THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER 9 EPISODE 10 RECAP – VIRGIN 1 TV REVIEW
TUF 9 - Team UK vs Team USA
Time for the semi final fights to kick off as we draw closer to see which 2 fighters will be crowned Ultimate Fighter in their respective welterweight and lightweight fight brackets . So who will move one step closer to the finale show?
The show starts as Dana White picks the matchups. Dana is tempted to mix it up with teams mate fighting each other but between him, Dan Henderson, Mike Bisping and the TUF 9 contestants they settle on keeping the competition as USA versus UK. Here are the pairings:
Nick Osipczak vs DeMarques Johnson
Andre Winner vs Cameron Dollar
Ross Pearson vs Jason Dent
James Wilks vs Frank Lester
First of the 4 bouts is between welterweights Nick and Demarques. In the USA camp Jason Pierce the contestant unable to fight is receiving a hard time from his fellow team mates. Richie Whitson is not keen on Pierce being friendly with Brit Dave Faulkner and Team UK in general.
During Johnson’s training session Hendo tells us Johnson is the one he picks as the welterweight winner of the show. Only time will tell if he has backed the right fighter. Usually in Johnson’s bouts he is the combatant boasting a height advantage but this time Nick has a slight edge over the American.
Leading up to the fight the rumour circulates that Pierce is giving away Team USA’s training secrets to the Brits. Henderson challenges Pierce on the matter but is eager to deny. It turns out Nick was behind asking Dave Faulkner to infiltrate Team USA via Jason Pierce.
Pre fight Bisping is shown pushing Nick hard in training. Mean while DeMarques prays for victory kneeling inside the UFC octagon. In paper it would be fair to say the more experienced mixed martial artist Johnson is the odds on favourite with 13 wins under his belt but the less expierenced Londoner Nick is undefeated at 3 and 0
Round 1) Demarques lands a hard blow on Nick. Nick gets taken down by the strong American wrestler but defends well soon regaining the upright position how Bisping taught him. As round progresses Johnson imposes his will on Nick in the ground game. Right at the end of the 1st round the Brit fighter fights back on to his feet laying into the American nearly finishing him. That what was one heck of an exciting round.
Round 2) Nick takes down DeMarques but unfortunately for the Brit he turns it around snatching top position. Johnson continues to dominate on top throughout the round. At one point during the onslaught Bisping from the Team UK corner protests at what appears to be back of the head stikes aimed at Nick. He covers up, defending just enough to see the fight through to a 3rd and final round!
Round 3) In the standup exchanges Johnson lands a huge knee to the head of Londoner Nick. Aiming a kick at Johnson, Nick is taken down once more. Demarques is strong on the canvas, eventually Nick turns it around taking top position. The fight goes the distance, Johnson won on the score card but it was one hell of a scrap. The first MMA loss for Nick Osipczak but I’m sure we’ll see more this talented young Brit mixed martial artist.
Demarques Johnson secures his seat in the final versus the winner of James Wilks and Frank Lester. Next episode on tonight at 11pm on Virgin1 tonight will see the 4 light weights square off in episode 11. The following week showing in US on June 20th will be finale show.
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.
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UFC & MMA blog by Dynamite Duane