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Oct 28, 2009 - 11:08:16 PM By Frank Hyden, MMATorch Contributor
The Ultimate Fighter report
October 28, 2009
By Frank Hyden
The episode starts with Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson arguing. That's not exactly a new development there. They argue about a lot of things, including who's the better coach. Rampage says he's not a coach, but he's got great coaches. They just keep going and going. They're in the hallway now. That's commitment there. Neither guy is willing to give in. Eventually, Rashad announces that the fight this week is going to be Scott Junk vs. Matt Mitrione. Rampage is hopeful that Junk will get him the win he wants so badly.
Matt has a note that he gives to Junk that says that Mike Wessel is scared to fight Marcus Jones. Mike is extremely upset. Team Rashad is training. Matt's training hard. James McSweeney rats out Matt to the coaches. Rashad and the rest of his coaches talk to Matt about things. Matt claims that Mike is "scared to death". Rashad tells Matt to only worry about himself. Matt tells Rashad that he hears voices in his head. Ok, that's kind of weird. This guy is a major headcase. You deserve hazard pay for trying to psychoanalyze this guy. He's got a lot of issues. I guess there's a lot worse places to have these issues than in an octagon. At least he gets to take out some of his aggression in there.
Team Rampage is training. Junk is training hard. He has a good amount of experience. He trashes Matt and says he wants to put his fist all the way through his face. These guys are both full of piss and vinegar. Pretty much everyone else says that they want Junk to crush Matt. Even his own teammates are saying that. I would say that's harsh, but it's not like they're real teammates anyway. Ultimately, this comes down to every man for himself. You have to be willing to fight anyone and everyone.
The next morning, Jon Madsen and Matt argue about Jon's orange juice. The real reason is that Jon doesn't like Matt, and Matt thinks Jon is condescending. Matt leaves the kitchen, and Jon says that he'd slap Matt in the face. Matt didn't hear that, but James tells him later. James is really trying to stir the stuff tonight. He's turning into the Kevin Nash of the house. Matt and Jon are matched against each other during training. Matt starts going off on Jon, unleashing his frustration. Matt starts screaming like a madman at Jon, who flinches like he's afraid even though he has headgear on. He just got punked by the guy that he said he was going to slap. Justice is swift. I guess the moral is that you don't say something that you don't plan on backing up. Matt is led to the back, where he's still yelling. Rashad goes off on Matt, telling him to use that aggression on his opponent and not his teammate. At one point, Matt rises and flexes like he's going to attack Rashad or something. I don't really know what he was planning there, but whatever. Rashad doesn't react to that, but he does say that he'll kick Matt's ass if Matt doesn't show that kind of aggression in the octagon.
Wes Sims and a few of the other people in the house have a "When will The Rat snap?" pool going. The Rat is what the rest of the guys in the house call Matt. Wes Sims dresses up like a really bad ninja and tries to sneak up on Matt, who's playing basketball. He tromps through the bushes and finally gets to Matt, who tells him not to touch him again. This little segment lasted longer than Wes did when he fought Justin Wren. The attention whore got his spotlight for the episode, now he needs to sit down and shut up, the adults are talking. Pre-fight, Junk says he's going to bang Matt in the octagon and then again in the house. He might want to choose his words more carefully next time. Matt reaffirms his insanity when he tells Rashad that he talked to his wife, then points to his head. Rashad is taken back, but tries to no-sell it as best he can.
FIGHT- Scott Junk vs. Matt Mitrione
Matt has a 2 inch height and an amazing 8 inch reach advantage. Josh Rosenthal is the referee.
ROUND 1- Matt unloads some punches at Junk. Both fighters throw a flurry. Junk is down, but gets back up. Matt catches a Junk kick and knocks him down. They're back on their feet. Matt throws a legkick, then starts teeing off on Junk. Matt hits a straight left, then they clinch. Things start getting boring as both guys shot their wad already. Suddenly, Junk employs the rope-a-dope strategy, with Matt playing the role of George Foreman. It's working, too. Matt has his hands down at his waist. Junk is trying as best he can to knock Matt out. The rope-a-dope almost works, but the round ends.
ROUND 2- Both guys come out weak as hell. Neither one does a damn thing for what seems like forever. They throw a few weak punches and kicks. Seriously, these are like Sid Vicious (the wrestler) punches. Junk clinches and gets the takedown. Junk's on top, and they trade shots. Rosenthal stands them up. They trade a bit more, but it's pretty boring. Matt's probably got this one.
WINNER- Matt Mitrione by Decision
Rampage is pissed and walks away. He kicks a hole in a cardboard door, then rips it from the hinges. There's probably doll houses with sturdier doors. I know Rampage is really strong, but that door looked flimsy as hell.
The first round of the fight was good. The guys were at least trying, even if it wasn't always pretty. The second round sucked badly. It was really boring, and you could tell that the fighters were blown up. That's the problem with heavyweights, they lack the conditioning and stamina. That's why I prefer watching smaller fighters. It's more fast-paced and exciting. Nonetheless, this was definitely one of the better fights this season. I really want to see Marcus Jones fight next week. He's really raw, but it's obvious that he tries as hard as he can. I just hope his stamina holds up. Rashad is 7-0, and I wonder if Marcus can stop the clean sweep.
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