Sherdog.com's Guide to TUF 8
Scott Holmes Nov 20, 2008
Fear not readers, this week’s review of TUF will not be an affront
on your humanity. Feel confident as you read these words that you
will not be getting yourself into any kind of “sixteen fighters,
one cup” situation, unlike the previous two weeks.
No, this episode was more like a warm hug -- make that a lot of warm hugs. For those of you who have been paying attention, an episode containing hugs can only mean one thing … John Polakowski Week!
Yes, since the beginning of this season, we have heard all the
contestants talk about how Polakowski loves to hug. So of course on
the week he was slated to fight, we were treated to a hug montage.
One by one we saw shots of John clutching on to his buddies in the
house, spreading the love, all set to a nice breezy jazz tune you
might hear while shopping at a department store.
It’s not so much that Polakowski likes to hug. Plenty of us like a good hug now and then. The issue lies with the proximity of closeness between bodies and the length of the embrace. In short, John likes to get in there tight and hold on for just a second too long.
This week Polakowski was scheduled to face George Roop, who jacked up his hand after getting it jammed up in the fencing of the cage. Roop was forced to spend the night shivering with his fist in some ice, an act he called “the battle before the fight.”
The next morning Polakowski bared his teeth after finding his marshmallows were missing from his Lucky Charms. He wasn’t laughing, and after a while Team Mir realized that he wasn’t kidding around and wouldn’t accept their hugs.
“You can piss in everyone’s fruit, talk about his mom, but don’t f--- with his Lucky Charms. They must be magically delicious,” said Shane Nelson, not willing to leave that joke lying there on the floor.
Cereal wasn’t Polakowski’s only problem. He’s regarded as the nicest guy in the house, and that gave some people cause for pause.
Dana White did not like
the decision in the
Roop-Polakowski bout.
“John is the nicest guy I ever met, and I don’t know if he has the
killer instinct,” said teammate Phillipe Nover.
Roop’s swollen hand was OK’d, and Polakowski brought his tattoos and fiery new hairdo into the Octagon. The two fighters delighted their castmates by choosing to include a hug after touching gloves. Don’t Roop -- now you’re in Polakowski’s world!
Following the good-natured move came some nastiness, and this friendly affair turned into a fight. Roop was understandably cautious with his right hand, almost never using it, choosing to keep Polakowski at bay with kicks and lots of them.
Roop was in control of most of the first round, and by using a double-leg to get Polakowski on his back, it looked as if he might end the fight early. Polakowski fought his way back, reversing position and working in some ground-and-pound to finish the last minute or so.
In the second round, Roop decided to put his right hand back into the game and began to swing away. Polakowski landed a few punches that seemed to rattle Roop a little. Roop looked for takedowns, but Polakowski stuffed the attempts. Polakowski had much better luck once he closed the distance, putting Roop into his range.
Polakowski made a mistake by getting comfortable with the exchanges, and as he lazily stepped forward, Roop dropped under and secured another takedown. This time Roop was in complete control, working for positions and dropping elbows in between. Roop took Polakowski’s back and secured a body lock with his legs, which left Polakowski without many options. Polakowski spent the final minute fending off the rear-naked choke while Roop kept those legs clamped together like a vice.
In the end, Roop won a unanimous decision. After watching the fight twice, I agreed with the call, but apparently those on the show thought it was much closer. Dana White in particular was very upset with the decision, saying the fight should have gone another round and that it “kills him” when fighters are robbed.
After the fight, Frank Mir and his team reveled in their win.
“I’ll chop this hand off before I give up,” said Roop while he soaked his hand.
Mir wasn’t too classy in victory, and his boys all laughed about how Nogueira’s team and their moments of bonding didn’t amount to much in the end. Roop had just been through a war and didn’t say a word. In fact, he looked embarrassed of his team at that moment.
But wait, there was more as we still had to find out the semifinal matchups. Per usual, the fighters were brought in one by one and given the forum to opine on whom they would like to fight. For once, the matchups that the fighters wanted were the matchups Dana handed out. Here is how it will shake out:
Phillipe Nover will take on Roop in a top-ranked versus last-pick scenario. Krzysztof Soszynski meets Vinicius Magalhaes in a trap fight for the most experienced 205er against the most deadly on the ground. Ryan Bader answers the gauntlet thrown by Eliot Marshall in a grudge match based on competitiveness and pride. Lastly, Junie Allen Browning will dual with Efrain Escudero in a grudge mess based on some bull mess.
Let the countdown begin.
No, this episode was more like a warm hug -- make that a lot of warm hugs. For those of you who have been paying attention, an episode containing hugs can only mean one thing … John Polakowski Week!
Advertisement
It’s not so much that Polakowski likes to hug. Plenty of us like a good hug now and then. The issue lies with the proximity of closeness between bodies and the length of the embrace. In short, John likes to get in there tight and hold on for just a second too long.
Have you ever had someone hang onto your hand just a tad too long
after a handshake? Creepy, and the hug version of that can be
hellish, but John said it’s because, “No one really hugs anymore;
they just go through the motions.”
This week Polakowski was scheduled to face George Roop, who jacked up his hand after getting it jammed up in the fencing of the cage. Roop was forced to spend the night shivering with his fist in some ice, an act he called “the battle before the fight.”
The next morning Polakowski bared his teeth after finding his marshmallows were missing from his Lucky Charms. He wasn’t laughing, and after a while Team Mir realized that he wasn’t kidding around and wouldn’t accept their hugs.
“You can piss in everyone’s fruit, talk about his mom, but don’t f--- with his Lucky Charms. They must be magically delicious,” said Shane Nelson, not willing to leave that joke lying there on the floor.
Cereal wasn’t Polakowski’s only problem. He’s regarded as the nicest guy in the house, and that gave some people cause for pause.
Photo by
Sherdog.com
the decision in the
Roop-Polakowski bout.
Roop’s swollen hand was OK’d, and Polakowski brought his tattoos and fiery new hairdo into the Octagon. The two fighters delighted their castmates by choosing to include a hug after touching gloves. Don’t Roop -- now you’re in Polakowski’s world!
Following the good-natured move came some nastiness, and this friendly affair turned into a fight. Roop was understandably cautious with his right hand, almost never using it, choosing to keep Polakowski at bay with kicks and lots of them.
Roop was in control of most of the first round, and by using a double-leg to get Polakowski on his back, it looked as if he might end the fight early. Polakowski fought his way back, reversing position and working in some ground-and-pound to finish the last minute or so.
In the second round, Roop decided to put his right hand back into the game and began to swing away. Polakowski landed a few punches that seemed to rattle Roop a little. Roop looked for takedowns, but Polakowski stuffed the attempts. Polakowski had much better luck once he closed the distance, putting Roop into his range.
Polakowski made a mistake by getting comfortable with the exchanges, and as he lazily stepped forward, Roop dropped under and secured another takedown. This time Roop was in complete control, working for positions and dropping elbows in between. Roop took Polakowski’s back and secured a body lock with his legs, which left Polakowski without many options. Polakowski spent the final minute fending off the rear-naked choke while Roop kept those legs clamped together like a vice.
In the end, Roop won a unanimous decision. After watching the fight twice, I agreed with the call, but apparently those on the show thought it was much closer. Dana White in particular was very upset with the decision, saying the fight should have gone another round and that it “kills him” when fighters are robbed.
After the fight, Frank Mir and his team reveled in their win.
“I’ll chop this hand off before I give up,” said Roop while he soaked his hand.
Mir wasn’t too classy in victory, and his boys all laughed about how Nogueira’s team and their moments of bonding didn’t amount to much in the end. Roop had just been through a war and didn’t say a word. In fact, he looked embarrassed of his team at that moment.
But wait, there was more as we still had to find out the semifinal matchups. Per usual, the fighters were brought in one by one and given the forum to opine on whom they would like to fight. For once, the matchups that the fighters wanted were the matchups Dana handed out. Here is how it will shake out:
Phillipe Nover will take on Roop in a top-ranked versus last-pick scenario. Krzysztof Soszynski meets Vinicius Magalhaes in a trap fight for the most experienced 205er against the most deadly on the ground. Ryan Bader answers the gauntlet thrown by Eliot Marshall in a grudge match based on competitiveness and pride. Lastly, Junie Allen Browning will dual with Efrain Escudero in a grudge mess based on some bull mess.
Let the countdown begin.
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