the takedown. At their next training session, the Canadians get one more thing to worry about. While sparring with Elias, Sheldon Westcott hears his knee pop. We don’t learn of the severity, but it’s definitely hampering his performance. With this new incident, Coach Cote emphasizes how much more important a win this week will be to give Sheldon some extra time to rest. Team Australia has injury worries of their own, too. Olympic judoka Dan Kelly 36-year-old body has been giving out on him. As coach Noke puts it, “[Dan] always has something wrong.” Noke doesn’t seem too worried, though, since Dan is “tough as nails.”

Brendan O’Reilly chops up a water jug to create a modified bullhorn and shows us how there’s a frighteningly diverse amount of blades around the TUF house. Other than that, it’s fight time!

ROUND ONE

Matt opens up with a front kick directly to Richard’s face. It glances, but Richard uses the opening to push Matt against the cage. The two reverse positions and trade knees at a frenetic pace. They bounce around the cage some more and both answer each other’s knees to the body with one of their own. Richard finally keeps taking angles and finally gains the position advantage. Matt tries for a suplex takedown that fails, but it forces Richard to break his lock and the two move back to the center of the Octagon with 2:33 remaining. Matt throws a big right hand, Richard dodges and scores a solid cross. Richard pushes Matt against the cage and tries for a takedown. He switches between single legs, double legs and high crotch variations, but Matt stops each and every one of them. They trade punches in the middle and Matt loses his mouth guard in the process. The ref asks Matt if he wants to rinse it off, but the Canadian just pops it right back into his mouth. When they restart, Richard scores an overhand right that wobbles Matt. Fortunately for DesRoches, there is only ten seconds left and the bell rings to save him.

ROUND TWO

In between rounds Matt’s corner tells him to throw more combinations while Richard’s tells him that he possesses the striking superiority. The second round begins with Richard dipping under a jab and shooting for a takedown. Matt defends, but finds himself back against the fence. They break, but Richard immediately shoots in again. Much like the first round, Richard tries a variety of takedowns, but none of them are successful. They break the clinch with just over three minutes left and Matt tries to pick up the pace. He swings a big hook, but Richard beats him to the punch with a left hand of his own. Both a combination of the power from the punch and losing his footing, Matt falls down, but immediately rises to his feet. He throws some more power shots, but none of them connect. Richard grabs the tie up and goes for a double leg takedown, This time he’s able to bring Matt to his knees, but he can’t advance from there. Matt makes it back to his feet and the two stall out. The ref separates them and there’s 40 seconds left. Matt finally finds a home for that right hand and scores a couple more punches as Richard rushes in, but the round ends before he can capitalize on the momentum.

The scorecards come back and they give Team Australia their second straight win. Richard is happy with his performance and knows that he is one step closer to his goal of competing in the UFC. Matt says that he was getting frustrated during the fight since his strikes weren’t landing. This then led to him panicking and not using all of his skills. We move to the fight announcement and it will be Team Australia’s Dan Kelly against Team Canada’s Sheldon Westcott.

The episode ends with a sneak preview into next week. Does Team Australia keep the momentum going? Will Sheldon’s knee hurt his chances for victory? Are there any other weapons lying around the house? Find out this and more next week on The Ultimate Fighter!


Season at a Glance:


Team Canada


Welterweights:

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

Middleweights:

Luke Harris
Nordine Taleb (0-1, decision loss in episode 4)
Elias Theodorou (1-0, decision over Zein Saliba in episode 2)
Sheldon Westcott



Team Australia


Welterweights:

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

Middleweights:

Vik Grujic
Daniel Kelly
Tyler Manawaroa (1-0, decision win over Nordine Taleb in episode 4)
Zein Saliba (0-1, decision loss to Theodorou in episode 2)

[Keithlewis]

[Keithlewis]

TUF Nations: Episode 6 Recap

Courtesy of Dan Downes - UFC.com



The episode opens up with Richard Walsh and Matt DesRoches talking about their fight from last week. Matt calls it an honor to get in the Octagon with a guy like Richard and Walsh is similarly complimentary of his Canadian counterpart. The international diplomacy gets interrupted by loud noises outside. Is Elias having a hair crisis? Nope, just a couple Australians running naked in the snow. One person was still wearing their team baseball cap, though. I assume it was for national pride.

Chad Laprise has no real interest in nude running. Instead, he’s plotting his semi-final fight. He’s singled out Richard Walsh and even clipped a handwritten contract to the refrigerator. Rich is amused, but a fight with Chad doesn’t appeal to him. He’d much rather fight Kajan Johnson instead. Kajan loves the idea and calls it “the best case scenario.” Afraid that his plan might fall through, Chad then embraces the classic political smear campaign. The only difference this time is that the target of the insults is himself. Kajan follows suit and the two begin telling the house about how unskilled they are at fighting. It’s the exact opposite of the usual MMA trash talk.

The focus then shifts to this week’s fight between Canada’s Sheldon Westcott and Team Australia’s Dan Kelly. As we saw last week, Sheldon has been having some problems with his right knee. He goes to the doctor’s office to have the knee checked out. Other than losing some leg hair, Sheldon’s visit goes smoothly and he’ll be cleared to fight. He goes to practice and does some work with assistant coach Fabio Holanda (we later learn that Patrick Cote is in Las Vegas for UFC 167). He just wants Sheldon to take it easy and not put any more stress on the knee than is necessary. He also doesn’t want him to throw a lot of kicks in this fight. He wants Sheldon to focus on his punching, especially the jab. Dan Kelly competed in judo at four separate Olympics and Holanda emphasizes how Sheldon will have to keep distance.

On the Team Australia side, we learn more about Dan Kelly. All his teammates compliment his aggressiveness and constant pressure. He always moves forward and is unrelenting when it comes to pushing opponents. Coach Noke admits that while Kelly, “Doesn’t look athletic at all, he’s 100% the whole time.” Nicknamed “The Grizzly,” it also seems that Kelly has a bit of a mean streak in him.

Weigh-ins go by without incident. Kyle Noke then brings both teams together to hear a message from Patrick Cote. He lets them know that even though the TUF house is normally on lockdown, for one night only they’ll get a TV and be able to watch Georges St. Pierre defend his title against Johny Hendricks. True to his word, as soon as both teams arrive home, they house has been outfitted with a big screen television and enough snacks to supply a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Christmas party. There’s booze, a cotton candy machine, pizza, popcorn and some Canadian pastries called “beaver tails.” After some disagreements about the result of the main event and the (presumed) stomach aches, it’s fight time.

ROUND ONE

Sheldon wastes absolutely no time feeling Dan Kelly out. He opens the round with a heavy jab and immediately rushes inside. Dan tries to back away, but Sheldon keeps charging forward and connects with some solid uppercuts. He grabs a bodylock and even suplexes the Olympic judoka. Dan rises to his feet, but Sheldon slams him down again. Sheldon tries to take Kelly’s back, but he can only get one hook locked in place. Dan attempts a kneebar, but Sheldon is able to roll him over and lock in an arm triangle. Dan quickly taps out and Team Canada returns to the winner’s circle after a whirlwind 56 seconds.

Team Canada explodes in celebration. Elias and Kajan are a little too enthusiastic, but they can’t hide their emotions. The Australians are stunned. A dejected Dan Kelly sits in his corner and simply says, “That was embarrassing.” Sheldon then provides an insightful breakdown of his path to victory. He admits that bodylocking a judo expert was a bad move in theory, but he didn’t know how long his knee was going to hold up. He had to go full force and just see what happened.

Back in the locker rooms the Canadians continue their elation and Sheldon’s impressive performance. The quiet, somber Canucks of weeks past are no more. Seems like winning cures all ills. The doctor comes in to the Team Australia locker room to check out Dan, who twisted his knee during the fight. The doctor thinks that there’s something wrong with Dan’s cruciate ligament and he’ll have to get an MRI to find out the full impact. Dan doesn’t say much about the injury other than, ‘It’s bad.” As he makes his way to the hospital, he contemplates retirement. He’s not a young man anymore and if his ACL is torn, it could be a year until he’s even ready to train again.

The mood on Team Australia quickly transitions from melancholy to anger. They weren’t happy with the way Team Canada reacted after the fight, specifically Kajan and Elias. Vik is upset and wonders why they would, “Kick a guy while he’s down.” Zein talks to Elias and gets an apology, but that’s not enough for Brendan O’Reilly. He won’t forget this slight and hopes he can get his hands on one of the Canadians on the TUF finale.

The show wraps up with the fight announcement for next week. It will be the final welterweight preliminary fight and will pit Team Canada’s Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Team Autralia’s Jake Matthews.

Will the Australians rebound from Dan Kelly’s loss? Do the Canadians apologize for their conduct? Are there any more naked activities? Find out this and more next week on The Ultimate Fighter!

Season at a Glance:


Team Canada

Welterweights:

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

Middleweights:

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


Team Australia

Welterweights:

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

Middleweights:

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

[Keithlewis]

[Keithlewis]

TUF Nations: Episode 7 Recap

Courtesy of Dan Downes - UFC.com



The episode opens up with the aftermath of last week’s fight between Dan Kelly and Sheldon Westcott. The Australians are still upset at how many of the members of Team Canada reacted to Sheldon’s victory, and feel they crossed a line. Vik Grujik is especially angry at Kajan Johnson and says that he won’t tolerate, “anybody disrespecting any of my boys.” Completely unaware of the fact that he’s now at the top of the Australian’s enemy list, Kajan remarks, “Hopefully the mood is still the same [in the house], and everyone gets along nicely.”

Once in the house, Vik confronts Kajan and tells him that he was out of line. Kajan doesn’t understand what’s the problem and incorporates Shaggy’s, “It Wasn’t Me,” defense. As Vik and Kajan continue their discussion, Dan Kelly returns home from the hospital. He’s scheduled for an MRI tomorrow and he’s not too eager to get the results. There may be no fracture in his knee, but he claims to have heard four pops during the fight and thinks his career may be finished.

The focus then shifts to Team Australia’s Jake Matthews and his matchup against Olivier Aubin-Mercier. Only 19 years old, Jake first started training in MMA as a way to stay in shape during the football offseason. After a strong amateur career, he competed for a regional title in his professional debut and won by second-round TKO. Jake feels that his greatest assets are his conditioning and athleticism. He’s worried about Olivier’s judo background, but feels that he can compete with him on the mat.

As Jake trains, the doctor comes in to give Dan Kelly the results. His cruciate ligament is ok, but he does have an issue with his meniscus. They’ll need a bit more time to see the full extent of the injury, but he should be fine in 4-6 weeks. He shares the news with his teammates and everyone is excited. Everyone, that is, except Dan. It’s better news that what he had braced himself for, but he’s still not pleased about having to sit out a couple months.

We cut to Team Canada’s training session and the tenseness seems to be ratcheting up every week. Sheldon comments about how the “atmosphere has changed,” and that the fighters that are still in the tournament are eyeing each other as potential opponents. Kajan has noticed the same thing and comment on how the sparring between Chad and him has become much more intense. He also says that he’d much rather fight Chad than Olivier. A former judo practitioner, the undefeated French Canadian has impressed his coach. Patrick Cote marvels at his explosiveness and Olivier’s ability to always give 100% in training. Also confident in his ability to fight anywhere, Olivier believes that he’ll hurt Jake on the feet and then finish the fight by submission.

After some Xbox One gaming and a Brendan O’Reilly “nudie run”, we make it to weigh-ins. There’s no real drama, but we do learn that Jake Matthews and Justin Bieber looks surprisingly similar. No matter how the fight ends, I’m sure that will help Jake with the ladies back home. We see some of the last minute preparations and then it’s fight time!

ROUND ONE

Jake strikes first with his hands. He opens with a quick flurry, but only grazes Olivier. He keeps the pressure and lands a solid power shot. Olivier tries to work his jab, but Jake continues to back him down and lands a big body kick. Jake continues to be more active and Olivier is surprisingly tentative. The Canadian finally rushes in and the two are clinching against the fence. Olivier scores a couple knees and then breaks the hold. Olivier connects with a body kick of his own and charges forward. Jake tries to counter with a knee, but Olivier grabs his leg and brings him to the ground. Jake creates some angles for a triangle attempt, but Olivier smothers him. Olivier then stacks Jake and starts bringing the punishment. As Olivier’s punches get through Jake’s guard, the Australian reaches for a leg lock, but nothing comes of it. Jake makes it to his feet briefly, but appears to pull guard and winds up eating some more punches as time expires.

ROUND TWO

Between rounds, Kyle Noke tells Jake to stop clinching and trust his standup. He tells him that he may have lost the round so he needs to come out strong.

The round opens with Jake landing a jab, cross combo and Olivier countering with a kick. Jake grabs the leg and runs in for a single leg takedown. The two are against the cage and Olivier reaches for a kimura and then transitions to a takedown of his own. He continues his ground and pound from the first round and Jake just can’t find a way to get out from under him. The attacks from top position give Olivier the opening to pass guard and move to back mount. He works in the body triangle and Jake is completely stuck. The tough young Australian works his way out of multiple rear naked choke attempts, but he can’t seem to shake Olivier off. He spends the rest of the round just trying to survive. He can’t get away and spends the rest of the round trapped in back mount.

The scorecards come back and Olivier takes the unanimous decision. Coach Noke is disappointed that Jake didn’t trust his hands and keep the fight on the feet. Jake admits that he made a tactical error and didn’t follow the plan. We move to the fight announcement and it will be the last middleweight preliminary of the season as

Canadian veteran Luke Harris takes on life-long martial artist Vik Grujik. The episode wraps up with a sneak preview of next week’s episode. Will Team Canada close out the first round with three straight wins? Can Vik Grujik get the Australians back into the win column? Does the winner of next week’s fight have to keep Justin Bieber? Find out this and more next week on The Ultimate Fighter!


Season at a Glance:


Team Canada

Welterweights:

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

Middleweights:

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


Team Australia

Welterweights:

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


Middleweights:

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