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By Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor The Ultimate Fighter review
October 15, 2008
By Frank Hyden
We start where the episode left off last week, with Junie Browning jumping into the octagon. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and other hold Junie back. Dana White says that it's lucky that Keith Kizer, the executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, isn't there or Junie would have had his license taken away. Frank Mir is upset with Junie and tells him to not let it happen again. Efrain Escudero wants to fight Junie in the semi-finals.
Anderson Silva comes by for a training session with Team Nogueira. They all train hard and Silva spars with Ryan Bader, who's already in the semi's. Silva says that the fighters are good and train well. Meanwhile, Krzysztof Soszynski decides to pull more of his pranks. He takes Efrain's underwear and places them in the freezer. Then he and a few partners put itching powder in Efrain's bed. They also put the powder in Kyle Kingsbury's bed and Roli Delgado's bed as well as Phillipe Nover's robe. When Team Nog returns home they find a note from Krzy telling them to look for Efrain's underwear. Eventually, they find them and then start plotting how to retaliate against Team Mir. I understand wanting to get back at Team Mir but I feel as though I'm watching a bunch of young teenagers. Pranks can be fun but the itching powder is taking it too far.
The next fight is announced as Eliot Marshall vs. Shane Primm. Apparently, Nogueira keeps his team in the dark until the fight decision is made. Team Nog retaliates against Team Mir by putting sardines in their beds and smearing the oil on their walls. None of the Team Mir guys are too upset except for Vinny Magalhaes, who goes into a Team Nog room and pisses in Efrain's empty bed. He's not even drunk and he's doing this? Give me a break, man, you got to get out of here with that junk. Are you kidding? Talk about an overreaction. Why doesn't he go piss in Krzy's bed since he's the one that started all this? Grow up, dude.
During Team Nog's training session we learn that Shane has good strikes and a good ground game. During Team Mir's training session we learn that Eliot has good strikes and an excellent ground game. It sounds like he's the best ground guy in the house. At the next Team Nog training session, Nogueira asks Efrain why he's so tired and Efrain tells him about the pranks. Nog is worried and tries to talk to Mir about it, but Mir blows him off. Nogueira and Al "Stankie" Stankowitz come to the house to try to talk to Team Mir and get the prank issue squashed. Most of the team is disrespectful and doesn't listen but Eliot says it's funny and Krzy apologizes if it went too far. In the seclusion interview Eliot says that they're all grown men and it's embarrassing that Team Nog needs their coach to come to the house to stop the pranks. How about acting like grown men and not engaging in these stupid, juvenile pranks in the first place? You don't mess with another man's bed, especially when you're all supposed to be training for the biggest opportunity in your life. The underwear stuff is kind of funny but the itching powder is going too far. When you do that you're messing with a fighter's sleep and that's not cool. I also think it's garbage that some members of Team Mir disrespected Nogueira like they did. The guy's a proven fighter and you're some dude off the street, how about a little respect? Even if you don't agree with what he's saying at least show him the courtesy of listening to him.
FIGHT - Eliot Marshall vs. Shane Primm
Shane is 1 inch taller but Eliot has a 1 inch reach advantage. Steve Mazzagatti is the ref.
ROUND 1- They exchange on their feet. Eliot gets a takedown after a failed Shane Superman punch. Eliot takes Shane's back and looks very relaxed. Eliot goes for a Rear-Naked Choke but Shane fights it. Eliot goes for it again, and again, and again. He's relentless and eventually gets his hooks in to control the body. Eliot sinks in the Rear-Naked Choke and Shane is forced to tap.
WINNER- Eliot Marshall by Rear-Naked Choke
In the locker room Krzy and Eliot talk about meeting each other in the finals. This upsets Vinny, who whines a little then leaves. Get over it.
The pranks took on a larger role this week. I can't say that I'm exactly thrilled to see that. They may be somewhat entertaining but they're also a way of hiding behind the rules. In the real world, punches would be thrown if you put itching powder in someone's bed. I hope someone does something to Krzy right before his fight. If he takes it without complaining then I'll give him respect. But I want to see that happen before I can give it to him.
Frank Mir said in one of the interviews that if Eliot were to fight like he trained he could beat anyone in the house. After seeing this fight I'd have to agree. He looked great and is an early favorite to win it all. It's still really early but it'll be hard for anyone to match Eliot on the ground. He just looked so smooth. And hey, the Junie d-bag factor was way down this week. Of course, he was still a total tool in the parts he was shown but I'll take what I can.
NEXT WEEK- Junie fights Roli Delgado after questioning his black belt
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