Zuffa is clearing a little TUF 6 house just one month after the mixed martial arts (MMA) reality series wrapped in December 2007, according to Sam Caplan.
Here’s the cut list:
Dan Barrera
Blake Bowman
Paul Georgieff
Richie Hightower
John Kolosci
Billy Miles
Dorian Price
Maybe a show that showcases 16 up-and-coming welterweight (the promotion’s most stacked division) fighters wasn’t such a good idea after all. Not to mention the eventual winner, Mac Danzig, immediately dropped to lightweight.
We’ll never get all that time back … sorry Jesse. Hindsight is 20/20.
If you love lobster and ribs then you’ll love this bizarre audition video from The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) alumni Matt Arroyo and Allen Berubie as they audition for this season’s The Amazing Race on CBS.
I guess unlike Manny Gamburyan, some folks just flat out enjoy the stress of reality television. Then again I haven’t seen anything in this video that I would classify as “reality”.
Recent contestant on season six of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver, was hauled in today before a California Superior Court Judge on charges that he allegedly choked a man unconscious and punched him in the grill on September 2, according to the San Diego Tribune.
The victim in the case claims that he did not see who broke his face in the confrontation. Furthermore, an independent witness at the scene of the crime testified that Koppenhaver was involved in the incident but was not the one responsible for the damage.
“War Machine” faces a maximum of seven years in the clink if the case goes to trial and he is convicted.
Not the best news to receive just after perhaps the crowning achievement of his mixed martial arts career, stopping Jared Rollins at the TUF 6 Finale earlier this month in a three-round welterweight crowd-pleasing war.
Hopefully in the end the truth prevails and Koppenhaver is cleared of the charges … if he is indeed innocent.
(Thanks to MMAmania.com readers “Gregg” and “Mr. NC-17″ for the assist.)
I guess it’s better than a year’s supply of Turtle Wax.
As per The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) tradition, each coach receives a four-wheeled parting gift for their time and effort on the show.
Matt Serra will be trolling the streets of Long Island in a pimped-out truck, while farmboy-and-proud-of-it Matt Hughes will be bitch-slapping some corn in his new John Deere 6430.
It was not at all surprising that there wasn’t much buzz about tonight’s Ultimate Finale on Spike TV, especially after sitting through months of a lackluster season that involved fighters with little personality, fights with even less action, and few if any defining moments that would catch the attention of a casual fan and get them hooked on the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA).
Considering the high points of the season were the big farm boy Tommy Speer scoring a surprising knockout upset over George Sotiropoulos (who many considered to be a heavy favorite to win it all) and John “War Machine” Koppenhaver dropping an “upper decker” in Team Hughes toilet (I still think that prank is and always will be a timeless classic), who could blame anyone for not getting their hopes up?
My, how one night can change it all.
Tonight UFC fans were given a gift from the MMA gods with two fights that could be considered all time great scraps. Both were very different versions of the MMA game. The first was a bloody, all out brawl with little technique and a ton of momentum changes that had everyone on the edge of their seats.
The second was one of the fastest-paced and most technical battles that saw bell-to-bell action, a near second round finish that was halted only due to the bell and a great ending to a fight that deserved nothing less.
Those two fights alone erased the memory of two less-than-spectacular pay-per-views in UFC 78 with its insomnia curing main event and UFC 77 with its Silva/Franklin squash match and Sylvia/Vera bear hug and tickle fight. The best part: IT WAS FREE.
The preliminary fights weren’t much to get excited about since all of them ended in the first round. Jonathan Goulet made quick work of Paul Georgieff and Roman Mitchiyan did not even break a sweat submitting Dorian Price via ankle lock in just 24 seconds.
Matt Arroyo outclassed John Koslosci (who we’ll probably never see in the Octagon again) with an armbar submission and Troy “Rude Boy” Mandaloniz KO’d Richie Hightower in a fight that was actually a quality stand up battle for both fighters.
The main card however delivered a night to remember. Ben Saunders and Dan Barrera both showed up and put forth great effort in a solid ground battle that Saunders won easily via unanimous decision. Saunders jiu-jitsu was well above where I thought it would be.
With his unusal height (6′3′’), long limbs and solid striking game I can see him becoming a quality 170lb fighter in the UFC. George Sotiropoulos made quick work of Billy Miles and showed off his black belt jiu-jitsu skills and helped erase the memory of his KO loss to Tommy Speer during the TUF 6 semifinals.
Speaking of Tommy Speer, he had a monstrous size advantage over Mac Danzig and that was about it. Danzig dominated for the full minute that the fight lasted and won the TUF 6 crown. Danzig, who announced his move to a more natural 155lb weight class, definitely has a bright future with his well rounded game.
Now to the fights that made the night one to remember. Jared “J-Rock” Rollins vs. John “War Machine” Koppenhaver was one of the bloodiest and best brawls I have ever seen. The action was nonstop, brutal and momentum was constantly switching to each fighter.
Both fighters looked finished numerous times throughout the fight yet they somehow made it to the third round where War Machine almost out of nowhere went from being mounted by Rollins and looking like he was finished to a switch into a direct full mount where he finished the fight in stunning fashion.
This one will be talked about for years to come and a rematch will almost certainly happen at some point. The Roger Huerta vs. Clay Guida match up lived up to its billing. Guida controlled most of the fight with his dominance in the takedown and ground game.
I thought he had the fight finished after rocking Huerta with a right uppercut, but luck was not on his side and he was unable to close the deal as he simply ran out of time and Huerta was saved by the bell.
Round three was like the rest of the fight. The pace was relentless and a well-placed knee from Huerta to Guida’s face put him to the ground rocked and bewildered. Huerta capitalized by taking Guida’s back and finishing the fight with a rear naked choke.
It was obvious that Guida was up two rounds to none so a stoppage was the only option Huerta had and to his credit he stepped up in crunch time and came through. These two fights were instant classics and will be talked about for years to come.
I for one feel lucky that I was able to witness such a great demonstration of everything that’s great about MMA. Even better, IT WAS FREE.
**TWO CENTS ALERT**
Hi folks, Jesse Holland checking in. First and foremost: Great job Druby on wrapping up tonight’s show. I wanted to throw my two cents in on a couple of topics that you touched on.
Danzig vs. Speer was a squash match. I find it a bit odd that Clay Guida was turned down for TUF 5 for being overqualified but Mac Danzig was allowed to board TUF 6.
Roger Huerta has great hands and an even greater heart. I thought he was a little more fragile than that but tonight he proved me wrong.
I could watch Clay Guida fight a crash test dummy. Lay ‘N Prayers and sluggish heavyweights take note: This kid knows how to put on a show. He could fight on every PPV and I would not complain.
Koppenhaver vs Rollins was like two junkyard dogs in a fight to the finish. While I prefer a more skilled performance, there is a time and place for these types of slugfests and tonight’s delivered.
Forrest Griffin and Rampage Jackson are coaches for TUF 7? Talk about the world’s worst kept secret.
Best of luck to Big John, his presence will be missed.
We had an exciting night of fights and to think that UFC 79 is just around the corner. What a great time to be a UFC fan!
For complete coverage and play-by-play of tonight’s event, click here.
Now that season six of UFC The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is a wrap we now know the match ups for the LIVE finale that is set for this Saturday, December 8 from The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, thanks to UFC.com.
The seminfinal show certainly had it’s share of twists, creating results that most viewers did not anticipate heading into the final week. Tommy knocking George out cold? Wow.
Anyway, here’s what we can expect this weekend:
Main Event:
Clay Guida (22-8) vs. Roger Huerta (19-1)
Main card (televised):
170 lbs.: Mac Danzig (16-4) vs. Tommy Speer (9-1)
170 lbs.: Jared Rollins (5-3) vs. John “War Machine” Koppenhaver (4-1)
170 lbs.: George Sotiropoulos (7-2) vs. Billy Miles (2-1)
170 lbs.: Ben Saunders (4-0-2) vs. Dan Barrera (0-0)
Under card (May not be broadcast):
170 lbs.: Troy “Rude Boy” Mandaloniz (2-1) vs. Richie Hightower (7-1)
170 lbs.: Matt Arroyo (2-1) vs. John Kolosci (8-4)
170 lbs.: Roman Mitichyan (3-1) vs. Dorian Price (7-2)
170 lbs.: Paul Georgieff (5-1) vs. Jonathan Goulet (19-9)
TUF 6 Finale airs for FREE on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET. Remember to join us for some LIVE coverage on fight night when the action starts right HERE. We’ll provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of the main card action, as well as quick results of the prelim fights on Saturday evening.
It’s a great time to discuss the fights with other readers before, during and after showtime. Definitely check it out if you have some time.
In the meantime, hit up our TUF 6 and TUF 6 Finale archives for just about everything you need to get up to speed on the season and the SpikeTV special event.
It’s a Team Hughes 170-pound showdown between Mac Danzig (16-4) and Tommy Speer (9-1) at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6 Finale on Saturday, December 8 at The Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Both fighters survived the 16-man tournament style competition and beat the odds — Danzig and Speer were the only two from their team to reach the quarterfinals.
Speer perhaps pulled off the upset of the season, knocking out early favorite George Sotiropoulis in the semifinals in devastating fashion. Danzig, meanwhile, rematched John Kolosci in the other half of the bracket and met with similar results — win via submission (rear naked choke) in round one.
Kolosci stepped up to replace Matt Arroyo who pulled himself out of the competition because of injured ribs.
This should be an interesting fight because Danzig is on the smaller side of 170 (he could most likely compete at 155) and Speer is big for a welterweight. On the other hand, Danzig has a world of experience under his belt with fights in major organizations such as Pride FC.
TUF 6 Finale is set to air this weekend at 9 p.m. on SpikeTV for free. It features the co-main event between lightweight contenders Roger Huerta and Clay Guida. Other contestants on this season of TUF are also booked to throwdown.
Remember, MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of the TUF 6 event this Saturday. Check back right here before, during and after fight night for some great discussion and fight analysis.
Stay tuned for more additions to the developing fight card.
The twelfth and final episode kicks off with a quick look at the matches that got us to the semifinals. Scheduled to fight are:
Mac Danzig vs. Matt Arroyo
Tommy Speer vs. George Sotiropoulos
That is of course until the nimble and fluid Richie Hightower does a faceplant into Matt Arroyo’s ribs during training.
Since we already know that someone bows out early this episode, it’s no surprise that Matt’s X-Rays reveal a cracked rib.
He gamely confronts Dana about the possibility of continuing and almost looks surprised when Dana doesn’t throw his arm around him and exclaim: “Safety first!”
Matt throws in the towel (almost a little too easily) and now it’s up to Dana and Coach Serra to recruit his replacement.
Since Serra’s first choice (Ben Saunders) is unable to compete due to injury, he runs down his list of sloppy seconds.
Just like season three, not everyone is up for the job. Jon Koppenhaver plans to just swing for the fences until he gasses while Troy Mandaloniz and Richie Hightower are afraid that making weight will be too hard for them on just three days notice.
That leaves John Kolosci, who in an unintentional Ross Pointon impersonation storms in and demands a fight with Mac Danzig. Dana likes what he hears and lines up Kolosci/Danzig II.
I wanted to share Dana’s enthusiasm, but in the back of my mind I knew there was a reason their first fight ended the way it did: John and Mac are fighters on two very different levels.
Mac, who is starting to sound more and more like Roy Batty with each passing episode, complains that fighting John for a second time puts him at a disadvantage. I didn’t agree but I guess it wouldn’t be a Mac segment if he wasn’t complaining about something.
A confident John Kolosci starts round one with a low kick. He charges in but Mac spins him like a dradle. John goes back to the low kick. He tries a high kick and lands on his keister ala Shamrock/Franklin.
John kicks again but this time Mac kicks back. Mac backs him up with a combo. Mac with a low kick but John catches it and they tie-up. Mac works him over and gets the takedown.
Mac keeps him immobilized and lands a few questionable shots to the back of the head prompting a Mazzagatti warning. More strikes that get Serra and Hughes yelling at each other from across the cage.
John postures up and Mac sinks in the rear naked choke. John taps and sends Mac to the finals. Serra, rarely at a loss for words, calls it a moral victory for John.
The show quickly shifts gears to prepare for Speer/Sotiropoulos. Hughes reveals that Tommy has a secret weapon: His heavy right hand. Knowing that someone gets KTFO in this episode, I feel a bit cheated with Hughes’ revelation.
George clomps around oozing confidence. He tries to give one of those foreboding predictions but comes off sounding a little like Jim Hellwig: “I don’t know what round it’s going to end, but I know it’s going to end.” Hughes is not impressed and calls George weak.
Round one opens with some fancy footwork as they try and size each other up. Tommy rushes but George simply sidesteps. Tommy charges again, this time throwing hands and gets a warning about his fingers.
Another Speer bumrush and George gets a thumb to the eye.
McCarthy halts the action and a quick OK from the Doc gets George right back into action (despite Serra’s advice to take more recovery time). The fight resumes and George looks like he has trouble with his vision.
Tommy takes advantage of a flatfooted George and lands a right. Then another. George goes down. Tommy mounts and pounds him out. Tommy Speer is heading to the finals to face Mac Danzig.
Team Hughes goes bananas. George wakes up and is obviously devastated but handles it with class.
The matches weren’t terrible, but they also weren’t spectacular. I think that kind of sums up the season for me.
Dana closes out the show with props for the coaches and a look ahead to the finale. The announcer gets perhaps the biggest laugh of the season when he asks: “Will the farmboy devour the vegan?”
Eliminated contestants from this season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), Ben Saunders (4-0-2) and Dan Barrera (0-0), will get to fight a third round after all — a rematch is scheduled for the TUF 6 Finale at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to FiveOuncesofPain.com.
The two first met in a two-round exhibition match on the show with Saunders earning a majority decision from the judges. It was a result that UFC President Dana White dubbed at the time one of the “worst decisions he’s ever seen.”
According to the report this bout will more than likely find its way onto the televised portion of the FREE SpikeTV special that begins at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 8. That’s probably because it was perhaps among the most exciting scraps in the 11 episodes that have aired this season.
Saunders was eliminated last night, losing a unanimous decision to Tommy Speer in the quarterfinals. Steve Cofield actually caught up with him and he explains that he was incredibly ill during the bout.
In fact, Saunders says the episode the show “didn’t even come close to showing how sick he really was.” Not to mention his nose was still broken from the Barrera fight.
To check out the Saunders audio exit interview with “Mr. Sunshine” click here.
Remember to also check out our latest TUF 6 Finale fight card right here. It’s just about filled up … only two more fights remain unknown.
Episode eleven starts with a rather broad recap of episodes past and I found myself a bit bewildered that it was already week eleven.
I also found myself somewhat deflated knowing that Serra and Hughes were no longer fighting - not that I’m ungrateful for Hughes/GSP III but the impending showdown between coaches always adds a little something to the show.
We get right into the prep for the Ben Saunders/Tommy Speer fight and as expected Serra wants Tommy out of the way. Readers will agree that I’m cynical enough to think it has more to do with Tommy resembling a young Matt Hughes than it does Ben winning.
Tommy’s future could be in jeopardy however because of the cut he suffered in his fight against Jon Koppenhaver. Jared takes one look at the cut and compares Tommy to the lion from the Chronicles of Narnia. I guess that makes Jared a Marsh-wiggle.
Tommy ends up having his stitches removed and gets cleared to fight. Mac thinks it’s the wrong decision but then again Mac thinks that about any decision that’s not his own.
Back at the house Troy, Jon and Richie decide to take the day off and relax which somehow translates into getting drunk and taking a dump in the back of the Team Hughes toilet.
Mac returns to the house and wants a piece of the newly shaven Hightower for his incessant giggling. If Mac thinks he’s mad now wait until he flushes the toilet and gets a steaming bowl of Koppenhaver’s beef stew.
Unfortunately Billy Miles is the unlucky flusher and he figures the best revenge is to tell Mac who is of course known for his rationale and even temper.
As it turns out Jared is the one who takes the news the hardest and he storms their bedroom like an ED-209. He winds up slapping the hat off Koppenhaver’s dome who responds by tackling him.
They are quickly separated and surprisingly go unpunished. Koppenhaver justifies his actions with his keen sense of reason: “I was drunk and bored, what else was I gonna do?”
Ladies beware: First dates with Jon Koppenhaver should not include alcohol.
Mac thinks that guys like Richie, Troy and Jon might not make the best representatives for the sport of MMA.
An interesting criticism coming from a contestant on a reality show.
At the weigh-ins Ben and Tommy both make weight but Ben wakes up the next morning a little pasty with a fever and vomiting. No doubt this is going to surface in the post-fight interview.
Serra reassures him with a demonstration of Tommy’s striking which is eerily reminiscent of Mike Haggar from Final Fight.
Round one starts with a quick tie-up and clinch. Tommy pushes him to the fence and takes him down. Ben lands a few shots from guard so Tommy picks him up and drops him.
Ben answers with a deep armbar but can’t finish it. He quickly transitions to a triangle choke but again can’t seal the deal. Tommy still on top looking unbreakable.
Tommy smothering a bloody Ben who is struggling to escape. Lots of energy being expended on both sides. Tommy postures up, avoids a few upkicks and lands a big shot from the top. A listless Ben looks gassed. The round ends with Tommy on top.
Round two opens with another faineant kick from Ben. Tommy shoots and drops him at the base of the cage. Ben gets to his feet but gets pulled right back down. Tommy controlling the fight. A lack of brisk action prompts a warning from Mazzagatti.
Ben rolls over but Tommy’s right there. Action again starts to slow and Mazz stands them up. This could be Ben’s last chance as he tries to time a flying knee but just misses and ends up on his back.
No action and Mazz uprights them again. An exhausted Ben kicks and swings for the fences and gets taken down for his efforts. Round two ends the same way round one did: Tommy on top scoring points.
Tommy wins by unanimous decision and Ben predictably pulls the sick card.
After the fight we get the semi-final picks with Dana, Serra and Hughes. Just like every other round of picks Serra talks and Hughes smirks.
The semifinals will be:
Mac Danzig vs. Matt Arroyo
Tommy Speer vs. George Sotiropoulos
Ah, but they won’t be! It’s revealed that by some circumstance one of the fighters is unable to continue. Who will bow out? Who will take his place? Who else will defecate on camera?
