Ultimate Fighter 7 Discussion & Results!

[keithlewis]

http://www.UFC.com

Once the bout begins, Brown looks flat as May aggressively pursues him with wild haymakers, some of which land. Griffin is frustrated by Brown’s early performance, but as the round progresses, May’s lack of conditioning is evident. Then it’s Brown’s turn to go on the offensive and he finishes May off in emphatic fashion with a knee followed by a kick to the jaw.

Team Forrest is now up 4-0, and in this episode’s second fight, it sends the last man picked, Luke Zachrich, into battle against Dan Cramer to try to add another win to their ledger.

It isn’t meant to be though, as Cramer comes out blazing behind a wild striking attack. Zachrich eagerly answers back, and both teams and their coaches erupt, making the training center sound like a packed arena. By the end of the first round, Zachrich has apparently seized control, but in the second, Cramer takes down his tired foe immediately and pounds his way to a TKO win.

“These guys went to war,” said UFC President Dana White.

“That was the best fight I’ve seen in a long time,” added a jubilant Jackson, who finally saw his team get a victory.

After this week’s action, Team Forrest still leads 4-1, but with the win by Cramer, Team Rampage has control and will pick the next fight in the competition.

[keithlewis]

Amir Sadollah def. Gerald Harris via TKO-Strikes in Round 2 in the first fight tonight!


TEAM Forrest 5
TEAM Rampage 1

[keithlewis]

Cale Yarbrough def. Patrick Shultz via decision in the second fight.


TEAM Forrest 6
TEAM Rampage 1


Team Rampage getting straight-up owned!!

[broncofan]

Rampage is going to kill someone. There could have easily been a third round in the second fight.

[keithlewis]

GREAT RECAP!!!

Episode 7

At the beginning of the episode, Rampage is clearly happy to have control and wants to milk it for all it’s worth leading into the fight announcement. Since this episode will contain two fights, we head right into the first fight announcement. Team Rampage selects former IFL fighter Gerald Harris to face off against Team Forrest’s kickboxing specialist, Amir Sadollah.

Rampage thinks the fight favors Gerald because he’s a good wrestler who likes to slam people on their heads while Amir is a lot less experienced and is mainly a standup fighter. Gerald explains in several interviews how much he likes slamming people on their hands, smiling all the while.

At a Team Forrest training session there are questions regarding Amir’s confidence going into the fight. He’s not as experienced as Harris and he doesn’t like the idea of fighting a wrestler who can nullify his standup game. Forrest makes a side bet with Amir that if he loses, Forrest will shave his head. If he wins, Forrest will shave half of his head and leave it that way for the remainder of the show.

Soon after that, it’s fight time.

Gerald Harris (Team Rampage) vs. Amir Sadollah (Team Forrest)

Round 1

After touching gloves Harris shoots right in for a double-leg takedown and puts Amir on the ground up against the fence. Amir lands some solid elbows from the bottom position but Harris is able to get out of Amir’s guard and land some solid punches of his own from the top. The two fight for position and Amir is able to get back to full guard and eventually work his way back to his feet. No problem for Harris though as he picks Amir up and slams him to the ground like a rag doll. Amir once again kicks Harris off but is once again picked up and slammed hard to the mat. After a bit of action on the ground with both fighters landing punches, Amir makes his way back to his feet again and is able to defend the next takedown that Gerald lunges in for and almost lands a flying knee but ends up on top. From there he lands a quick succession of punches to the side of Harris’ head and makes his way back to his feet. The round ends with Amir defending a takedown attempt from Harris.

Round Two

Amir comes out firing with a solid leg kick but ends up having to defend yet another takedown attempt. He does a good job defending until Harris eventually sweeps his feet out from under him and secures a takedown. Once again Amir gets back to his feet and defends a single-leg attempt, landing a glancing knee in the process. Gerald shoots again and is not as crisp as he was in the first round as Amir sprawls out and lands some punches to Gerald’s body. Gerald is left clutching at Amir’s ankle to try to secure a takedown but Amir twists out of it and ends up on Gerald’s back. That doesn’t last for long as Harris makes his way back to his feet and unloads with some punches to set up another shot and secures a double leg takedown against the fence. Amir once again works his way to his feet and Gerald lands some nice uppercuts but Amir catches him with a knee right on the jaw that drops Harris to the mat. Amir seizes the opportunity and lands a barrage of punches while Harris is down and the ref steps in to stop the action.

WINNER: Amir Sadollah via TKO, round two

Gerald is not happy with the stoppage because he says he was not out and still in the fight. Sorry, Gerald, but even if you’re not out you have to defend yourself and you have to improve your position after taking a shot like that. You did neither.

Onto the next fight announcement where we have Team Rampage’s Patrick Schultz, who is Paul Bradley’s replacement and previously lost during the opening round of fights to get into the house, taking on Team Forrest’s resident standup expert, Cale Yarbrough. Also, because they’re the only two fighters left, C.B. Dollaway will take on Nick Klein on next week’s show.

The general consensus is that Schultz vs. Yarbrough will be a standup battle. Schultz’s game is Muay Thai and Forrest says that if you take out the “jits” and the wrestling, Yarbrough can beat anyone in the house standing. Cale makes the comment that he wants to put Schultz in his place because he doesn’t deserve to be there in the first place since he lost previously. Schultz thinks Team Forrest is taking him lightly and wants to show them that they’re throwing Cale to the sharks and not the other way around.

Soon after, it’s fight time..

Patrick Schultz (Team Rampage) vs. Cale Yarbrough (Team Forrest)

Round 1

Patrick comes out guns blazing and misses with a big right hand and ends up throwing Cale across the cage. They come back to the center of the cage and trade jabs with Schultz getting the better of it, throwing nice stiff jabs. Patrick is loading up his right hand and going for the home run every time he throws it, eventually connecting with a shot to Cale’s jaw that drops him. Cale isn’t out of it, though, as he is able to get back to his feet while eating a few punches on his way up. Patrick keeps throwing this terrible lunging right hook to the body that leaves him wide open also. Rampage obviously didn’t show him the tape of his last fight against Liddell.

Both fighters trade punches on the feet with Schultz getting in some nice right hands but he looks visibly gassed midway through the round. Cale eventually shoots in for a takedown and takes Schultz off his feet. Yarbrough does some damage from inside of Schultz’s guard before he’s able to get back to his feet. Schultz lands a body shot when they’re on their feet and once again Yarbrough shoots in and secures a takedown, throwing ineffective punches from inside Schultz’s guard for the remainder of the round.

Round 2

Just like the first round, the two come out with a flurry of kicks and punches before Cale realizes that this fight can be won on the ground. He clinches with Schultz, lands a knee to his face which dazes him, and secures a takedown. From here there is no escape for Schultz as Yarbrough has him in his corner, in half guard, and just rains down punishment for the rest of the round, not allowing Schultz any opportunity to get free. The round ends with Yarbrough dealing out the punishment against the cage.

Both corners clamor for a third round, Rampage more seriously than Forrest but the whole place gets behind them and chants for a third round. While Forrest is talking to Rampage and the judges over how many times his fighter was knocked down during the fight, Patrick tells him to get in his corner and that he can’t wait for Forrest to fight Rampage. Forrest laughs it off and spits in his corner as the result is announced..

WINNER: Cale Yarbrough via majority decision

Rampage is obviously upset with this and fed up with losing and has some choice words for Forrest.

“I bet our fight doesn’t go to decision. I’ll be my whole purse on it,” screams Rampage as he storms out of the cage area.

Then they cut to Dana talking about how Forrest and Rampage are wanting to “Tito and Ken” each other, referring to the show’s third season where things got heated between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock.

Next week we get to finally see C.B. Dollaway, the odds on favorite to win the show, take on Nick Klein as well as the revealing of the quarterfinal matchups.

[NWOWolfpack]

Spike TV Announces The Ultimate Fighter 7 Undercard

SPIKE TV Press Release:

NEW YORK, NY, May 19, 2008

UFC lightweight contender Spencer “The King” Fisher will battle fellow Iowa native and up-and-coming mixed martial artist Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens Saturday, June 21 at 9:00 pm on the undercard of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter 7” finale. The live three hour fight card will emanate from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, NV and will be the first ever presented in high definition on Spike TV.

Fisher, a Bettendorf resident and Miletich Fighting Systems Camp member, is looking to rebound from a hard fought loss this past November to Frankie Edgar at UFC 78: Validation. With wins over such highly regarded fighters as Thiago Alves, Josh Neer, Sam Stout, Matt Wiman and Dan Lauzon, the two-year veteran of the UFC has established himself as one of the stronger standup fighters within the lightweight division. A victory over the much younger Stephens will only further cement Fisher as one of the elite lightweight contenders.

Since losing his UFC debut to Din Thomas at UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson, the 21-year-old Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens has defeated both Diego Saraiva and “The Ultimate Fighter 5” contestant Cole Miller bringing his UFC record to 2-1-0. A native of Des Moines, Iowa and a Des Moines Mixed Martial Arts Academy member, Stephens would be thrust into the upper echelon of the division with a victory over the proven UFC veteran Spencer Fisher.

Submission specialists go head-to-head as Salt Lake City’s Jeremy Horn (88-17-5) takes on former assistant coach for “The Ultimate Fighter 3” Dean “The Boogeyman” Lister (10-5). With over 100 professional mixed martial arts fights under his belt, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist Horn looks to bounce back following a loss to Nate Marquardt via submission at UFC 81 Breaking Point. The 32-year-old Horn boasts an impressive list of wins over such fighters as “The Ultimate Fighter 7” coach Forrest Griffin, Josh Burkman and former UFC light heavyweight champ, Chuck Liddell. After spending most of 2007 recovering from a torn biceps muscle, Lister returned to the octagon this past December for UFC 79 Nemesis, where he defeated Jordan Radev via unanimous decision.

Also on the card, “The Ultimate Fighter 2” contestant Josh Burkman (20-5) battles Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist Dustin Hazelett (12-5). Both fighters return to the octagon following recent losses with Burkman falling to Mike Swick during UFC Fight Night 12 and Hazelett suffering a TKO at UFC 82 by Josh Koscheck.

Marvin “The Beastman” Eastman takes on Iowa native Drew McFedries (6-3) and protégé of “The Ultimate Fighter 5” coach Jens Pulver. Eastman most recently defeated Terry Martin via unanimous decision during UFC 81 Breaking Point, while McFedries is coming off of a TKO loss to Patrick Cote at UFC Fight Night Swick vs. Burkman.

*Due to time constraints, not all undercard bouts will air.

[keithlewis]

C.B. Dollaway def. Nick Klein via submission-guillotine choke RD 2.


TEAM FORREST 6
TEAM RAMPAGE 2

[NWOWolfpack]

Recap courtesy of http://www.FiveOuncesofPain.com

The show opens with a recap of last week’s fight where we learn that the reason it didn’t go to a third round was because the judges scored the second round, where Pat Schultz didn’t do a thing but lay on his back and get wailed on, 10-8 in favor of Cale Yarbrough.

We see Forrest Griffin go apeshit in the locker room after the fight is over because of comments made to him by both Schultz and Rampage after the fight. Forrest is so pissed, in fact, that he Hulk-smashes the door to the locker room, two pieces of it swinging freely on the door hinge. After that he does a little bit of shadowboxing and warming up like he’s about to fight Rampage. He’s finally chilled out a bit when Schultz comes in and apologizes for making the comments to Forrest post-fight, saying he should never have said such things to a veteran. Classy move by Schultz as his comments after the fight were a bit out of line.

Back at a Team Forrest practice, Forrest has secured a net gun, wanting to unleash it on someone. They all decide that they should make Rampage the net gun’s first victim. Luke Zachrich is a little wary of this, saying he hopes that Rampage will find the humor in it.

Forrest sneaks up on Rampage while he is doing some training of his own, catching him after the session is over, sitting up against the cage. Forrest blasts Rampage with the net and Rampage declares war. Rampage is in obvious disbelief over the netting incident, saying he can’t let Forrest get away with netting him on national television. There will be payback.

Back at a Team Rampage practice the focus shifts to C.B. Dollaway’s upcoming fight with Nick Klein, the final preliminary fight. Dollaway talks about how he got into MMA, his amateur wrestling background, and of course his All-American status at Arizona State. Rampage thinks that C.B.’s the most talented fighter in the house but that his ego is too big, so Rampage says he’s going to have to “shove his size 12 up his ass.”

Matt Riddle is rolling with C.B. and taps him with a kneebar which causes Rampage to ridicule him about it. C.B. doesn’t take the ridiculing very well and throws a playful kick at Rampage’s body. Rampage proceeds to get down to business and challenge C.B. to a grappling contest. Rampage lands a takedown but C.B. flips him over and taps him with a guillotine. Rampage admits, once again, that C.B. is good.

Back at a Team Forrest practice they are talking strategy to Nick Klein about his upcoming fight with Dollaway. The plan is to get Dollaway on his back because “wrestlers panic when they’re on their back,” and that’s exactly what they want Dollaway to do: panic. If Klein can’t get C.B. on his back then they want him standing and scrambling if the fight hits the floor.

Both fighters make weight and fight time is upon us..

C.B. Dollaway (Team Rampage) vs. Nick Klein (Team Forrest)

Round 1

Dollaway comes out firing with a kick which is checked by Klein who forces the action to the mat. He quickly has Dollaway on his back but Dollaway cinches in a guillotine choke and uses it to sweep Klein and gain top position. From here Dollaway rains down punches while Klein tries for a kneebar. He appears to have it locked up at one point but Dollaway is able to scramble out of it. Nick turtles up but Dollaway rolls him over to land better punches and almost gets caught in an armbar during the transition. Dollaway escapes the armbar and rains down some more punishment on Klein from the top.

Klein eventually regains full guard and is throwing up some triangle attempts but Dollaway is wise to his submission attempts, powering out of them or passing his guard altogether. Klein eventually gives up his back, eats some punches, and tries for an armbar. Dollaway is able to ride the round out while defending the armbar.

Round 2

Dollaway comes out with another kick, landing square on Klein’s leg and it looks like it hurt Klein. After a bit of sloppy standup from both fighters, Klein jumps guard against the cage, something his coaches groan about. Nick gives up his back again in an attempt to scramble and takes more punishment before he reclaims full guard. Dollaways unloads from this position with strikes and elbows. Nick gives his back up again in an attempt to scramble but leaves himself in a bad position with his neck exposed during the scramble and C.B. cinches in a deep guillotine in half guard, forcing Klein to tap near the end of round two.

WINNER: C.B. Dollaway via submission (guillotine choke)

Team Rampage gains a moral victory, but is still down 6-2 in the overall competition. Dollaway says he wanted to win for his team and for Rampage but now that’s all over with as the quarterfinals are upon us.

Back at the house, C.B. and Matt Riddle are chilling in the hot tub with what seem to be matching sunglasses. Cale Yarbrough starts calling them “douches” and “boyfriends,” which Dollaway doesn’t take kindly to. He says he’s been able to brush off Yarbrough’s idiocy for the most part but now it’s gotten personal and he wants to fight him in the quarterfinals. He may very well get his wish.

Back at the gym, Amir is giving Forrest the haircut that he promised him. Amir gives him a horrible haircut, basically shaving Forrest’s head completely and then drawing lines on the left side of his head in an homage to the 80’s. As Forrest is getting ready to jump in the shower, Rampage douses him with a huge water gun multiple times. Super soak that ho, Rampage.

Before the episode ends, Dana and the coaches pick quarterfinal matchups and call each fighter in one by one. C.B. is the first and states that he wants Cale Yarbroug. Cale gets called in and says he wants to fight someone from Team Rampage, so there you have it. The quarterfinal matchups are as follows:

* Jesse Taylor vs. Dante Rivera
* Amir Sadollah vs. Matt Brown
* Dan Cramer vs. Tim Credeur
* C.B. Dollaway vs. Cale Yarbrough

Next week we’ll see Jesse vs. Dante as well as Amir vs. Matt so tune in for more fights, less drama.