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The series continues with Team USA trailing 3 to 4 but they are gaining on Mike Bisping’s Team UK. Last time we find out Jason Pierce had lost his opportunity. Dana White meets with the Welter weight fighters to see who wants it the most to take Pierce’s spot versus David Faulkner. Frank Lester is the man begging for the chance to enter the octagon again despite having his teeth knocked out last time. Dana admires his heart and so chooses Lester despite his war wounds.

 Bisping is not happy with Henderson and the change of training times, he doesn’t want to switch just because Dan Henderson says so. The reason for the change is due to Frank Lester not being 100% for the clash with Dave Faulkner. A wound up Bisping squirts water at DaMarques Johnson, the guy he thought made a racist comment at him during the tennis game coaches challenge previously. After it was explained DaMarques was the wrong man Bisping apologises for his antics.

In an attempt to sort his gag reflex problem Dave Faulkner visits a hypnotherapist. But did the therapy do the trick?

So here we  have it the final preliminary of the season from the welters. Bisping has a lot riding on Faulkner, for one he a fellow Wolfslair fighter and secondly if he loses to Lester Bisping’s Team UK will no longer be in the lead but neck and neck with the Americans.

Round 1) A close first round with Faulkner taking a slight advantage.

Round 2) Well Faulkner wasn’t totally cured of his gag reflex problem since the gum shield flew out causing referee Steve Mazzagatti to call for a time out early on in the round. American Lester makes good use of the Muay Thai clinch piling in some strong knee strikes. Faulkner appears tired but manages to land some good punches to Lester. Another closely fought round. Dana declares a third round to decide the winner. Mean while in Faulkner’s corner the Team UK coach Bisping is having a hard job encouraging the Liverpudlian to continue. Despite all the words of encouragement Faulkner gives in to his body, the third round wasn’t to be.

A dark day for Team UK but only Faulkner does how he feels. Frank Lester deserves the victory, the guy has a ton of heart, you got to admire that him taking this fight and winning coming off a loss so soon and losing his front teeth.

Team UK 4 – 4 Team USA

Bisping is gutted to be blunt. Storming off for a breather he takes 4 remaining contestants to one side for a chat preparing them for the semi finals away from Faulkner. Bisping has got to feel disappointed since David Faulkner was the fighter he talked up so much being  a fellow Wolfslair team member.

Episode 10 the semi final picks plus two welters clash in the cage.

Make sure you tune into Virgin 1 every Sunday at 11pm in the UK on Freeview TV, Sky or Virgin Media. Setanta Sports subscribers can catch The Ultimate Fighter second showing every Wednesday. Over in the States the programme is aired on Spike TV a few days earlier.

Check out my brand new UFC blog by visiting http://blurayufc.com/ the sister site of bluraymma.com

MMA blog by Dynamite Duane

duane@bluraymma.com

www.myspace.com/dynamite_duane

This episode we see Brit fighter David Faulkner not struggling with training in the usual sense but trying to get over his gum shield phobia. Dave’s problem is a gag reflex from wearing a gum shield. Something you can do without as a mixed martial artist, seeing as it is essential to protect your teeth inside the octagon.

Mean while in Dan Henderson’s American training camp Jason Pierce is suffering from what is now known to be a Staph infection. It is still unclear wether Pierce is going to fight.

Next up Henderson gives his trainees a timeout  from the gruelling sparring and strength training as Team USA play the Ultimate Frisbee. It’s a game of Frisbee but with a squad of ultimate fighters it is resembling a game of Rugby on a dusty pitch in Arizona. Despite the morale boost of the team game out in the open Pierce with his ailment is a source of negative energy for the his team mates.

The next fight in the lightweight category is decided between Bournemouth Bulldog gym fighter Jeff Lawson against American Jason Dent. Both guys are technically sound MMA practioners. Lawson is the fighter I have been waiting to see since he impressed me on the first episode plus he is a Bournemouth lad so I’m rooting for him.  

Over in Team USA coach Hendo is having problems with Dent who is not open to learning, strange considering this is a once in a life time opportunity for the American mixed martial artist.

Along with being a fantastic grappler and all round exciting fighter Jeff Lawson turns out to be a funny entertaining bloke to watch on TV. This my friends and fellow ultimate fight fanatics is the episode of the pro wrestling match! What a classic moment seeing 3 real fighters Faulkner, Amarasinghe and Lawson donning Lucha Libre style masks acting out WWE wrestling in the TUF 9 house. Not only was it fun to see them vertical suplex each other off the diving board but a great example of Team UK’s bonding. There was me presuming Team USA would get up to tongfoolery of that kind.

Jeff Lawson is fully prepared for the fight ahead of him having recovered from a chest infection earlier in the series. By appearance Lawson does not standout as an obvious tough guy like Brit MMA legend Ian Freeman for instance but watch out for this red devil.

Mean while Dana White questions Jason Pierce if he can fight because a decision needs to be made. Dana is not convinced he really wants it. Could someone else get another crack at it? Who might replace Pierce?

Jeff Lawson’s opponent Jason Dent is sure of himself, expressing confidence in kicking Lawson’s butt.

It’s fight time, Herb Dean is the fight official for this lightweight bout.

Round 1) Lawson is exciting watch, impressing attacking with a Capoirora  style kick. Dorset lad Lawson dominates the 1st round on the mat, attempting numerous submissions to tapout Dent. Dent defends himself managing to last the round but it doesn’t look good for the American fighter.

Round 2)  Another exciting fast paced round which inluded more aerial  assault from Lawson in the form of a flying knee. The problem for Lawson despite the heart he shows he is gassed appearing not to be fully fit to go the distance since his chest infection. Dent on the ground sneaks in an Anaconda choke to take the win by tap out. The chest infection affected Lawson’s cardio but still looked ace despite gassing. If anyone can recommend me a DVD featuring Lawson please let me known.

Dent won but Dana White was not impressed by Dent’s performance. There you have it UK 4-3 USA. We are still ahead but the Yanks are gaining on us.

At the close of the show Dana declares Pierce is not going to fight. The question remains of who will take his place?

Make sure you tune into Virgin 1 every Sunday at 11pm in the UK on Freeview TV, Sky or Virgin Media. Setanta Sports subscribers can catch The Ultimate Fighter second showing every Wednesday. Over in the States the programme is aired on Spike TV a few days earlier.

 
MMA blog by Dynamite Duane

duane@bluraymma.com

www.myspace.com/dynamite_duane

Press Release

BILOXI, Miss. (May 21, 2009) – Fresh off his 24-second destruction of Mike Cook, former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley called his June 27th showdown against Bob “The Beast” Sapp in the “Ultimate Chaos” pay-per-view event headliner, live from the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi, the “Battle of the Giants.”

Ultimate Chaos,” presented by Prize Fight Promotions and Fight Force International, in association with the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum, Treasure Bay Casino and Budweiser, is being produced and distributed by Gotham MMA and Integrated Sports at 9:00PM ET/6:00PM PT in the United States and Canada on cable and satellite Pay Per View via iNDemand, TVN, DirecTV, Bell TV, Shaw, Star Choice and Viewer’s Choice for a suggested retail price of only $29.95.

The 6-2, 255-pound Lashley, 3-time NAIA wrestling champion at Missouri Valley College, is an incredible physical specimen. Bobby joined the U.S. Army and was a 2-time Armed Forces Champion and 2002 Military Games Championship silver medalist. Two years ago, the chiseled Lashley became a WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) superstar, joining Donald Trump at Wrestlemania 23 in a bet against WWE president Vince McMahon. Lashley won the match and helped Trump shave McMahon’s head in the ring.

Bobby’s third pro MMA fight was a major hit last weekend as he displayed tremendous power submitting Cook, who had taunted the unbeaten Lashley by wearing a pro wrestling-type mask into their fight, with a near spine-snapping Guillotine choke. Bobby looked like a much more polished MMA fighter than he did in his previous three-round decision against Jason Guida.

“He tried to get in my head but I wasn’t going to let him,” Bobby explained. “He probably saw that the opponent in my previous fight had gotten a little in my head, but I learned from that experience and just shrugged it off this time. I trained hard and knew I was ready for that fight. My cardio was great and I worked on my boxing. I’ve reached a level of validation. When he put that mask on, I was only concerned with being validated to my opponent. The WWE thing will always be there, whether I have three or 300 MMA fights, but I’m glad that I have that WWE fanbase.”

Lashley fights a larger man for the first time in MMA action when he steps into the cage against an imposing 6-4, 350-pound Sapp (10-3-1), who played in the NFL for four years before becoming an iconic combat fighter in Japan, where he starred in PRIDE and K-1.

“Most heavyweights (in MMA) weigh 230-240 and that’s the size of guys I’ve fought,” Lashley said. “But I’m fighting a huge opponent in this coming fight. This guy must have weighed 370 at the press conference. Even if he gets down to 340, he’ll still outweighs me by around 85 pounds. Sapp’s really aggressive and I know he’s going to come out hard. He won’t be able to go through me, though. He’s strong but his weakness is in the gas tank, even though I know he’s training hard for this fight. It’s going to be a good fight.

“We liked this fight when it was first offered. When I fight there’s always been a ‘but’ after it. It was a good fight but …….fill in the blank. Well, I’m fighting a bigger guy who’s popular overseas. I don’t think this fight will go long. It certainly won’t be a long, drawn-out fight. There will be a lot of heavy blows, lots of banging – ‘Battle of the Giants!’ I’m training right now back home in Colorado. I like working in the altitude but I’ll probably make a brief trip to train (with American Top Team) in Florida where there are a lot of big guys at our fight club. I may have to stack three guys up (to simulate Sapp, Bobby jokingly said). I have some big guys here I’m training with. They not be quite as big as Sapp, but they’re big, very strong and have heavy hands like Bob.”

Controversial Dutch heavyweight Gilbert “The Hurricane” Yvel (35-13-3) takes on 3-time UFC title challenger Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo (16-8-0) in an intriguing co-feature. Former King Of The Cage and Gladiator Challenge champion Javier “Showtime” Vasquez (12-2-0) meets dangerous lightweight Din “Dinyero” Thomas (24-8-0), star of The Ultimate Fighter 4; Canadian lightweight sensation Chris “The Polish Hammer” Horodecki (12-1-0) faces 4-time World Muay Thai champion William “The Bull” Sriyapai (12-4-0).

Also fighting on the card are welterweights Brett Cooper (8-4-0) vs. Waachiim “Native Warrior” Spirit Wolf (5-4), Affliction vice president Tom Atencio (1-0) vs. pro debuting lightweight Randy Hedderick, middleweight James Orso (8-3-0) vs. Colby McMahan (3-1-0), The Ultimate Fighter 3 star Danny Abbadi (3-4-0) vs. veteran middleweight Lance Thomson (4-2-0); welterweight Eric Bradley (2-1-0), 2-time All-America wrestler and 2003 NCAA boxing champion at Penn State, vs. Belfast, Northern Ireland brawler Colin McKee (3-2-0). All fights and fighters are subject to change.

Tickets are priced at $25.00 (limited discount seating), $40.00 (general admission) and $55.00 (premium reserved seating) and sale at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum and all TicketMaster outlets.

For more information go to www.theultimatechaos.com, www.fightforce.org or www.mscoastcoliseum.com. Doors open at 5PM/CT, first fight 6 PM/CT, and the first PPV fight is at 8 PM/CT.

 

- So there we have it’s now 100% official! I am just hoping Bravo or another satellite channel in the UK grab the chance to air this for us MMA fans not stateside.

 

MMA blog by Dynamite Duane

duane@bluraymma.com

www.myspace.com/dynamite_duane

Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping is pleased to be in the lead once again but will
Team UK maintain their lead over their American counterparts – Team USA?

The next pair of Welter Weights to compete on TUF 9 will be Brit and Wolfslair graduate David Faulkner taking on the American Jason Pierce. A bit of an odd matchup in the sense that these 2 have bonded well and become good mates. All of that will have to be left behind when they enter the UFC octagon.

Ginger haired Richie Whitson has the contagious skin condition Impetigo,
fellow American Jason Pierce is paranoid about catching it, hoping to prevent the spread to him and everyone else he sprays a can of disinfectant all over the TUF house.

Pierce has an ankle injury giving him bother in trainin, which doesn’t bode well going into his fight versus Faulkner.

Mike Bisping employs the use of a slegde hammer and a massive 6 foot wide tractor tyre for Team UK fighters which doesn’t go smoothly to say the least!  One wack of the hammer misses the tyre denting the floor while someone else breaks the mat!

Back over in the American camp Pierce grumbles about the way he is being pushed physcially. Dripping in sweat Pierce quits the sparring session inside the cage. Some of his team mates get the impression Pierce does not want to fight Faulkner. We have the same old story of Team USA not sticking together as a unit.

You remember the sledge hammer incidents? Well there was one more, Faulkner accidently hit his own leg causing himself an injury resulted in the need for antibiotics due to infection. Pre fight it doesn’t look for positive for either welter weight fighter.

Time for some fun games as this week is the Coaches Challenge. UFC main man Dana White chooses tennis of all things. The money on the table is $1500 each for the winning team. Dan Henderson turns out to the better man on the court and there is a lot barracking from the USA team mates. Bisping wins some games but ultimately gets thrashed by Hendo to the pleasure of the American TUF 9 contestants. Bisping was peeed off at the jibes aimed at his pale legs.

The programme makers keep us in suspense as to wether the welter weight matchup will happen as a lightweight clash is announced for between American Richie Whitson and Brit battler Ross Pearson from Sunderland. Dan Henderson has high hopes for Whitson one of his proteges. Before their fight Richie celebrates his birthday with a surprise cake complete with candles courtesy of the UFC.

Both Whitson and Pearson make the required 155 lbs weight bracket at the weigh-ins. Pearson looks to be a real force to be contended with for Whitson.

Round 1)
The fight is a real rough and tough brawl. Whitson receives a slamming from the aggressive Pearson. During Whitson’s takedown attempt on Pearson the Brit strikes the American straight in the face kneeing him. Due to Whitson’s position the blow was illegal, consequently he Ross Pearson loses one point and Whitson is allowed a timeout. The timeout does ginger haired Whitson no favours as Pearson snatches a the tapout victory via Armbar submission. A win for Pearson and Bisping’s Team UK extend their lead over their American opposition.

UK 4-2 USA.

The action and excitement gets better each week. Next we’ll finally see what transpires between David Faulkner and Jason Pierce.

Make sure you tune into Virgin 1 every Sunday at 11pm in the UK on Freeview TV, Sky or Virgin Media. Setanta Sports subscribers can catch The Ultimate Fighter second showing every Wednesday. Over in the States the programme is aired on Spike TV a few days earlier.

MMA blog by Dynamite Duane

duane@bluraymma.com

www.myspace.com/dynamite_duane

UFC 98 is fast approaching with just a week to go until May 23rd when the UFC return to Las Vegas and live PPV cage fighting action. The original plan for the main event was all set to decide the UFC Heavyweight championship between Interim champ Frank Mir and defending champion Brock Lesnar in his first title defence but as we all now know that fight is rescheduled for UFC 100 in July.  So we have a little longer to wait but the double main event heading UFC 98 looks wicked.

First off in the top slot Rashad Evans defends the Light Heavyweight crown against challenger Lyoto Machida. For Rashad this will be his first defence of the title against Machida, a very worthy contender. Machida is undeated in the octagon boasting a unique style of countering his opponents attack coupled with a fantastic ability to avoid taking punishment from his attacker. Evans versus Machida the Karate master will be interesting seeing as they are stylistic so different where Evans is a superb wrestler and excellent striker. Can Evans overcome Machida’s strategy or will Lyoto continuing his winning streak and add the UFC Light Heavyweight belt to his trophy cabinet?

Check out this highlight preview video at youtube.com to wet your appetite for their light heavyweight championship showdown next weekend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBzYdPq59kw

The co-headliner for UFC 98 will be the long-delayed welterweight
bout between Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. This one is a grudge match dating back to season 6 of The Ultimate Fighter where Serra and Hughes were the opposing coaches of the welterweight fighters. These guys just do not like each other, it’s as simple as that. Each fighter are two totally opposite characters. Hughes is the Mid-Western famer’s boy with Christian values, then we have Serra a loud mouthed Italian American hailing from New York. It’s fair to say both fighters need to prove themselves in this fight to climb back up to the challengers position for another shot at Georges St Pierre’s Welterweight belt. As with Machida and Evans here again Joe Silva and Dana White have booked another clash of styles which is what makes an exciting fight when you have wrestler against a BJJ submission specialist.  Personally I would love to see Serra take the victory due to how Serra comes across as a nice guy and Hughes is the villain you love to hate.

Follow the build up to Matt Serra versus Matt Hughes at UFC98.
If you enjoyed watching Serra on TUF 6 you will love this, he’s a great little character. Serra is a down to earth engaging guy you would want to go for a beer with.

Matt Serra UFC 98 Video Blog – Day 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb4bK8K2sUQ

Matt Serra UFC 98 Video Blog – Day 2, taped on 5/6/09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvrkaRUTcCM

Matt Serra UFC 98 Video Blog – Day 3 Matt Serra UFC 98 Video Blog – Day 3 (Last Day, taped on 5/8)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhuCp5BUDo4

See Serra and his trainer make media appearances on TV and radio,
including a phone in to Setanta Sports Ultimate Talk from the gym.

Here is the finalised event card in full.

Main Card Bouts:
-Rashad Evans (16-0-1) vs. Lyoto Machida (14-0)
-Matt Hughes (42-7) vs. Matt Serra (11-5)
-Dan Miller (11-1) vs. Chael Sonnen (21-10-1)
-Sean Sherk (33-3-1) vs. Frankie Edgar (9-1)
-Drew McFedries (7-5) vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam (20-10)

Preliminary Card Bouts:
-Brock Larson (25-2) vs. Chris Wilson (14-5)
-Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-3) vs. Brandon Wolff (7-3)
-Tim Hague (9-1) vs. Patrick Barry (4-0)
-Phillipe Nover (7-1) vs. Kyle Bradley (13-6)
-Andre Gusmao (5-1) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (17-8-1)
-George Roop (10-5) vs. David Kaplan (3-3)

You can watch UFC 98 live on Setanta Sports in the UK or on pay per view in the USA.

MMA blog by Dynamite Duane

duane@bluraymma.com

www.myspace.com/dynamite_duane

Following Nick Osipczak’s knockout win for Team UK the American TUF hopefuls came to realise the Brits mean business. Where the Yanks went wrong is believing the British fighters are one-dimensional strikers. Osipczak showed himself to be a canny well-rounded fighter.

Next we get to see Team USA training but mostly not getting on and picking fights we each other. Generally it seems they are all out for themselves, not willing to help each other. Henderson attempts to pull them together as a unit boosting morale in the American camp.

Time to choose the next preliminary bout it’s Bisping’s turn he picks Andre Winner representing the UK against former IFL fighter Santino Defranco in the lightweight bracket.

Dre looks impressive in training taking down Mike Bisping having just learnt the skill from him.

Defranco has got a lot of heart since returning to MMA following brain surgery after attempting to be on an earlier season of The Ultimate Fighter. That really shows strength of character.

Fight time.
Round 1)
Dre looks good defending and attacking in the stand up battle. On the mat Dre gets snared in Defranco’s guard, it doesn’t look good for the Brit but he takes Bispings advice breaking free to drop some bombs on his grounded opponent grabbing the TKO win. Team UK 2-0!

Defranco’s loss was the second consecutive loss for Dan Henderon’s team. Hendo doesn’t seem great at inspiring his fighters plus Team USA are not gelling well as a unit. The difference with the two factions is Team UK have no egos and happily learn from each other and have fun along the way but the American TUF contestants are a different kettle of fish.

This week we are treated to a second battle inside the cage as the competition continues Henderson gets the pick. For the third preliminary bout it is the turn of the welterweights. DaMarques Johnson is chosen versus Dean Amarasinghe of Nottingham. Both fighters are hot prospects, Dean beat veteran Brit mixed martial artist Alex Reid and DaMarques is the more experienced taller fighter. Pre fight the Utah native Johnson prays inside the octagon grateful for the opportunity.

It is fight time but someone is missing, Mike Bisping is AWOL, which does not bode well for Amarasinghe. Dean is not without a corner-man as Bispng’s own coaches Mario Sukata and Dave Jackson are on hand.

Round 1)
Johnson swiftly shoots in taking down Amarasinghe to the canvas. Johnson outclasses the Brit utilising his BJJ skills taking the first win for via Triangle submission tapping him out.

The win appears to be a huge morale booster for the American lads but the UK loss reflects badly on the absent Michael Bisping, ultimately Johnson was the better man on the day getting the result that counted.

Next week:
Where was Bisping? Will Team USA work together? Two more fights inside the UFC octagon.

Make sure you tune into Virgin 1 every Sunday at 11pm in the UK on
Freeview TV, Sky or Virgin Media. Setanta Sports subscribers can catch The Ultimate Fighter the second showing every Wednesday. Over in the States the programme is aired on Spike TV.

MMA blog by Dynamite Duane
duane@bluraymma.com
www.myspace.com/dynamite_duane

Rob Browning the brother of last season’s entrant and attention seeker Junie Browning wasting no time in getting himself noticed on camera and in the process wound up a lot of people. Browning indiscriminately launched eggs at his fellow TUF 9 contestants from a far. He didn’t seem to care who he annoyed regardless of being British or American. His notoriety earns himself the nickname 15 minutes as appears so keen to have his own 15 minutes of fame.

 

Team USA still needed one more Welterweight fighter and one more lightweight fighter to be decided in tonight’s eliminations before the series can progress to team versus team. First up the welters.

 

Kiel Reid fought it out with Frank Lester for the remaining place with the welters on the squad. Lester pre fight told us he wanted to stand and duke it out but gets taken down by Reid. Reid is dominant on the deck, wrestling looks to be his strong suit. The fight ends by Reid inadvertently knocking himself out when he takes down Lester hitting his own head into the floor of the octagon. Lester had a Kimura submission hold on him but Reid was out and unable to tap out. An unfortunate loss to Reid but anything can happen inside the cage. Frank Lester advances to the TUF house joining Dan Henderson’s Team USA.

 

The second and last Team USA decider saw Rob Browning compete against Jason Dent for the remaining lightweight spot. Would Rob Browning make it as far as his brother? We were about to find out. Into the bout there were good exchanges from both mixed martial artists until Dent overwhelms Browning on the mat utilising a ground and pound assault for the win. Dent to stay, Browning to go home to everyone else’s pleasure.

 

The final squad for Team USA

 

U.S. welterweights

 

Frank Lester

 

Mark Miller – Chicago

 

Jason Pierce – Iowa.

 

DaMarques Johnson – Salt Lake City

 

 

U.S. lightweights

 

Jason Dent

 

Richie Whitson – Alaskan residing in California

 

Santino DeFranco – IFL

 

Cameron Dollar – Colorado Springs

 

 

 

Next episode the competition between the two nations kicks off now all team members have been decided following the elimination bouts. Dana White flips the TUF coin, Team USA win the toss picking the first fight between the rival nations.

 

Make sure you tune into Virgin 1 every Sunday at 11pm in the UK on Freeview, Sky or Virgin Media. If you have Setanta Sports you can catch the episode repeated each Wednesday. Over in the States the programme is aired on Spike TV.

 

 

 

MMA blog by Dynamite Duane

duane@bluraymma.com

www.myspace.com/dynamite_duane