The Ultimate Fighter 7 tonight

Episode 7 rolls right out of the gate with fight selections - and a little air guitar by Rampage - who now controls the selections after last week’s victory courtesy of Dan Cramer.

Rampage wants to keep that control and after a Vincent Price post-Thriller laugh, picks Gerald Harris to manhandle Amir Sadollah.

At the Team Blue training session we get fed highlights of Gerald Harris and his penchant for slamming opponents. Rampage refers to him as mini-me but I’m sorry, Gerald Harris ain’t got shit on Verne Troyer.

Over at Team Brown, Amir raises the roof over his torrid 0-0 record. Forrest comforts him by telling him that if he’s still conscious and doesn’t break his arm during the fight, to try and use it as an opportunity to get back to his feet.

Forrest also bets Amir that if he wins, Forrest will shave half his head. Either way, both scenarios seem improbable.

Outside, Gerald has a quiet moment and shares his motivation for fighting - two hungry boys to feed. Gerald gets no love from the producers as the requisite still photos and solemn piano music do not make an appearance.

Team Brown’s Amir Sadollah (0-0) vs. Team Blue’s Gerald Harris (7-2)

Round 1: They circle each other and Forrest shouts: “Make him pay for the real estate!” Gerald shoots and scores. Amir holds on tight for a while as they struggle for position. Gerald postures and gets a few elbows but Amir is not making it easy. Gerald lands a Fedor-esque punch to the mat complete with sonic boom. Amir finds his way back to his feet. Gerald drops down and gets a hold of him and (surprise) scoops him up and slams him. Amir kicks him off and gets back up but Gerald quickly pushes him right back to the cage. Gerald gets a hold of him and once again Amir eats canvas. Amir responds with the softest hammer fists in the history of the UFC. Amir again gets up and again gets wrestled down. Gerald is clinging to a leg. Amir finds his way to his feet and stays pressed against the cage as the round ends. All Gerald.

Round 2: Amir jabs into open air and lands a nice leg kick. And another. A third attempt gets him pressed against the cage into a Van Damme style leg split. Gerald drops him and lands a big elbow. Amir stands up and lands a flush knee but doesn’t faze the charging Gerald. Amir spins out of the shoot and gets on top but quickly loses it to the faster Gerald who again takes him down. The wily Amir rises and secures an impromptu clinch which allows him to land a devastating knee that drops Gerald like a newborn calf. Amir plops down and under-punches an unresponsive Gerald. The referee issues a stoppage warning but gets no improvement from Gerald and stops the fight. Moments later Gerald begins screaming that he wasn’t out but since he was unable to improve his position after getting dropped (and warned), has no case.

It was a busy fight, dominated by Gerald who used his wrestling to maintain a dominant position. Aside from the slams he was not able to do much damage from the top and Amir was constantly able to escape. He may have taken his offense for granted in round two which opened him up and let Amir get his shot in.

In the locker room Gerald breaks down and finally gets his piano solo. Rampage consoles him and the reality of what many of these guys have risked for this opportunity becomes very real. Gerald gets my respect for going out there and giving it 100% which in the end is all any of us can really ask for.

Amir on the other hand gets my respect for his display of heart and resiliency. He took a pounding but fought smart and kept his composure. He waited for his opening and capitalized.

A disappointed Rampage considers going on a bender to make up for the tough loss.

Back at the house, Patrick Shultz is angered that he hasn’t been picked yet. Knowing his skill set, Schultz must have stuff to do back home and needs to get out of there ASAP. At the picks he gets paired up with Cale Yarbrough which by default leaves the remaining match of C.B. Dolloway and Nick Klein.

Rampage is not impressed with Cale who would lose to Big Momma Jackson according to Rampage himself. Cale by his own admission has no concept of the ground game which explains why he is matched up against Schultz. But it does not explain why he was picked to be on the show in the first place considering that MMA is more than just striking.

Team Brown’s Cale Yarbrough (0-0) vs. Team Blue’s Patrick Schultz (7-1-1)

Round 1: Cale opens with a kick and gets tossed to the floor. Back on their feet they trade jabs and do some dancing. Schultz lands a reaching-in right. After some more dancing he lands another, this time dropping Cale. Schultz does not pounce and Cale recovers. They go back to the center of the cage and trade some more. Schultz getting the better of the exchange. Some ugly brawling taking place. Cale eats three stiff shots. Both sides scream for the guys to keep their hands up. Out of nowhere Cale shoots and takes Shultz down. What was ugly on the feet is positively gruesome on the floor. Cale is punching like he’s pressing a hamburger patty. Schultz gets to his feet and they swing wild. Cale with another takedown. More patty-forming. Round expires as Schultz loses his mouthpiece.

Round 2: Both fighters exchange kicks and punches, some landing, some not. Cale scores a takedown and Schultz looks happy to be off his feet. Cale starts working the elbow and pushes Schultz to the cage. Cale starting to pour it on with punches and elbows. One of the trainers is explaining to Cale (step-by-step) how to transition to mount. It reminded me of that A-Team episode where Murdock is blinded and has to talk Hannibal through a plane landing. Anyway, Cale gives up the complex mount and goes back to using Shultz’s face as a speedbag. Schultz looks lifeless and at this point is probably too tired to even tap out if he wanted to. The round ends (mercifully) with Schultz being pummeled.

Judges tally up the points and Rampage sounds extremely surprised that the fight is not going to a third round. A smarmy Forrest offers Cale for a third but Rampage is not amused and fires back. Schultz has the audacity to punk Forrest in the midst of all the arguing and part of me wanted to see a re-enactment of Griffin’s infamous bone-shattering leg kick.

A disgusted Rampage walks-off, but not before promising Forrest that they don’t go to a decision when they eventually fight - and he’ll even bet his entire purse on it . Dana compares their bickering to Ken and Tito causing viewers around the globe to wince in unison. Somewhere off camera Forrest can be heard going apeshit.

Stay tuned next week as the final preliminary fight is held, Forrest gets his mad on, and Rampage is owned - Spiderman style.

See you then!

May 14th, 2008    

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42 Comments »

Comment by RiverHorror
2008-05-14 21:25:57

Alright Amir!!! Hate fighters who just lay on people

 
Comment by the Levi
2008-05-14 21:26:01

if i was Forrest or Rampage i would be offended by be compared to tito & ken.

 
Comment by JLew
2008-05-14 21:34:07

So who really thinks forrest has a chance against Rampage? I know this really isnt the place for it, and I really do love forrest, but i dont think he has a chance.

Comment by ufcmn89
2008-05-15 09:38:14

me, just like how i Predicted he would beat Shogun. Bring it on John, I’m not counting out forrest

 
Comment by the Levi
2008-05-15 10:12:25

after giving shogun a whooping,of course I think he has a chance.he beat shogun evry where that fight.he was out stiking him standing. he was out grappling him on the ground.his sub. defense was awesome.Rampage is gonna have to KO Forrest to get the win.but Forrest could possibly submit Rampage or win by dec. but I don’t think that he could KO Rampage.that gives Forrest 2 ways to win & Rammpage 1. I’m not saying Forrest is gonna win but I think he has chance.

 
 
Comment by JLew
2008-05-14 21:37:56

Who really thinks Forrest has a chance to beat Rampage? I know this really isn’t the place for it, but every week when the guys and I watch this, we all think the same thing. There is no way Forrest can pull this one out. Forrest is definitely a favorite of ours, we just don’t think he has a chance. What do you guys think?

Comment by "Mr. NC-17"
2008-05-14 22:02:34

If Forrest comes in with Cardio, he could beat Rampage.

Comment by THORAZINE
2008-05-15 02:13:05

If Forrest can weather the early storm, take the fight to the ground often (somehow), he has a chance of wearing Rampage out and diminishing his punching power.

I like Forrest in the 4th and 5th round… however, it won’t go that far.

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Comment by Stagger-Lee
2008-05-15 06:43:39

Forrest has a snowball’s chance in hell beating Rampage..If Forrest can “weather the early storm”, and “comes in with cardio”, he will still lose to Rampage 10 out of 10 times…I am a big Forrest fan, and I do believe he has potential to be a champ one day, it’s just not going to happen anytime soon..Rampage is on another level compaired to Forrest…But since this sport is soo unpredictable, and anything can happen, I guess Forrest has a vary little chance of winning(imo)…It’s just slim to nill..

 
Comment by OJR
2008-05-15 08:52:46

Just like Serra had no chance vs. GSP the first time?

Or Jardine had no chance vs. Chuck?

Or Forrest had no shot vs. Shogun?

What happened in those fights?

Exactly. Nobody knows anything until they actually fight.

 
Comment by Stagger-Lee
2008-05-15 09:18:44

Serra banged GSP the fuck out in (imo) the biggest up-set in MMA history!
I actually had Jardine winning that fight-so no comment.
And Forrest shocked me big time, beating Shogun..
OJR; Yeah I know what you mean, and that is why I specificly said “this sport is soo unpredictable” and “anything can happen”..I know the business..
It’s just the more I think about this fight, the more of a beating I see Forrest taking..Like I said in my above post.”I am a big Forrest fan”..But I see Rampage not only winning, I see him dominating Forrest completly…I may be wrong, and it wouldn’t be the first time. All my post was, was my opinion and nothing more.It’s obvious “Nobody knows anything until they fight”, but this site is meant for people’s insight, opinion’s, and gossip on MMa.I think you got me wrong?..Who do you think will win Rampage/Forrest?

 
Comment by OJR
2008-05-15 10:31:27

Point taken. I just don’t think that a cardio monster like Forrest has less than a slim to nill chance. Unlike most fans, I see Forrest taking this to a decision. He has cardio forever, a rock head, good sprawls and a crazy heart.

He learned alot after that beat down from Jardine. He does not have the power to knock Rampage out but I think he can definitely outwork him. I think that will be the key.

 
Comment by Stagger-Lee
2008-05-15 11:02:20

agreed. If forrest can win..imo the only way will be by decision…Unfortunatly for Forrest, Rampage will bang him out in no more then 3 rounds..I agree with you on Forrest not having the power to KO Rampage,.And we all know Rampage definetly has the power to KO Forrest, so with that said’ along with, if it goes to decision? I think Rampage has just as much of a chance(if not more) then Forrest in winning a decision..
So that means when I break it down..
If the fight ends with a KO or TKO, it will most likely be by Rampage..
If the fight ends by decision, both fighters have a chance.(imo Rampage has more)..So all in all, I see Rampage winning..
I know I left out “what if a submisson win”, I’ll leave that for you or someone else to break down..
But to sum it up’ I just dont see Rampage losing to Forrest…imo Rampage late 2nd via brutal beating(tko)..

 
Comment by john
2008-05-15 12:49:33

Stagerlee: No worries, u know exactly what u r talking about and Forrest Griffin will not go 2 rounds with out getting his block knocked off by Rampage…For all u mma betters….Rampage and the Unders is a LOCK!!!

This is more of a mismatch then GSP vs. HUGHES 3!

 
 
 
 
Comment by Gillbone
2008-05-14 21:46:22

Forrest is Going to get Rampage second round TKO!

 
Comment by Jrandolph
2008-05-14 22:00:08

Well, That last fight was’nt as close as they wanted us to think.

 
Comment by Jrandolph
2008-05-14 22:02:53

Of course Forrest has a chance. Sure he’s the underdog in this one, but it’s mma and Forest isn’t a complete chump.

 
Comment by "Mr. NC-17"
2008-05-14 22:03:54

Gerald Harris reminds me strongly of Josh Koscheck. I think Harris has a bright future, he just got caught. Thats it.

That Schultz/Cale fight was a fun one to watch.

I just hope the dude that looks like Big John does not end up in the finals, I can’t stand looking at him.

Comment by shea
2008-05-14 22:19:55

man i thought the cale/schultz was brutal, there stand up was horrific! and then when cale took schultz down he did nothing. I think that both of these fighters are not yet talented enough for the ufc.

Comment by PW
2008-05-15 08:32:22

That fight was awful. Lots of swinging and punch/kick attempts do not a great fight make. How the hell does Schultz train at Sit Yon Dong or wherever the Florian family trains and have absolutely no ground game?

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Comment by PJJ
2008-05-15 09:03:01

Made the comment during the second fight that it doesn’t really matter. Whoever would end up winning wouldn’t make it out of the next round of fights. For both being stand-up guys they were sloppy.

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Comment by jimmy v
2008-05-14 22:07:02

just like when everybody thought he had no chance against shogun huh forrest is going to pull this one off.

 
Comment by kegmaan
2008-05-14 23:16:58

i was pissed when shultz mouthed off to forrest

Comment by Mike
2008-05-14 23:45:37

what was it he said

Comment by GregC
2008-05-15 13:12:58

“Get back in the corner. I can’t wait for your fight with Rampage.”

It was pretty disrespectful and petty from a guy who was getting his ass kicked. But I do understand his frustration, knowing that he was going to lose the decision.

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Comment by BLOodyMEss
2008-05-15 13:18:07

He just kinda glared at Forrest and said “I cant WAIT for your fight with Rampage”

 
 
Comment by Chris
2008-05-14 23:31:46

Schultz should have kept his mouth shut. Dude you just lost and you wanna talk crap to Forrest. The only reason you were still fighting was because of one of the other fighters, sorry cant remember his name, had to leave because of staff. You didnt win you way onto the show you got chosen to fill in. And you lost again. Running your mouth off to Forrest, what complete disrepect from a guy that shouldnt have even been on the show…

Comment by THORAZINE
2008-05-15 02:25:17

I don’t care for Shultz, any MMA fighter that wears a corduroy driving cap deserves to get his ass kicked. It was the heat of the moment immediately after the fight and Shultz said some shit, understandable. These guys are MMA fighters it’s not a high school wrestling atmosphere.

 
 
Comment by brian
2008-05-15 01:14:11

The stand up in the cale/schultz fight was way better than anything else i’ve seen on this season. the stand up in the cramer fight was 10 times worse than this. But this was easily my favorite episode of the season.

 
Comment by mf
2008-05-15 03:35:14

i dont see forrest winning against rampage

 
Comment by GangOfOne
2008-05-15 04:34:53

I HATE watching guys fight with no stand-up game! Trying to constantly shoot their opponent. Ahhh! I like a well-rounded fight but if it has to go off balance one way or the other, I’d rather see more striking. Sorry Gerald, if you want to increase your chances of winning, develop a stand-up game!

In typical Forrest style, I’m sure he’ll take some good shots early, then come back strong with Rampage. I’ll be hoping Forrest wins but it’s gonna be a war.

 
Comment by YouTapped
2008-05-15 04:38:44

I actually thought that Forrest dissed Schultz first by offering a 3rd round regardless the ruling of the judges. It sounded to me like “meh, if you want to get beaten up for another 5 minutes, here you go, it wont change the outcome”.

You also have to take into account that Schultz just got a beatdown and was pumped on adrenaline. I know the most stupid remarks I ever made came after fights, so I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

That being said: neither fight impressed me and so far the season has been only mildly interesting, but mostly annoying (which has to be credited to the producers and their ridiculous use of camera angles and background music).

I have high hopes for Dolloway, let’s see how that works out.

 
Comment by jimmy_dean
2008-05-15 07:19:35

Rampage did tell the truth last night, there is no way the fight between him and Forrest will go to a decision. Rampage will KO him in the second round.

Comment by the Levi
2008-05-15 11:44:43

if it does go the distance then Forrest will probably win.I think that the only way Rampage can win this fight is by KO.

Comment by jimmy_dean
2008-05-15 12:21:07

Rampage’s fight with Hendo went the distance and Rampage won. I would say that Hendo is a much more accomplished fighter than Forrest.

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Comment by john
2008-05-15 12:53:24

Rampage can win this fight in a decision easily!!! But it wont come to that…Rampage via 1st or 2nd round complete domination!…..I have never been so sure about a fight in my life!

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Comment by ToeLock
2008-05-16 13:21:59

As much as i agree with you John, your so gonna have to change your username if you’re wrong lol..

RAMPAGE4THEWIN!!!

 
 
 
 
Comment by PW
2008-05-15 08:34:33

Schultz should have been praying that didn’t go to a third round. He was noticeably gassed about halfway through round 1. He’s terrible. Dude spent the last 7 minutes of the fight on his back getting pounded.

 
Comment by dave
2008-05-15 13:14:15

Schultz told Forrest to “Shutup and go back to your corner” or something really similar to that. I’m pretty sure Forrest was inches from one of his new decapitation moves.

Mania, I think I remember the great “Blind Murdock landing by proxy” episode. As a kid I was completely glued to my set.

 
Comment by Bofa Deez
2008-05-15 14:45:01

How about Schultz saying “Can’t wait for you fight with Rampage”… talking shit to Forest after he got his ass beat? What a loser. Oh and nice hair by the way!

 
Comment by AzCombat
2008-05-15 18:47:03

does anyone know when they’re gonna have the half-season marathon? i’ve seen like 2 episodes this season i always miss them. thanks.

 
Comment by ToeLock
2008-05-16 13:24:59

Man i would have loved to have seen Forrest just square off to Shitz or whatever his name is…I know he couldnt do anything to him but shitz would have bricked his pants

 
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