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Nov 11, 2009 - 11:52:13 PM By Frank Hyden, MMATorch Contributor
The Ultimate Fighter report
November 11, 2009
By Frank Hyden
The episode starts with Rashad Evans wondering how he's going to coach his team. He has 7 fighters that made it to the quarterfinals. Marcus Jones is the only non-Team Rashad fighter to advance. Roy Nelson and Justin Wren are training for their fight tonight. Roy has the experience edge, but Justin is a good fighter in his own right. Roy has the more well-rounded game, Justin will have to find a way to deal with that. Matt Mitrione is hurt, following his fight with Scott Junk. He says he has a headache and is becoming light sensitive.
In the van, Matt is shown acting sick. The rest of the guys ignore him and discuss what they're having for dinner that night. Most of the other fighters think he's just acting sick. I do think there's an element of truth to what he's saying. However, it does seem like he wants some attention too, though. Brendan Schaub talks with Matt some about what's going on with him. Brendan then goes and tells Kimbo Slice that he thinks that Matt is out and Kimbo is back in. Nothing's official, of course, but that does seem very possible. Kimbo is training hard in preparation for a potential return to the cage. Matt stayed at the hospital overnight. That's not a good sign for him fighting.
Quinton Jackson and Tiki Ghosn put 5 chickens in Rashad's car. The guys I watch MMA with think this is total child-like behavior from Rampage. If they didn't crap in Rashad's car, I'd say it's pretty funny. Rashad think it's funny, ruining Rampage's prank again. Somehow the chickens get out. Rashad and his assistant coaches chase after the chickens. The highlight is a diving leap after one of the chickens. I thought that was pretty damn funny. Rampage says he has at least one more prank left in him. I hope it's not something stupid. Back at the house, Matt returns from the hospital. He seems disoriented at the house.
Dana White comes to the house. He asks Matt straight out if he'll, assuming he gets cleared by the doctor. Matt says he will, but says some stuff about possibly having gotten concussions before, from football. It's not hard to read where this is going. Matt will say he wants to fight, but then he'll tell the doctor some stuff that will make the doctor refuse to clear him. I personally think this shouldn't even be an issue. You don't mess around with possible brain injuries. If it were up to me, Matt wouldn't be allowed to fight, regardless of what the doctor says. I always err on the side of caution when it comes to concussions.
At the gym, Team Rashad is training. Several of the other fighters give their thoughts on what will happen in the fight. At the weigh-in, Justin strips down to his weird underwear again. I don't know why he does that, he comes in at about 250 lbs. or so, it's not like he has to make weight. I guess he just likes the attention.
FIGHT- Roy Nelson vs. Justin Wren
Justin has a 3 inch height and a 1 inch reach advantage. Josh Rosenthal is the referee.
ROUND 1- Both fighters circle each other for a while. Justin throws some good punches. He stuns Roy with a shot. Roy clinches to regain himself. Roy throws some knees to Justin's legs. Rosenthal separates them. Justin lands a few good punches. Now Justin's throwing some wild swinging punches that miss. They're dodging each other. Roy with a powerful leg kick. Justin throws more wild swings at the round ends.
ROUND 2- Justin lunges at Roy, who avoids. Justin connects with a nice leg kick. He hits another leg kick. Justin goes back to throwing those looping wild swings that don't even come close. Roy hits a leg kick. They're trading. Roy with another leg kick. He's punishing Justin's legs. Roy is peppering Justin with jabs and punches. Roy throws a body shot. The round ends. Everyone thinks it's going 3 rounds, but the judges have a decision. 2 judges score it 20-18, the other gives it 19-19.
WINNER- Roy Nelson by Majority Decision
The fight tonight was okay. Justin was really sloppy, and the fight was pretty boring considering that they stood the entire time. However, I give both guys credit for trying and giving it their all. Roy wasn't coasting during this fight. He almost got knocked out at one point, but he recovered nicely. He wisely kept his reserves and allowed Justin to punch himself out. It was a veteran move that served him well. Roy uses guile and savvy to win his fights. I don't know if he'll be able to win the whole thing doing that, but he'll sure try.
I think Matt will say that he wants to fight, but he'll basically force the doctor to refuse him clearance. He was milking his shoulder injury for quite a while. That's the problem with attention-seeking by milking injuries. He's probably legitimately hurt, but very few believe him. The way he worked his shoulder injury makes you skeptical. They need to put Kimbo back in, or stop trying to hype it. Either do it, or shut up about it. The Rampage practical joke was meh. It was all right. I'm just surprised that there was a whole episode without a big Rampage-Rashad argument.
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