May 13, 2009 - 9:50:40 PM By Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor
The Ultimate Fighter report
May 13, 2009
By Frank Hyden
We start with Team U.K. training. David Faulkner is training hard. He's a good wrestler and he has good all-around skills. His main drawback is mental. If he can overcome his own self-doubt he might be the best fighter in the house. Richie Whitson has an infection called impetigo. Jason Pierce is freaking out about it and is adamant about Richie not touching things without washing his hands first, and he means washing them like a doctor. Pierce goes around spraying disinfectant on everything. He's going way overboard here. It's like a scene in a comedy about some germaphobe.
Team U.S. is training. Pierce has some broken blood vessels in his foot from his prelim fight. The U.K. guys are shown training. Michael Bisping has brought in a tractor tire and the guys are hitting it with a sledgehammer. None of the guys seem too good at it. Andre Winner misses the tire and hits the mat, busting a hole in it. I'm not really sure how you manage to do that. It's not like the tire is something from a lawnmower, this is a huge tire. I guess it's a lack of concentration. Back to the U.S. guys training. Pierce is sparring with Dan Henderson. He's acting very hesitant and almost afraid to act. All the coaches are preaching the power of positivity.
Some of the U.S. guys are questioning Pierce and his attitude. Jason Dent overhears and tells Pierce about this. The room the other guys are in has been dubbed "The Bash Room". Apparently it's a place where guys complain about each other. Meanwhile, the U.K. guys are training weights. David Faulkner hit himself in the leg with the sledge the other day. That's even worse than hitting the mat with the sledge. Are these guys just not paying attention? Faulkner's leg is bruised and might be infected. It looks infected when he unwraps it.
The Coach's Challenge this season is tennis. Both Bisping and Henderson are horrible. Some of the U.S. guy trash-talk Bisping, who is getting irritated. Dan goes up 2-0 in a game to 6. This is pretty funny because both of these elite athletes are seriously sucking at tennis. This is why I love the Coach's Challenges. It's a chance to see the fighters outside of their comfort zone. I've only played tennis myself a few times, but I hope I'm not this bad. Dan actually seems to be getting into a groove. He's gone up 4-1. Bisping closes the gap to 5-2 before Dan gets another game and wins 6-2. Team U.S. gets $1,500 each.
Team U.K. gets to choose the fight and they go with Ross Pearson vs. Richie Whitson. Richie boxed throughout high school before traveling to Thailand to train Muay Thai. It's Richie's birthday, and his coaches have come over to join the party for him. Cameron Dollar is outside crying about wanting the show to be over. He's homesick. He's only got a few more weeks, suck it up. You're at the house for 6 weeks or so. That's nothing compared to the opportunity that's presented to you for being on the show. You have a chance to fight for a contract with the UFC. Screw home. Home will still be there when you get back. And you could possibly be fighting in the UFC? Hell yeah, I'd do that in a second. All you have to do is be isolated in a house for 6 weeks? Hopefully, this is just a temporary meltdown for Dollar, Dana White doesn't look kindly upon those guys who can't hack it in the house. Later, Ross is training hard with Bisping.
FIGHT- Ross Pearson vs. Richie Whitson
The height and reach for both fighters is exactly the same. Herb Dean is the ref.
ROUND 1- They clinch to start. They eventually separate and Ross throws a headkick that just barely misses Richie. The kick is so close that the breeze from it blows Richie's mini-fro around. Ross throws some punches and gets a takedown. Ross hits Richie with an illegal knee to the head. Richie doesn't seem too fazed by it and opts to continue quickly. Herb Dean deducts a point from Ross. They trade more strikes and Ross hits a slam. They get back to their feet and clinch. They trade some more and Ross gets another takedown. The deducted point could really hurt Ross. He knows that, and is doing everything he can to ensure that it's a non-factor. Ross takes Richie's back and slaps on a quick armbar for the win.
WINNER- Ross Pearson by Armbar
I was a bit confused by the early focus on Pierce and Faulkner. They're not scheduled to fight until the next episode. I'm not complaining, though, I'm just a bit confused. It doesn't appear as though the fight will happen. They showed a shot of Faulkner's leg during the preview for next week and he's got a huge lump on his shin. Also, I'm not sure Pierce wants to fight his friend Faulkner. The Coach's Challenge stuff was funny, for reasons I've already detailed. Some people I know find them boring, I think they're great. Bisping was horrible, but Henderson was merely mediocre.
The fight tonight was pretty good. It wasn't long, but it was pretty exciting. Richie was disappointed in himself afterward, but Ross just seemed to be the better fighter. He took early control and didn't relent. The knee to the head of a downed opponent was unfortunate, but I don't think it affected the outcome at all. Ross has to be considered one of the favorites after this fight. He just took Richie apart. He absorbed some shots, but fired back and sunk in a nice submission. He looked really good in this fight.
NEXT WEEK- Will the Jason Pierce vs. David Faulkner fight happen? Or will injuries prevent it?
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