From MMATorch.com
TUF 9 Episode 7 - Does Ross Pearson Sh*t In The Woods?
By By: Jason Bent, MMATorch Columnist
May 14, 2009 - 7:06:39 AM
This week's edition of 'The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom' opened up from the gym where Team U.K. was being put through their paces by Coach Bisping. "It feels great to be in the lead again," says Bisping, who feels much better with his team back in control and up three fights to two over Team United States. David Faulkner is said to be next up to fight and Team U.K. sings his praises. Martin Stapleton in particular speaks highly of Faulkner and ranks him high for both his stand up game as well as his wrestling. Michael Bisping feels that David Faulkner is the best fighter in the welterweight division, but also seems to think that he could beat everyone on the show. Sadly, the talent pool isn't exactly the deepest of all time, so when you say that any of these men could beat all of the others, it really isn't saying all that much in my opinion.
We head to the house next where we see Team U.S.A. hanging out, and it comes to light that Richie Whitson has a very contagious bacterial infection called impetigo. He has a huge and inflamed sore next to his lip which looks as nasty as the infection sounds. This infection is one which can be spread by way of close contact and is treated by antibiotics in usually just a few days. Jason Pierce sees this huge lesion and he is in no way comforted by the prognosis of impetigo, and he says to Whitson, "I like you but I won't hesitate to put a stake through your heart" before heading off to spray what looks like the contents of about a case of Lysol on everything in the house. Pierce is treating this can like it is an atomizer and he is spraying it and walking through the mist as he is more then petrified about possibly becoming infected himself. Pierce sprayed so much disinfectant that I would have to imagine that everyone tasted it.
Next we are taken to the gym where Team U.S.A. is running through a training session for the bout which is set at 170 lbs. between David Faulkner and Jason Pierce. We were then told that Pierce broke several blood vessels in his foot during his elimination bout victory over Steve Berger to make it into the house. Caution needs to be exercised here so that he doesn't hurt anyone during training, but he also needs to be wary of his own self and make sure no one inadvertently steps on his foot. After this is made clear we see that Pierce lands a kick and causes himself much pain, to which Dan Henderson responds by warning him not to kick with that particular foot. Pierce found out the hard way, but such is the case for fighters when training with an injury as their instinct takes over and they often will do more damage to whatever is injured because it just isn't normal to not strike with one of your limbs. Henderson tells Pierce to focus on knees instead, but this is going to be easier said than done and I am sure we have not seen the last of Jason Pierce in a ton of pain. Henderson is worried about Pierce's chances in the fight as he says this one is between a guy with a sore ankle and a guy who loves the ankle lock, so this one is going to be a tough one for Team U.S.A. to win.
Team U.K. hits the gym for their training session next and they are doing circuit training with an emphasis on striking a tractor tire with a sledgehammer. Now, we have seen this before and this form of training works quite well on improving core strength, but never have we seen anyone unable to make contact with the tire. Well, change that one from never to twice as two fighters swung, missed and wrecked the mats with a sledgehammer blow. First up was Andre Winner who looked as graceful as a young child taking a swing with a tee-ball bat for the first time. How you can miss a target as large as a tractor tire is beyond my comprehension but I will be damned if he didn't do just that and ruin the mats. You would think once was enough but we see another fighter has done the same thing and Michael Bisping states, "I think we'll leave sledgehammers alone," and I couldn't agree more. Just keep this scene in mind the next time that someone tells you that baseball is an easy sport. Remember that Andre Winner could not strike a tractor tire which was laying still with a sledgehammer, and think about just how much skill it takes to swing a rounded baseball bat and make contact with a round ball coming at 90 miles per hour from just sixty feet away. Baseball has had i'ts share of performance enhancing drug allegations and scandals but at its core it is absolute fact that no amount of steroids can make you talented enough to hit a ball. Andre Winner has all the makings of a good fighter but he isn't going to be anyone's top pick in a company softball game anytime soon.
Team U.S.A. is back and training and we see that Jason Pierce is about ready to break. He is told that it is time to spar five minute rounds, and he looks like he was just told this was all part of a prank and his coach is really Howie Mandel as he is in no mood to spar whatsoever. First he says he doesn't have a cup with him and then he says that he doesn't understand why he is being told to spar now after two and a half days of hard training. Coach Henderson tells us that he is unsure of where Pierce's head is and declares the fighter to be a "mystery." I don't think there is too much of a mystery with him at all as he is just a pissed off guy who seems to be cracking under the pressure of this show. Coach Cyrille Diabate says that Pierce is just a very negative guy as he offers advice and the fighter just shakes his head and pays no mind at all. Pierce does spar but begins to rip off the tape, remove his gloves and take off his hand wraps as he storms off. Coach Diabate calls for the fighters to spar one more round and Pierce is nowhere to be found as he kept going and decided that his workout had ended. The one glaring difference between the teams this time around is that no fighter on Team U.K. would walk away from any of the coaches or end a workout early. Jason Pierce is a good young fighter but his attitude is in need of serious adjustment and fast as his own advancement in the sport could be severely impeded by his piss poor demeanor.
Returning to the house we find Frank Lester and Damarques Johnson talking about Jason Pierce and wondering aloud if he will even fight. Both men feel that Pierce is weak and are talking about him when Jason Dent walks into the room. Dent tears into them for talking behind other fighter's backs and gives this downstairs room the title of "The Bash Room" since it is the room in which fighters will talk trash about another behind their back. Dent tells Pierce of the trash talking and they seem to bond over the fact that the team is splintering. It is so hard to foster a team environment in an individual sport, but even harder when only one of the fighters will actually move on and win it all. Think of this as everyone buying a lottery ticket, only one will win and yet you are being told you must act as if you give a damn if someone else wins. No way in hell would this happen, as you would be hoping you picked the lucky numbers and ended up the winner. So it makes sense that friction will exist and fighters will get sick of being in this house and having to be near each other so much. This show wears down the best of them and through the years we have seen many a fighter break under the pressure or lash out from their annoyance.
Team U.K. is shown in the gym, but this time there is not a sledgehammer to be found, thankfully, and they are simply getting in a workout with some weights. David Faulkner apparently was the third fighter to not be able to hit the stationary tire in the previous training session and due to this he has apparently suffered what they seem to think is cellulitis. This is an infection caused by bacteria entering the skin and it seems like Faulkner cut himself with the sledgehammer and is suffering from this. He says that the bruising is what became infected and unwraps his bandage to show Bisping and his teammates the damage. Apparently it is not cellulitis but rather a localized infection, and he will now be treated with antibiotics. You know, we have a bunch of young, aggressive guys living in one house and two of them are now having to take antibiotics, which makes this seem more and more like a frat house than ever before. This season we are missing the drinking until blacked out but the contagious infections going around seems like fallout from a Duke lacrosse team party.
As is the case every year, the coaches have a challenge and it is now time for Henderson to take on Bisping in a game of tennis. Yes, tennis. "Pay our guys now" says Henderson, to which Bisping responds by saying, "I’ve never played but I will beat you" and we know that the next segment of this program will be painful to watch. Dana White tells them that the winning coach will receive ten thousand dollars and each fighter on the winning team will pocket fifteen hundred dollars for their troubles. I only had to watch maybe eight minutes of this so I have to say that fifteen hundred dollars sounds like a fair wage for having to watched this one live. The rules of this one are relatively simple as they are going to play six games and the winner must be up by two to win. To make things easier on them the rules have been changed and service will take place from well behind the regulation service line since neither man will be likely to handle it from there. Dana White lets us know that he thinks the selection of tennis was a good one because it is great to see "two guys that both suck at the same game," and right away I am wishing I could be watching Matt Hughes bowl against Matt Serra.
Why pick tennis? This show has been tweaked over the years and they eliminated the team challenges which took place during the first two seasons, and most if not all of these decisions have been for the better, but this coaches challenge keeps getting more ridiculous. Although, I am curious what sports will be hauled out in the future as I would kill to see polo get the nod and watch a couple of heavyweights mount horses and give it the old college try. Henderson vs. Bisping was painful, damned painful.
Henderson gave up the first point by trapping Bisping's serve and than catching the ball with his hand. He seriously looks like an ape trying to place a square peg in a round hole as he quickly forgot that the service line does not apply to them. Now, I will give Hendo some credit as he came back and scored an ace which he prefaced by shouting, "Can you say ace?" before smoking one past Bisping. Ok, he didn't smoke it. Hell, he could have rolled it and it probably would have made it there faster but it was an ace. The crappiest ace ever. Crappier than Ace Frehley's solo albums (and those were some really bad aces).
Dan Henderson wins this debacle by a score of 6-2 and thankfully it is all over. I'd rather watch Bo Jackson play ice hockey than to sit through watching Hendo do anything other than fight, and soon we will get to do just that when he faces Bisping on July 11 at UFC 100. Bisping is looking forward to the same thing as he says that he will see Henderson on July 11 and that he can shove tennis up his ass. Hey, the brand of tennis these two men played looked as if they were both forced to play with the tennis racquet sticking out of their ass and come to think of it, this may have made for a better game between the two.
Back to the gym we go and we are treated to the sight of Bisping in a foul mood and talking about Damarques Johnson. Bisping says that Johnson is a "mouthy bastard," which is pretty rich coming from him, and he follows this up by declaring that he will shut Damarques' mouth for him after he shuts Henderson's. I found this to be hilarious, because it wasn't so long ago that Bisping was the one playing the mind games and successfully getting under the skin of Johnson. The tables have turned somewhat and it is Johnson who is firmly under the skin of Bisping, and this is something I didn't think we would see. Perhaps Bisping was just having a really bad day but rarely have I seen him so flustered.
It was now time for Bisping to make the fight announcement and he selects Ross Pearson of Team U.K. to face Richie Whitson of Team U.S.A. in a lightweight bout. Coach Henderson's main concern is that Whitson will not be ready for the fight since he has not rolled in over a week due to the impetigo. The fight will go on, of course, but Bisping is very confident in Pearson's chances to win this fight and as confident as Henderson is worried.
Team U.S.A. is back training once more and we are entertained by Jeff Dunham and his dummy for a few moments in the form of Frank Lester and the striking dummy known as "Bob." Lester is alerted to the similarities between himself and "Bob," the most notable of which has got to be a lack of front teeth. Frank Lester may not have given the greatest account of himself inside of the Octagon but he has been more than entertaining outside of fighting. We go from Willie and Lester, I mean "Bob" and Frank Lester, to seeing Dan Henderson portraying a bad HMO doctor putting in time at the free clinic as he examines Whitson's sores and telling him he is good to go. This of course wouldn't be the first time that a man has checked someone out and deemed them good to go even though they have visible sores, but Doc Henderson seems to feel that Whitson is no risk to Pearson and is healing nicely.
The focus is on Richie Whitson as we get to know a little bit about him and learn of his upbringing in Alaska. He grew up fishing in Alaska before heading off to Thailand to train in Muay Thai and is now fighting out of Temecula, California as a member of Dan Henderson's Team Quest. Whitson came to Team Quest about six months ago and he has made marked improvement in this short period of time. The coaches praise Whitson for his work ethic and they all say that he is "scrappy" but raw. Generally scrappy is a nice way of saying that someone works hard but they are in need of much improvement, so this stood out to me as a red flag for Whitson who was deemed a favorite early on by fans of the show based on his earlier performance. Richie Whitson says this his fighting style is best described as "balls out" and I am hoping he backs up these words with at least a game effort against Pearson.
We return to the house where it is time to celebrate Richie Whitson's birthday, and here comes Dan Henderson with another ace in the form of his best impression of Duff Goldman from television's "Ace of Cakes." Although I do have to say that I would much rather have Dan Henderson bring me my cake than that insufferable douche bag Goldman. While all of the birthday cake fun is going down we see that Cameron Dollar is outside and in the midst of a crying jag.
Dollar is cracking under the pressure and suffering yet another breakdown. He says that he is sick of being in the house and that he just wants to "make money," which causes everyone to scratch their head as to how he could accomplish this by not being in the house. He says he wants to fight and again, everyone is befuddled as he wants out of the house but wants to make money and fight; presumably this would entail him making money for fighting. Out of nowhere he says that he drank too much before blurting out that he wishes he had a better relationship with his parents. This was getting bizarre and thankfully it was Dan Henderson stepping outside with Frank Lester and doing their best to console him. No one sports a clown nose or juggles, which is a shame because that would have been great to see and fun for Whitson on his birthday but Hendo works his zen-like magic by getting Dollar's mind off of everything that is bothering him by wondering aloud if Pierce would be able to fight. This worked like a charm and Dollar listened intently as Henderson and company began to come up with some options if in fact Pierce cannot fight.
Back to the gym again as it is time for the official weigh-in and a chance to get an in-depth look at Ross Pearson. We see him training and working a whole heck of a lot harder than we saw Jason Pierce of Team U.S.A., and these Brits might not be the best fighters but they certainly work hard. Nick Osipczak declares that Pearson is "half-man and half pit-bull," which would be a really interesting concept for a 'Twilight Zone' episode starring Michael Vick. Hell, that would make for some great punishment too should karma get a running start towards the former Falcons quarterback. Both Pearson and Whitson weight in at the lightweight limit of 155 lbs. and this fight is official. It is also a fight that Dana white says is a "tough fight for both" before adding that he is "looking forward to it." So am I as we have seen one U.K. fighter in Martin Stapleton look like he would be unstoppable before falling, and it was going to be interesting to see if Ross Pearson could be the genuine article.
Ross Pearson wants this fight badly. Scratch that. Ross Pearson wants this chance of a lifetime so badly that he is moved to tears while talking about it. He says that his hopes are to walk away from this experience as a better person and fighter, which is nothing short of remarkable. The American fighters walk away from this experience looking to parlay their modicum of fame into some cash or sponsorships and hope to be a celebrity while these Team U.K. guys are coming off as the purest competitors ever. Pearson used to be a bricklayer who never imagined he would make it this far and he says that he is making it a point to take all of this in. Based on what was shown, and this could have been due to editing, it seems as if a guy like Jason Pierce feels entitled while a guy like Ross Pearson feels lucky to be here. Pierce may be one hell of a fighter, but I would rather have a gym full of guys who gave a damn rather than those who think they are so good that they do not give one at all, and give even less respect or attention to their coaches.
Michael Bisping is asked if Ross Pearson wants to fight and he responds with the question, "does a bear sh*t in the woods?" which is to be taken as a guarantee that Pearson wants to fight. I don't know about you but I would love to know where this originated, as there are many more things that are as likely as a bear defecating in the woods. I mean you could respond with "do birds fly?" or "does a woman make a donkey’s manhood disappear nightly in Tijuana?" but it's all about the bear taking a good healthy one in the woods and how this relates to Pearson's hunger. I am just glad that taking a crap is just used as a reference and that we aren't back to last season when this would have meant someone squatting over Phillipe Nover's sushi.
Fight day has arrived and Richie Whitson gives us a taste of his motivation by stating that he really is fighting for the U.S. now. I guess you would have to be there in order to feel this sense of patriotism but as splintered as the U.S. team is, it is a shock to me that anyone is fighting for anything other than their own self at this point. I just hope the Team U.S.A. fighters enter the Octagon to Rick Derringer's "Real American" at the 'TUF 9 Finale.' Trust me when I say that to this generation that this would cause as many to jump out of their seat as does Tyson Griffin's choice of "Eye of the Tiger" to accompany his entrance. Michael Bisping gives his last two cents before this fight by stating, "You can shove your tennis up your arse; this is where it counts!" and truer words have rarely been spoken. Teams don't matter, coaches challenges don't matter and it all comes down to man vs. man inside of the Octagon, and it gets no more pure than this.
Ross Pearson vs. Richie Whitson
We are set to do battle in the lightweight division, but one glance at the clock is enough for us to know that you should not hit the bathroom if you have hopes of seeing how this one ends. The fight began at 10:54pm EST and due to this I was anticipating a quick knockout to be perfectly honest. In one respect I can understand putting the fight at the very end as it makes the most sense, but I think it would be best if they would always allot ten minutes so that it would not be so predictable.
Round one is underway and it is Whitson uncorking a kick which is checked by Pearson. The fighters clinch and it is Whitson imposing his will on Pearson and forcing him against the cage. A few shots land for Pearson before the two are back to the center of the Octagon. Pearson misses what could have been a mighty head kick but he follows this up by successfully taking Whitson down. Whitson gets back up quickly but Pearson continues to go forward with a series of blows before scoring a takedown once more.
Richie Whitson looks to lock on a guillotine but Pearson is able to free himself before landing a knee to a downed Whitson. This causes the fight to be stopped while Whitson composes himself and Referee Herb Dean is forced to deduct one point from Ross Pearson before restarting the action. Upon the restart it is Whitson missing a kick and getting taken down again. Whitson makes it back to his feet and the fighters trade some knees in the clinch before Pearson scores yet another takedown of Whitson with this one in the form of a big slam.
Ross Pearson successfully takes Richie Whitson's back this time and was working for the rear naked choke. Whitson successfully defended this choke attempt, but in doing so he left his arm out there and Pearson capitalized on the situation by clamping on an arm bar which forces the American to tap.
Winner is Ross Pearson by way of Submission (Arm Bar) at 3:39 of Round One
Team United Kingdom is now up 4-2 and in control of the action with what to most was deemed an upset of Whitson who was a bit of a favorite heading into the season. Team U.K. celebrates as Richie Whitson sends his mouthpiece flying and heads off angrily to the locker room.
Shaun White has left the building.
The preview for next week makes it appear as if everything continues to remain the same, as the focus is on Team U.K. being in command while the morale of Team U.S.A. seems to get lower and lower. The big tease is that illness and injury may have an effect on Team U.K., but at this point I wouldn't imagine anything of the sort will happen as it appears Jason Pierce is in worse shape than David Faulkner. Which leads to the big question of, "Will Jason Pierce fight?" which isn’t really that big of a question and nothing quite on the level of "Who shot J.R.?" from the category of great television cliffhangers from the past. I think Pierce will fight, but the question is not if he will but rather how well he will perform, and the odds are certainly against him.
Another episode is in the books and we are moving closer to seeing Team U.K. win this entire thing but in my opinion it is not as if this wasn't the goal coming in. By no means is anything predetermined but the talent pool is rather shallow and those who are dominant are head and shoulders above the rest of those in the house. Next week looks to be yet another solid edition of what has been a stellar season of 'The Ultimate Fighter.'
You know, if I had told you that this season would feature communicable diseases and men striking each other with sledgehammers you would have sworn that Robert Browning had made into the house and maybe brought a long lost cousin, but this ninth offering of 'The Ultimate Fighter' has been one of the very best even though the talent is arguably that of the least. So pop an antibiotic, spray some Lysol in the air and be sure to clear a place on your schedule for next Wednesday at 10pm EST.
I know that 'UFC Undisputed 2009' for the PS3 and XBOX 360 comes out next Tuesday, but be sure to take some time off from the video games and remember to eat, bathe and tune into the next edition of 'The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom' on Spike TV and keep your browser right here at www.mmatorch.com for all of the lesions and contusions.
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