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Written by admin on June 28th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on UFC Fight Night 15 and C.B. Dollaway and Jesse Taylor and MMA.
— Luke Thomas weighs in (heavily) on our “Broken Jaws and Double Standards” article. (BloodyElbow)
— A first-hand account of Jesse Taylor’s Palace Station rampage, courtesy of Matt Riddle. (MMA Junkie)
— Brazilian PRIDE/Cage Rage vet (and Thiago Silva’s roommate) Edson Draggo just wrecked himself in a motorcycle accident. (Sherdog)
— The next Strikeforce at the Playboy Mansion event will go down September 19th, and will feature Kazuo Misaki, Renato “Babalu” Sobral, the winner of Thomson/Melendez, and (hopefully) Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos. (MMARated)
— Ironically, the Shamrocks are the unluckiest clan in MMA. But that didn’t stop 18-year-old Lion’s Den product Jeff Shamrock (Ken’s nephew) from signing a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce. (FiveOuncesofPain)
— “Lay and Pray” vs. “Hit and Run” (Fightlinker)
— Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen is looking for a sponsor. (Japan MMA)
— 8 countries with weak pesos but hot women. (WallStreetFighter)
— Pictures of the chick that Mini-Me banged on that sex tape. OMFG, little Verne in his U of M onesie is presh! (Holy Taco)
Written by admin on June 27th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Edson Draggo and Matt Riddle and Jeff Shamrock and link dump and Verne Troyer and Jesse Taylor and Misc. and UFC and News and Strikeforce and Joachim Hansen and MMA.
(Look who’s back.)
When Dana White kicked Jesse Taylor off “The Ultimate Fighter” Finale for being a drunken knucklehead, he also told Taylor to call him when he matured and got his act together. Apparently that only takes a few months, because Fight Hype is reporting that Taylor will be added to the July 19 event on Spike TV, and guess who he may be up against:
Despite being kicked out of The Ultimate Fighter Finale, it appears that Jesse Taylor is set to make his return to the UFC. Sources close to the situation have informed us that, less than one month after he was supposed to face Amir Sadollah in the finale, Taylor will be entering the Octagon on the July 19th card headlined by Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin. Although an opponent has yet to be named, it’s rumored that CB Dolloway, who replaced Taylor in the finale and ultimately lost a second time to Sadollah via first round submission, could be the frontrunner to land the fight.
Well isn’t this a twisted little scenario. At least we know Dollaway is relatively unscathed after his fight with Sadollah, and probably also pretty eager to get back in the Octagon to erase the painful memory of his one-tap defeat. It just goes to show that opportunity knocks more often for everyone when the UFC has a competitor they need to crush.
Now maybe if the AFL would hurry up and get huge Kalib Starnes might even find his way back into the Octagon. Probably not, though.
Written by admin on June 26th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on General and Jesse Taylor and CB Dollaway and News and Dana White and The Ultimate Fighter and UFC and MMA.
(Ah, crap: Spike.com embed is currently down…click the image to see the video.)
For all the debate we’ve had on the Jesse Taylor situation, it might be good to hear Mongo tell his side of the story. In this three-part interview from Spike.com, Jesse doesn’t shed any light on Dana White’s accusation that he terrorized the female guests of Palace Station, but he does admit hitting a slot machine. (Wait a minute, was Mongo so drunk that he mistook a woman for a slot machine? Uh-oh.) Later, he reveals that he’s entered AA, he’s been trying (and failing) to contact Dana White, and he thinks CB is going to take Amir in the finale re-match.
Written by admin on June 19th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on TUF7 and Jesse Taylor and Dana White and Videos and The Ultimate Fighter and UFC and MMA.
(’Oh bicep, you’re the only one I can truly depend on.’)
Watching Dana White drop the hammer on Jesse Taylor during last night’s super-shocking episode of “The Ultimate Fighter”, I have to say I was filled with mixed emotions.
On one hand, everything White said to him seemed justified. He can’t have someone representing the UFC who is incapable of controlling himself after downing a few drinks. Not only does it create a bad image, but as White pointed out, this is what Jesse is like after merely fighting his way into the finals. If he’s out of control without really even winning anything yet, what’s he going to be like in six months?
Aside from Dana’s assertion that Las Vegas is “his town”, his admonition of Jesse and the punishment he handed down seemed completely appropriate.
But then I had a flashback to earlier episodes. I recalled images of Jesse drinking and breaking things, peeing his pants, and generally acting up. That’s when I had to wonder, what’s the fundamental difference between destroying a house that doesn’t belong to you and kicking out a limousine window? Hadn’t they been content to show Jesse’s antics — which you could also argue reflect poorly on the UFC and its fighters — for weeks?
This is what’s difficult for me to grasp. What, exactly, is so unforgivable about Jesse’s Las Vegas rampage that differentiates it from what he did in the house? Is it because he did it in public? Was it the fact that he “terrorized the female guests”? My point is there seems to be a very hazy line being drawn here. No one knows exactly where it is until they cross it.
I’m not saying that Jesse should be given a free pass just because the UFC allowed him to do plenty of other dumb things before this. But this is a good opportunity for the UFC to reflect on what they expect out of their fighters all the time.
There’s something hypocritical about encouraging this type of behavior when you think it makes for good TV, and then suddenly taking the high ground when it happens after the show. After we all watched Jesse Taylor piss his pants for the second time, how surprised can we be that he went crazy out on the town in Las Vegas? Where I come from, urinating on yourself is a pretty clear warning sign that maybe you have trouble controlling yourself when you drink. After that, property damage and the terrorization of female guests is right around the corner.
I understand why they want the guys to drink and get crazy in the house. It alleviates some of the monotony of the show, and it’s entertaining in a cathartic/idiotic way. I also understand why they don’t want their fighters acting like that once they’re off the show. But those are two incongruent goals, and the UFC knows it. Sooner or later, they’re going to have choose between them.
(-Ben Fowlkes)
Written by admin on June 19th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Commentary and Jesse Taylor and Dana White and UFC and The Ultimate Fighter and MMA.
Clad in a gay-friendly rainbow t-shirt, Dana White pumps up the 90-minute final episode of The Ultimate Fighter: “In seven seasons of doing this show, there has never been a bigger twist.” Bold words considering that the TUF series has had a history of monumental twists, like when Anthony Torres turned out to be a woman who was only posing as a man to compete on the show, and the crazy TUF 5 finale, where it was revealed that the entire season was just a dream Jens Pulver had while he was in a coma.
Personally, I hope the twist is that Jesse Taylor gets kicked off the show for breaking a limo window and killing Jeremy May, and the semi-final match between Amir and CB is so exciting and close that Dana White decides to have them fight again on the finale for the contract. That’s kind of an “everybody wins” type of scenario. Between the pissing, the puking, and the laying-and-praying, I think I’ve had my fill of Mongo…
(Props: Fightlinker)
Written by admin on June 13th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Jesse Taylor and CB Dollaway and Amir Sadollah and TUF7 and Dana White and The Ultimate Fighter and UFC and Videos and MMA.
Written by admin on June 12th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Jesse Taylor and Jeremy May and Amir Sadollah and CB Dolloway and Tim Credeur and tuf and The Ultimate Fighter and UFC and Dana White and ultimate fighting and MMA.
(Tim Credeur in happier times.)
Every Thursday morning, Team Rampage member Gerald Harris blogs his reactions to each new episode of The Ultimate Fighter 7 on CagePotato.com. Here’s what he had to say about last night’s ep, in which Forrest Griffin proved that white men can jump, and Mongo Taylor smothered his way into the finals.
***
This episode was pretty good, but I can’t wait until next week. It feels like yesterday, I was sending in an application and audition tape. Now, I’m sitting at home watching all the action unfold like I wasnt a part of it.
As you know by now, Team Rampage has been losing a lot in everything except Go Karts and shit-talking, so when the basketball challenge was announced I “assumed” we finally had a chance to win. My college coach told me that when you assume you make an ass out of yourself and I felt like a big hairy ass when Forrest started kicking Rampage’s. Before the game started I did every dance move known to man as I held 10 grand in cash, but they were slowly shut down by Forrest’s accurate shooing and Rampage’s attempt to build a house with all them damn bricks. He admitted that he sucked at basketball, but it hurt to lose again — not only did we lose, but Forrest put some stank on it and dunked at the end. Damn!
Well, once again America gets to see the many sides of Jesse. Me and Jesse were cool because of Team Quest and I mentioned before that we were both fathers, so we talked about missing our families. I was obviously rooting for him, but I doubted him because of his actions in the house. You didn’t see me in many scenes of his outburts, but I thought he was throwing his opportunity away; I felt like he was taking his position for granted. Little did I know that he’s an animal — not CoCo the monkey, but like King Kong in that damn cage. He’s not that exciting, but very solid. Sure, the dude pisses his shorts, but he kicks ass, so what can you say?
Written by admin on June 12th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Tim Credeur and Jesse Taylor and Gerald Harris and TUF7 and Recap and The Ultimate Fighter and UFC and Commentary and MMA.
(Jesse Taylor pisses his shorts on national television.)
Every Thursday morning, Team Rampage member Gerald Harris blogs his reactions to each new episode of The Ultimate Fighter 7 on CagePotato.com. Here’s what he had to say about last night’s ep, in which retard-strong (and retard-smart) Jesse Taylor pounded his way to victory, and Amir Sadollah and Matt Brown put on the best fight of the season.
***
By now everyone should know that Jesse Taylor is for real. He’s not the most exciting fighter in the world, but he’s solid and gets the job done. I can’t hate, because I respect winners and he’s also a Team Quest fighter so I was rooting for him. Dante just laid there and took a beating. He’s a veteran in the game and also a brown belt under Ricardo Almeida, so I assumed that he would catch Jesse, but Jesse just punched the [blank] out of him for two full rounds.
Now, let me get to the action! Matt Brown vs. Amir Sadollah was crazy. That’s a fight that people would pay money to watch. I think the first round could be given to Brown for the aggression and last second takedown. Amir seemed to pick up steam in the second round, took Matt down, punished him from the top, and eventually sunk in a triangle choke. I liked the fight because it wasn’t a sloppy slugfest. Brown has a great boxing background and Amir showed his Muay Thai and ground game with the strikes and sub finish. It’s crazy that the more you pressure him, he gets stronger and doesn’t fold — that’s the quality of a good fighter. I can say the same about Brown plus he was very humble in his loss and showed respect for his opponent.
Written by admin on May 29th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Dante Rivera and Jesse Taylor and Gerald Harris and Matt Brown and Amir Sadollah and TUF7 and Rampage and UFC and The Ultimate Fighter and Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin and Recap and MMA.
Episode three (which has already won me over with its title “The Heebie-Jeebies”) starts us off with a quick recap of the middleweight elimination tournament from episodes one and two including the bone-crunching knockout of Dan Simmler.
After narrowing down the field from 32 to 16, the pace begins to slow a bit as the guys pile into the TUF house and set up shop. Mike Dolce makes it clear that they’re not just reality TV stars anymore - they’re real fighters.
Having diligently watched seasons 1-6, I can say (not unjustly) that Dolce doesn’t speak for everyone in the house.
Matt Brown immediately knocks me from my editorial perch by countering: “We all had to fight our way in here so there’s no reason to ever discount anybody.”
Touche Mr. Brown.
Day one at the gym means team selections and no selection would be complete without the Dana White coin toss. Watching him assign Coach Griffin the color brown kind of had me hoping Forrest would go into a rant about color association like Mr. Pink from Reservoir Dogs.
No such luck.
Coach Rampage (Team Blue) gets his choice between first fighter or first fight and he wisely chooses first fighter. That fighter is CB Dolloway who impressed Rampage with his TKO victory over David Baggett on episode one.
I find it unusual that the producers would opt to show just the highlights of his fight during that episode considering he was selected #1 for Team Blue. Anyway, an undaunted Coach Griffin picks Tim Credeur without hesitation which makes me think he may have been Forrest’s first choice anyway.
Here’s how the teams stack up:
Team Blue (Rampage):
CB Dolloway
Matt Riddle
Paul Bradley
Daniel Cramer
Gerald Harris
Mike Dolce
Jeremy May
Brandon Sene
Team Brown (Griffin):
Tim Credeur
Amir Sadollah
Jesse Taylor
Matt Brown
Cal Yarbrough
Dante Rivera
Nick Klein
Luke Zachrich
The winning teams control the fights until they lose. Both Forrest and Rampage seem content with their picks. Rampage affectionately refers to Team Brown as Team Brown-Nose. I waited for Griffin to counter with Team Blue-Balls but once again he left me hanging.
Uh, no pun intended.
Paul Bradley gets into the Team Rampage huddle and no one can seem to concentrate since Bradley is sporting a gruesome skin deformation on his neck. Normally man-law would direct you to pass this off as a hickey but this looks more like untreated eczema.
Not surprisingly the rest of the group is already treating him like a leper and Bradley gets a one-way pass to the doctor. I quietly nod to myself as the episode title starts to make a lot more sense.
Team Blue has its first group training session and Rampage admits that this is just as much a learning experience for him as it is the cast. He introduces his coaches Zack Light and the incomparable Juanito Ibarra - who has the uncanny ability to tell what a person is eating by their spit.
Yum.
Dana White brings in a dermatologist that he’s known his whole life to examine Paul Bradley. I would question why Dana has known him his whole life but I wish to continue working in this field so I’ll just let it go.
“Bad News” Bradley gets the thumbs down from the doctor as it turns out to be a form of herpes that is indeed contagious. Like most medical oddities, Bradley gets exiled to a dark corner and is forced to run off his sins on the treadmill.
Over at Team Brown, Forrest basically admits that he’ll never be a coach but does know how to run a training camp. With him is jiu-jitsu coach Cameron Diffley, Muy Thai coach Mark Beecher and wrestling coach (and TUF alum) Gray Maynard.
Forrest leaves his guys with a nice piece of wisdom regarding the hard work and suffering they’re in for: “The juice is worth the squeeze.” We also learn that Forrest hates clapping. But not as much as Dana hates Herpes. He calls Paul Bradley into the office and hands him the pink slip.
Afterwards they move to fight selection and since Coach Griffin has control he puts Jesse Taylor against Mike Dolce. Jesse admits to looking like “Big” John McCarthy and Nicolas Cage - only better looking. Forrest calls him a meathead but likes his potential.
Mike Dolce gets his Hughes on and conducts a little bible study before training. Rampage thinks Dolce is only a few inches taller than a Hobbit. Anyone from Dolce’s hometown of Belmar, New Jersey may find that remark complimentary.
With Bradley gone that means there’s an opening for a new competitor. It’s still early in the season so it may not be much of an adjustment. Dana looks to Rampage for his pick and he first selects an injured alternate and then picks someone who’s already on the show. I guess Rampage doesn’t like to bog himself down with the finer details.
Comedy ensues but they eventually settle on Patrick Schultz who as you may remember got choked out by Luke Zachrich in episode two’s back-and-forth elimination bout. Not everyone is impressed by the selection, Dana included.
Rampage stops by the house to boost his team’s morale. He gets Matt Riddle to admit he’s still living at home with no job and no driver’s license. Internet trolls have finally found their champion. The team sees Jackson’s visit as a mental victory.
It’s fight day and Taylor and Dolce size each other up. Since we skipped the weigh-ins I’ll assume each fighter came in where they needed to be. Before I can wonder why there is a gratuitous Burger King logo in the center of the Octagon, Dana announces that BK will be coughing up $5k for the winner. Having sampled the 700-calorie Enormous Omelet breakfast sandwich, I hope for the winner’s sake the five grand is not in the form of a BK gift certificate.
Team Blue’s Mike Dolce (4-4) vs. Team Brown’s Jesse Taylor (6-2)
Round 1: Taylor shoots and gets stuffed. He gets back to his feet and pulls off a nice spin move before wrestling Dolce to the ground. Taylor quickly gets his back and works diligently for the rear naked choke. Dolce miraculously survives and rolls out of it but Taylor is still clinging to his back. They fall to the mat and Taylor works for the RNC again. Dolce twists into a nice reversal and is now on top landing elbows. Taylor muscles his way out of it and gets himself into top position. Good back-and-forth action. Dolce gives up his back and Taylor flattens him out. He tries again for the RNC but Dolce sees it coming and escapes. Taylor now in side control. Both guys staying busy but expending a lot of energy. The round ends with Taylor on top landing bombs.
Round 2: The ring girl has just KOed half of the viewing audience with her two biggest assets. Taylor opens with a shoot and Dolce goes down easily. An exhausted Dolce is starting to take punishment. He tries to escape but Taylor methodically lures him into another RNC. This time Dolce is too gassed to defend and gets that glazed-over look before Herb Dean can step in to save him.
Jesse Taylor defeats Mike Dolce via submission (rear naked choke)
After the fight Jesse pukes into a bucket. No word if Coach Ibarra was immediately able to identify its contents. There may have been a time in my life when vomiting on screen would have bothered me but after watching Gabe Ruediger grimace his way through a colonic in season five I think I’m pretty much desensitized at this point.
Taylor gets an additional $5k for the stoppage. Rampage is visibly deflated after opening up with a loss but Mike Dolce is surprisingly upbeat and knows a lot can still happen in six weeks.
Overall it was a decent episode. The format was more in line with what we’re used to from seasons past but a decent fight is all we can hope for and this week’s episode delivered in that sense.
Stay tuned next week as Rampage steps up his training, Riddle and Rivera verbally spar, and Burger King hands away some more hardboiled cash.
See you then!
Written by admin on April 16th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Mike Dolce and Jesse Taylor vs. mike dolce and ultimate fighter 7 episode 3 and Jesse Taylor and Jesse Holland and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and TUF 7 and MMA.