Sherdog’s Guide to ‘The Ultimate Fighter’
Scott Holmes May 26, 2010
Lessons are best learned from life experience, fathers and one Dana
White. Kyle
Noke and Kris McCray
are both about to hear the school bell.
“When I called the McCray-Noke fight you could tell how bummed out those guys were and couldn’t believe it, but guess what? One of the things I want these guys to learn early: there are no friends in the UFC,” White tells the camera.
Before we get to that fight, coach Tito Ortiz has
his own problems. One of the discs in his back is pressing on his
spinal cord resulting in numbness in his back and legs. Ortiz has
had back issues before and the ailment could be threatening his
chance to fight rival coach Liddell at the end of the season.
Noke is a heavy favorite going into this one. Even McCray’s own coach, Ortiz, isn’t too confident in the outcome, saying that McCray could “possibly” take Noke after giving the Aussie the nod as the overall better fighter.
In the fight, McCray puts Noke on his back every chance he gets and tries his best to keep him there. McCray doesn’t mount too much offense other than a slam or two but he keeps Noke in check for most of the two rounds. Noke does his best to score points when he has a chance, attempting a guillotine and hitting McCray with some solid shots while on bottom.
It’s close, but having almost never been in a compromising position, McCray’s team is convinced he did the right things to win and White brushes off the ring card girl, telling her not to worry about the third-round card.
“My bad,” White shrugs afterward. “It’s not over.”
The judges have decide another round is needed.
McCray goes after it in the third, emboldened by knowing he can once again bully Noke to the ground. As opposed to laying-and-praying like the first two rounds, he’s much more active and authoritative giving Noke nowhere to go, smashing and dealing out some short punches and elbows.
There’s no argument after the final round and McCray is given a unanimous decision, prompting White to give this warning: “I think Noke needs to work on his wrestling big time. You can’t come into this sport without takedown defense. You can’t.”
It’s time to point out that while he had no speaking role in this episode, Nick Ring once again steals the show by sporting an unsettling goatee of epic proportions. Who is this man of mystery?
Back at the house, Liddell catches wind that Ortiz may need neck surgery and won’t be available for their tête-à -tête in May. Liddell unleashes a string of expletives so long that it’s impossible to decipher. It sounds unkind; I can tell you that much.
Time for Brad Tavares and Seth Baczynski to square off next. Tavares is cool as a fan.
“The only thing I’m worried about is that I like the guy, you know?” he says.
But how much does Baczynski like Tavares?
After latching onto Tavares’ back almost immediately, Baczynski wraps his legs around for a body lock that has Tavares on the defensive for a couple of minutes. Tavares finally slips out after Baczynski tries to make an adjustment and climbs a little too high up his back. Tavares wades through some upkicks trying to get to Baczynski’s face from a standing position.
As the round comes to a close, Tavares tries to pour it on and finish strong, but he falls after missing with a knee. During the scramble, Baczysnki throws a soccer kick that connects flush on the jaw, dropping Tavares momentarily with a flash KO as the bell sounds.
Baczynski immediately reacts by reaching out to apologize, believing he’s just made a huge mistake. Tavares shakes him off and isn’t quite sure what he’s apologizing for before stumbling back to his corner.
Tavares is still out of it after the one-minute rest period. His corner and the doctor agree that he can’t continue, but he gets the win thanks to a disqualification.
“I wasn’t really worried about the fight really. I was worried about him,” Baczynski says afterward.
One of the judges believes that Tavares only got kicked in the chest --which is legal -- and so does Ortiz and assistant coach Saul Soliz. Both are more than vocal with their argument. Soliz comments that this is Team Liddell’s second “gift,” alluding to Rich Attonito’s previous win. Attonito takes great offense to this and tells Soliz to “Shut up, you fat f---.”
Ortiz is losing his mind and moves toward Joe Henle, so Liddell and team race over to protect and prevent a minor skirmish from going full-blown riot. Afterward, Liddell is kind enough to offer to kick Ortiz in the face as a sort of “walk a mile in Brad Tavares’ shoes” idea.
The episode comes to a close with White pulling Liddell into a separate room to notify him that Ortiz has pulled out of their May fight. Liddell instantly looks for something to throw.
“Don’t break the phone,” cautions White.
“When I called the McCray-Noke fight you could tell how bummed out those guys were and couldn’t believe it, but guess what? One of the things I want these guys to learn early: there are no friends in the UFC,” White tells the camera.
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Noke is a heavy favorite going into this one. Even McCray’s own coach, Ortiz, isn’t too confident in the outcome, saying that McCray could “possibly” take Noke after giving the Aussie the nod as the overall better fighter.
There’s not much to speak of when it comes to pre-fight hype
between Noke and McCray since they’re friends and training partners
outside the show. McCray wants to take the fight to the ground and
says he won’t take no for an answer. Noting their past together, he
probably knows where his best chance is.
In the fight, McCray puts Noke on his back every chance he gets and tries his best to keep him there. McCray doesn’t mount too much offense other than a slam or two but he keeps Noke in check for most of the two rounds. Noke does his best to score points when he has a chance, attempting a guillotine and hitting McCray with some solid shots while on bottom.
It’s close, but having almost never been in a compromising position, McCray’s team is convinced he did the right things to win and White brushes off the ring card girl, telling her not to worry about the third-round card.
“My bad,” White shrugs afterward. “It’s not over.”
The judges have decide another round is needed.
McCray goes after it in the third, emboldened by knowing he can once again bully Noke to the ground. As opposed to laying-and-praying like the first two rounds, he’s much more active and authoritative giving Noke nowhere to go, smashing and dealing out some short punches and elbows.
There’s no argument after the final round and McCray is given a unanimous decision, prompting White to give this warning: “I think Noke needs to work on his wrestling big time. You can’t come into this sport without takedown defense. You can’t.”
It’s time to point out that while he had no speaking role in this episode, Nick Ring once again steals the show by sporting an unsettling goatee of epic proportions. Who is this man of mystery?
Back at the house, Liddell catches wind that Ortiz may need neck surgery and won’t be available for their tête-à -tête in May. Liddell unleashes a string of expletives so long that it’s impossible to decipher. It sounds unkind; I can tell you that much.
Time for Brad Tavares and Seth Baczynski to square off next. Tavares is cool as a fan.
“The only thing I’m worried about is that I like the guy, you know?” he says.
But how much does Baczynski like Tavares?
After latching onto Tavares’ back almost immediately, Baczynski wraps his legs around for a body lock that has Tavares on the defensive for a couple of minutes. Tavares finally slips out after Baczynski tries to make an adjustment and climbs a little too high up his back. Tavares wades through some upkicks trying to get to Baczynski’s face from a standing position.
As the round comes to a close, Tavares tries to pour it on and finish strong, but he falls after missing with a knee. During the scramble, Baczysnki throws a soccer kick that connects flush on the jaw, dropping Tavares momentarily with a flash KO as the bell sounds.
Baczynski immediately reacts by reaching out to apologize, believing he’s just made a huge mistake. Tavares shakes him off and isn’t quite sure what he’s apologizing for before stumbling back to his corner.
Tavares is still out of it after the one-minute rest period. His corner and the doctor agree that he can’t continue, but he gets the win thanks to a disqualification.
“I wasn’t really worried about the fight really. I was worried about him,” Baczynski says afterward.
One of the judges believes that Tavares only got kicked in the chest --which is legal -- and so does Ortiz and assistant coach Saul Soliz. Both are more than vocal with their argument. Soliz comments that this is Team Liddell’s second “gift,” alluding to Rich Attonito’s previous win. Attonito takes great offense to this and tells Soliz to “Shut up, you fat f---.”
Ortiz is losing his mind and moves toward Joe Henle, so Liddell and team race over to protect and prevent a minor skirmish from going full-blown riot. Afterward, Liddell is kind enough to offer to kick Ortiz in the face as a sort of “walk a mile in Brad Tavares’ shoes” idea.
The episode comes to a close with White pulling Liddell into a separate room to notify him that Ortiz has pulled out of their May fight. Liddell instantly looks for something to throw.
“Don’t break the phone,” cautions White.
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