...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor
The episode starts with Josh Koscheck talking about how he hopes to get his team believing in his way of working. Jon Fitch comes in and is here to assist Team Koscheck. Fitch spars with several of the guys, and is very complimentary of their attitude towards working hard.
Later, at the house, Alex Caceres pranks the house by messing with Nam Phan's laundry. Michael Johnson actually had his clothes in there. Alex had put bleach in Nam's fabric softener. Very childish move.
Georges St. Pierre brought in an assistant of his own, Jean Charles Skarbowsky, a Muay Thai guy. GSP warns the tea to not mess with him and to respect him, or else they'll get knocked out. He's going to hurt these guys if they're not careful.
Alex is running his mouth about himself, again. Jeffrey Lentz tries talking to him about easing up his way of being. Alex is being a douche, to be honest.
GSP gets to decide the fight this week. He decides to go with Spencer Paige vs. Nam Phan. Spencer says that Nam appeared to be sad when he was picked. I didn't really see that, but I wasn't there.
Nam runs for an hour every day. Most of the guys in the house think he overdoes it with the running. I doubt they have Nam's conditioning, though.
Spencer is working hard during training. GSP says that he really likes working with Spencer. He says that Spencer is a good striker. Spencer says he's quicker than Nam, and is more technical. He think he'll win.
Josh Koscheck says that he's going to get one of his guys to crush Cody McKenzie. Koscheck doesn't really like him, Cody is just having fun. Nam is working hard at his striking. Koscheck thinks Nam could win.
Chuck Liddell comes in to Team Koscheck's practice session. He talks with the guys and gives them some wisdom. It seemed to lift their spirits.
At the weigh-in, Koscheck is talking about weirdo stuff to GSP, like wanting to kiss him and stuff. He's trying so hard to get into GSP's head, but it's not really working. Both guys make weight. Ok, I see what Spencer was talking about now. Nam isn't even looking at him in the eyes. That's kind of weird.
Kocheck meets Jean Charles and needles him a bit about his appearance. It's time for the fight.
FIGHT- Spencer Paige vs. Nam Phan
Spencer is 2 inches taller and has a 4 inch reach advantage. Herb Dean is the referee.
ROUND 1- They circle each other in the beginning, with Spencer peppering Nam with kicks. Spencer keeps hitting with those leg and body kicks. Nam is pushing forward. Spencer seems quicker. Nam is trying to counter, but Spencer is making it hard. Nam works a few straights to Spencer, but he eats some counters for his effort. Spencer isn't doing a ton of damage, but he's definitely winning. Nam knocks Spencer down and starts unloading. However, Spencer is blocking a lot of the shots. Nam is postured up, raining down blows on Spencer. Nam moves into side control, but isn't doing much. Nam moves to North-South, and locks in a kimura. The rounds ends, though, saving Spencer.
ROUND 2- Spencer goes back to his peppering style. However, Nam starts unloading on Spencer quickly. Nam is nailing Spencer with big body shots. Spencer is fighting back, but he's dropping his hands a lot. Nam is stalking Spencer at this point. Spencer falls down after trying a spin kick. Nam is teeing off on Spencer. A head kick from Spencer is blocked and he's knocked to the mat. He gets up quickly, though. Nam needs to finish this fight now, it's clear that he's winning. Spencer is blocking a lot of the damage, but he's still taking a lot of shots. Spencer tries to fight back, but Nam keeps unloading on him. Spencer does keep blocking Nam's headkicks, though. Nam is punishing Spencer at this point. A body kick by Spencer lands. The round ends. Apparently, Spencer broke his hand in the 2nd round. That sucks for him.
WINNER- Nam Phan by Decision
Team Koscheck is celebrating big-time. GSP says Koscheck disrespected him and Spencer. In the dressing room, Team Koscheck members pound on the wall to Team GSP's room like a bunch of high school kids. Geez, way to act like you've been there before. I know this is their first win, but come on.
The fight was all right, it wasn't great, but Nam was trying hard. It sucks for Spencer that he broke his hand. That eliminates him from the Wild Card fight for sure. It's good that Team Koscheck got their first win, maybe now we can stop hearing about how badly they need a win. Every guy there wants to win, they all have a need to win.
NEXT WEEK- A 2 fight episode
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
