The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos (Mar. 30th - Jun. 4th)

^ Guess not, LOL! Rader was clearly joking with him (and it looked like Ferguson was smiling before tackling him) but moments later Ferguson was seeing red. We've all got friends who are angry drunks and it seems that is Ferguson. Either that or he had some kind of grudge against Rader and it came out with the slightest provocation. Probably the booze.

I guess if you were to watch any episode this season, last night was it. The first fight, a rematch between O'Neil and Davis, was very good albeit one-sided. O'Neil came out throwing grenades and almost blinded Davis in the process. Davis' stand-up was completely exposed. Even though O'Neil gassed out in the second round, Davis had no answers. After getting emergency surgery on his detached retinas, Davis returned to the house with the grim news that his fighting career was over (should he follow the advice of his doctors). Yikes.

The second fight was somewhat gratifying. Spike really put the screws to McGillivray who was only on camera when he was weeping, which seemed pretty often. You know when they focus that much on one fighter's emotional roller-coaster that he is next to go--here is your 15mins, bro. Tell your story and GTFO. The knockout was a bit on the weak side because to me it seemed like McGillivray was ready to go home. He was tentative in the fight and was even hurt by the shots he blocked. Ferguson established himself as the top or number two contender to win the show along with "Stripper Ramsey" Nijem. Team dos Santos is now down to only one fighter in the quarter-finals.

Finally something happens at the house that is half interesting. After a night of drinking and partying, Charlie Rader channels his inner Bisping and splashes water on Ferguson's head, leading to a bit of roughhousing during which Ferguson goes into psycho mode. He doesn't get crazy violent but he tenses up like a beast ready to pounce and stays on the brink for hours.

Ferguson repeatedly brings up the fact that Rader's ugly custody battle has kept him from seeing his son for a year and a half, which is probably the douchiest thing Ferguson could say apropos of nothing. Rader is incensed but knows getting into a fight in the house could end any chance he has of fighting for the UFC at a later juncture, so he abstains. Ferguson goes with the "hit me, hit me first" routine which by now everybody recognizes as tantamount to dick-tucking so nothing ever really gets out of hand. After getting a chance to cool off in the pool, Ferguson returns to the house and is reminded of his inappropriate statements that he gladly repeats and fires everyone up again in the process. The show ends with everyone angry at him and Chuck O'Neil vowing revenge on his brother's behalf. So that was kind of a bad night.

Easily the high water mark for what has been a forgettable season. Coach Lesnar was asked in a radio interview with Mauro Renallo why he thought the ratings for the show had slipped and Lesnar considered if after 13 seasons the show format had gone stale. Dana White has been insistent that the show will continue for several more seasons and spin-off iterations are on the way--so Zuffa aren't dissuaded at this point.

 

Hey, that was fun. Right? Are we cool? Tony? Um, Tony? U mad, bro?

 

According to Chris Cope, Tony Ferguson downed a bottle of tequila after every win and had been abrasive before, picking fights and railing on people when he was drunk. At one point he dumped baking soda or flour on Charlie Rader's head, but Rader laughed it off. So this outburst had been picking up steam for a while.

 

http://www.sbnation.com/mma/2011/5/...te-fighter-13-episode-9-recap-what-went-wrong

 

Season's over and with the coaches fight not happening it will be even more forgettable.

Chris Cope fought all-defence against Ramsey Nijem and managed to wear him out. However his striking defence wasn't as good as his grappling and Nijem was able to clip him repeatedly in the second round en route to a stoppage victory. Oddly they didn't show any detailed replays and almost immediately cut away to the next series of events. I guess the show was a bit rushed this season with fewer episodes. Nijem didn't look great and I don't expect much from him for a few years yet.

Tony Ferguson easily dispatched a retreating Chuck O'Neill. Not much to say about that fight. If O'Neill was trying to make a statement he failed. The good guy Nijem bad guy Ferguson finale is easy to sell even though we're only two days out.

 

Depends on Tony's take-down defence I guess.