Episode ten of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 9 gets underway and Dana calls in Coach Dan Henderson and Coach Michael Bisping to pick the semifinal match ups and both coaches seem to be on the same page regarding the pairings. When the fighters get called in for their say on the matter, they also share a common voice.
Unfortunately Dana is considering a teammate vs. teammate approach to try and guarantee that the June 20 finale keeps with the US vs. UK theme — the same theme he called “stupid” prior to the start of the season.
Not surprisingly it doesn’t fly with Bisping and Hendo and Dana comes to his senses and goes forward with opposing teams in the semis, which broken down looks like this:
Nick Osipczak vs. Damarques Johnson
Andre Winner vs. Cameron Dollar
Ross Pearson vs. Jason Dent
James Wilks vs. Frank Lester
Lester gets a shout out for being the only guy to get called back and actually win a fight.
Back at the house, Richie ambushes Pierce in the kitchen and calls him out for sleeping with the enemy. Apparently Richie doesn’t like that Pierce refuses to fight but has no problem hanging out with Team UK.
Pierce threatens to smash Richie’s eyeballs then gets his revenge by giving Team UK all of the training tips for the US guys who made the semis.
In the gym, Damarques self-promotes and calls himself the best of the bunch. We get a short training montage and Hendo concurs that Damarques will likely win the show.
Hendo asks Pierce if he’s selling secrets and Pierce vehemently denies it — though “Hollywood” doesn’t seem overly convinced.
Brief Nerdgasm as a Transformers commercial reveals a closer look at The Constructicons.
Over at the Team UK training session, Nick confirms Pierce’s betrayal and prepares accordingly. Bisping pushes the UK team to the brink of exhaustion for the simple reason that he wants them to be at their best — and likely as punishment for the failure of Dave Faulkner on episode nine.
Welterweight semifinal fight #1: Damarques Johnson (13-6) vs. Nick Osipczak (3-0)
Round 1: Stiff jab by Johnson answered by a hard low kick from Osipczak. Nice one-two punch by Johnson. Osipczak with a looping right and a leg kick. They clinch and Johnson lands an awkward takedown that puts them both on their heads. They stand and trade evenly. Johnson with a stinging right then a body shot. Nice jab by Johnson. Then another. Osipczak goes on the inside and Johnson drags him down. Johnson in half-guard. Osipczak’s long limbs make it difficult to posture. Osipczak busy from the bottom. Johnson backs up and Osipczak dives in and stands. Johnson gets rocked with a devastating uppercut. Osipczak smells blood and starts unloading and Johnson hits the cage getting blasted. Only heart keeps him standing. He fires back and stuns Osipczak and buys himself a few seconds. Now both are trading and landing in one of the greatest endings to a round in TUF history.
Round 2: Osipczak eats a right. They clinch and Osipczak is tagged with a huge knee. Johnson to the body. Osipczak lazily shoots and gets nothing. Johnson falls on top of him and rolls into side control. Works for position and transitions to half guard where Osipczak tangles him up in legs. Johnson back to side control and trying for the kimura. Osipczak stymies him and goes back to guard. Osipczak looks winded. Herb Dean fires off a few warnings to stay busy. Osipczak squirms and Johnson gets full mount. He tees off and Osipczak rolls. Osipczak getting fired upon and eats a few to the back of the head. Johnson just pounds away until the bell sounds with Osipczak trapped in a reverse turtle. Osipczak very slow to rise.
Round 3: Johnson works the jab. Osipczak with a big body shot. Johnson lunging but connects. Osipczak gets rocked with a knee and a combo. Osipczak gassed. Johnson tees off. Osipczak can’t even stand. Marshmallow leg kick lands for Osipczak but Johnson just shoves him to the floor and into half-guard. Johnson with some elbows from the top. Osipczak rolls and Johnson takes his back but whoops Osipczak rolls him over and takes the top. Unfortunately he’s too gassed to capitalize. Bisping yells a very Mortal Kombat-esque “FINISH HIM” from the sidelines.
Damarques Johnson defeats Nick Osipczak via unanimous decision
Stay tuned next week as the four remaining lightweights face off to see who will join Damarques Johnson in the June 20 finale.
See you in seven!
50 Comments »
Great idea, USA vs.USA, U.K. vs.U.K.. I said it before, Dana is briliant. The means in the finals you are bidding two guys that really don’t like each other against each other. Great T.V.
Looks like Damarcus vs James for the 170 lb contract. I dont see any way Frankie wins. James already beat up on the feet and ground, and Frankie has had one more fight since then. Easy win for James, imo.
As for the LW semi’s… Man! At first, I’m thinking Ross and Andre… But Cameron proved me wrong before, and I think the win over Stapes did alot for his confidence. Also, Dent looked to be hanging and dishing it out to Ross in that little clip of their fight. I’ve been calling Dent the finalist since the beginning, so I want him to win, but it will be TUF! (sorry, I had to use the pun)
On this weeks fight, I was impressed. I wanted Nick to win, because I cant stand Damarcus. I was HOPING he’d finish it at the end there. A few times in the fight I thought Damarcus was about to finish, but Nick just wouldn’t quit. It redeemed the whole British teams’ resolve and determination from what Faulkner did last week. That moment when he was sitting on the stool and yelled YES was epic. Sort of. It was cool to see and really made me admire his willpower. Great fight, and I hope we see Nick in the UFC.
Nick deserves major props for not giving up. Guy did really well, and that “yes” thing in between rounds is what CBJ should have done when he got a beating from GSP. That’s what REAL fighers do, don’t quit right?
anyone know where I can watch the video of last nights TUF fight? I am a big fan of Nick. I didnt see last nights fight but I am sure he will be fighting in the UFC. DUde’s got game!
Andre winner is going to destroy Camroln dollar! Cant wait for that!
Fight Video
http://tinyurl.com/qm83hx
thanks man!
Also, I hope Richie goes back to the house and kicks Pierce in his “oh so bad” leg, stomps on him, and then spits on him. I can’t stand f’n liars.
Oh yeah, it would look pretty dumb if it was Team UK vs Team UK in the finale. Thats why I originally commenting on iagoof22’s comment.
*************FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT********************
COTE VS OKAMI @ UFC 103
We have recieved word from both, Patrick Cote’s camp as well as Yushin Okami’s camp that this fight has been brought to their attention, and that they both have verbally agreed. While it is a little bit early to hand out any type of fight contract,expect the fight to be signed by the middle of June.The fight is being aimed for UFC 103,with the venue un announced,but it goes with a rumored bout between Frank Trigg and Josh Koscheck.
Yushin Okami,who is coming off a win over Dean Lister really needs a win if he wants to recieve a title shot in the future.The same goes for Patrick Cote,who is coming off a loss to Anderson Silva. Cote, who has been on the record stating that he would like to fight a top 5 middleweight to possibly get him a title shot,and a win over Okami will most likely put him in that scenario.Also interesting to note that both of these fighters are coming off injuries,so it will be interesting to see how both of these fighters rebound.
they will def. get the ww finale they want, I see no way Frankie pulls it out. It would be something though!
Good fight, good episode.
I stood up for Pierce last week, This wee, I hope someone kicks the shit out of him!
good fight. okami deserves to face a contender! if he beats Cote it will be tough to deny him a title shot!
fack yeah! cote by ko
I really hope they set up the match up of Richie against Pierce. I can’t stand guys like Pierce…he’s a complete douchebag and a liar to boot. The guy wallows in his own pity about having an infection and turns down the opportunity of a lifetime cause he’s too big of a weasel to man up and fight someone he likes. Then he turns on his own team and bad mouths them and then gives team UK tips on how to beat his own team…and then has the gaul to lie to Hendo while he just sits there and doesn’t take advantage of getting some world class training from Dan Henderson and his coaches…what a waste.
Also confirmed for UFC 103 is Trigg vs. Koschek
I could never cut down to welterweight and I am extremely new to mma. BUt I would fight Pierce in a second if I had the opportunity and if he could make it up to middleweight. THat dude is a mental BITCH! He probably has way more experience and skill then me (I would guess), but I would eat a mental Bitch like him alive! lol
Thehy need to kick Pierce’s b#tch a##,out of the house,he is giving training secrets to the other team,he is not even training,and he is saying he wants go home,well send him home.I do not care how you feel about your teammates ,they are still your teammates,I hope he gets one fight on the finale,just so somebody can beat the brakes off his a##
What a piece of shit. Pierce can lie all he wants, the camera don’t lie! What a bitch.
it is weard seeing Mask in the backround.
I know, it’s too surreal
Doesn’t bother me too much… I’m just like “Hey!… This is a good fight!…”
same
Wow Nick was tough as shit, Demarques put a real beating on him and not once was he gonna give up (Not that Demarques didnt get a real beating himself). End of the first Nick pulled a vice versa on Demarques and put it on him good. Hell of a fight! I think we just saw the two best WW’s this season. I think the UK guys are gonna win both LW fights, Pearson vs Dent? Please. Pearson for sure
I think Cameron will pull his match out,but I do not think Dent has much of a chance
Oh yeah i skipped Dollar-Winner. Winner takes him i bet, cameron cant strike for shit, his last win was not in the least impressive. Hell, HE was even suprised he won. Winner is no joke either.
I think Dent will have more of a chance to win his fight, if Huerta can’t finish Dent, I don’t think Pearson does. My lightwieght final is Winner vs Dent
all I can say is “jab, jab, jab, jab, jab, jab, jab, jab”
LOL! Bisping- “back of the head, back of the head”
Maybe after Rampage and Rashad me and you will be coaches.
two overweight men sittin behind a computer all day that watch mma so much they think they can coach, sounds fun
I can’t stand Bispings crying to the ref. during the fights. First when Frankie’s teeth are stuck in his mouthpiece, and now the “Ref Ref he’s hitting the back of the head!” When in actuality he was hitting the side of his head most of the time.
Well you can’t complain about Bisping shouting to the Ref over the “teeth” incident – if your opponent can’t come out to the bell then you win, simple as. The mouthguard should have been sorted while he was sitting for the corner chat – in the end it buys him an extra minute or two which could make the difference.
Not blaming Lester for that of course, just saying that Bispings anger over the matter, and shouting to the ref was justified.
Look at the numbers. How many British fighters have been in the UFC? How many British champions has there been?
How many American champs? How many Americans fighters? hmmm?
UFC Champions
USA – 25
Brazil – 5
Canada – 2
Europe – 2
UK – 0
Pre 1999
US – 9
Brazil – 3
Japan – 2
Russia 1
UK – 0
Were born fighters, we cant help it.
Look at the numbers. No british champs. Not one
UFC Champions
USA – 25
Brazil – 5
Canada – 2
Europe – 2
UK – 0
Pre 1999
US – 9
Brazil – 3
Japan – 2
Russia 1
UK – 0
In the US were born fighters, we cant help it.
You realise the UK is part of Europe right? Separating the two is like saying there have been no champs from Ohio…
Bad comparison, Rich Franklin is from Ohio haha.
Dammit – I just knew that would bite me in the ass – I shoulda checked the facts first!!!
Actually the UK isnt in continental Europe.
IF you want me to be more specific. I was speaking about ArlovskI from Belorussia and Bas Rutten from Holland.
if by born fighters you mean born in a country where you have high level high school and college wresting (which just happens to be arguably the most reliable base) and by far the largest population, who do very well in an american based org with primarily american fighters, then yes, you are overwhelmingly correct.
its all relative pal.
also, “they’re” born fighters, “they” cant help it. this is the right sentence you’re looking for. because no matter level you’re at, if you even train at all, you aren’t any of those dudes. i mean, once i tried to borrow GSP’s belt and gloat about being the greatest welterweight in the world by proxy, but then i realized i was a tool and just punched myself in the nuts and just called it a day.
Seeing how the UFC is an American organisation it’s little wonder that there have been many American fighters and champions. Funny how you ignore Pride, where European fighters like Fedor and Cro Cop as well as Asian fighters like Sakuraba and Gomi flourished, not to mention the legendary Brazilians Wandy, Big Nog and Shogun. For years Pride had the top MMA talent, look what happened when Chuck went to Pride. Currently the only American UFC champion is BJ Penn so boasting about the success rate of American fighters in relation to other nationals is pretty pathetic and the fact that you use this to claim that all Americans are born fighters is absurd.
Americans have more champs in mma than anyone.
To be fair there are more Americans training in MMA than in any other country too – It’s a very new sport all in all, only just becoming “mainstream”. Brazil has done well because they have a good structure for successful Ju-Jitsu competition which is a very effective discipline for MMA.
Expect to see participation in MMA globally improving drastically over the next 5 years or so now its popularity is skyrocketing.
Americans will probably always be most prolific though as they are the generally the largest developed country with advanced sports training and scholarship foundations giving them a distinct advantage. Many counties have “born fighters”, it is usually just harder for them to progress through the system in place, the funding of sports limiting them to having to get “real” jobs to survive – diminishing their training and competitiveness.
In fact this latest series of TuF has shown that the US has its fair share of pussies too…
Good points.
word. i didnt see this before i wrote my other comment above. very true.
i would imagine countries that have people who have to fight for their dinner have the most “born fighters.” as would some harsh areas of the US and the UK and Canada to a degree, but its all background and opportunity that gets you through that first door as a pro.
as you said, based on this show, its hard the say the US fighters are any hungrier than the UK guys. but it really helps when you have places to train wrestling and a choices of quality MMA gyms to hit up. these are surely cream of the crop brits, but look how it evens out when you get the few UK dudes with decent camps and experience. if anything, this show disproves the hell out of any USA vs the world MMA theories.
I really cant wait to see Bisping get pounded by Dan. My gf never understood why I disliked him but after watching this season she’s developed a distaste for him as well. Prick.
Again, not trying to defend him totally as he can be Dickish but did you see his blog? They purposely made him out to be a whining bitch in the editing in last weeks episode – turns out the UK team had been getting the shaft all the series and he decided to make a stand – seems far more justified when you hear the full story!
yeah. i can fully see how people dont like bisping. but he doesnt rankle me as much as a lot of other people. and yeah, i read his blog and i do believe that they edited that scene to make it seem like he didnt have a leg to stand on. the water spray in the face was a little ridiculous, however, even though i think demarcus is an annoying pile of crap. far more obnoxious than bisping and less likely to back it up. bisping maybe should have just left it there though, haha, the racism comment was baffling at best. if youre gonna just blast a guy in the face with water for no reason other than hes a jackass you dont like. just tell him you blasted him because hes a jackass you dont like. haha. dont try to justify it.
Im not sure what the UK guys are doing, they have tons of skill but no lungs. Im sure Demarcus wouldve won anyways last night but the 2 fights previous the UK guys just gassed out. They need to train a little harder on there cardio, they should have won the last 3 fights but bad conditioning got the better of them.
yeah. but i’d have to say that lawson has a valid reason being that he had a chest infection and couldnt train for the first half of the show. and man, he is a pretty skilled guy, so thats too bad. otherwise, its definitely something they need to address moving forward. nothing some proper trainers and some hard work cant fix. unlike a lot of other areas of weakness. like heart, or fake hurt ankle, or 3 functional braincells. haha.
I am a little dissapointed by this season. They love to focus on dramas outside the ring too much. Also build up hype around nothing. I swear last episode it said two fights in this episode. I watched dana whites blog of ufc 98 and he was talking with frankie no teeth and hendo. I think frankie trains with hendo now. I would be really surprised if frankie makes it to the finals.
Nick could have finished demarques in the first round. The problem I have with Nick is he needs to develop more power behind his punches. Alot of mma fighters dont have proper appreciation of boxing and how to land proper punches with their weight behind it. Once he sharpens up his boxing he could be dangerous. Other than that a good fight. I dont think demarques is all that spectacular….
I gotta say the “Nick Osipczak vs. Damarques Johnson” round 1 was one of the most entertaining moments of the TUF series. I wish these guys had more gas though but I was pleasantly surprised by Nick’s performance. The UK cat’s are not as good technically but man they got heart. Great show. One of the best ever. Looking forward to the other 3 fights. Frank will lose but will remain in the UFC because he stepped up for Dana & that’s the type of thing Dana likes.
My choices: Damarques Johnson & Cameron Dollar for their technical abilities
UK Hands down for their heart!!!