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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor
The episode starts with Shamar Bailey saying that he hurt his back, but is going to push through the pain. He says he's going to beat Chris Cope in his fight tonight. Junior Dos Santos is working with Ramsey Nijem to prepare him for his fight with Clay Harvison. Ramsey has some good perspective on his life, as his dad is from the Middle East.
Dana White and Brian Stann walk in to the gym. Dana talks up Brian's TKO stoppage of Chris Leben. Brian is there to talk to the guys about his life in the Marines. He tells them about the level of focus in the Marines and what it takes to succeed. Clay is friends with Brian. Clay had the stitches took out from his dislocated pinky finger. He still can't bend it all the way without pain, but says he'll fight through the pain. Brock Lesnar is working with Clay and Chris on their wrestling. They seem to be paying good attention.
Both guys make weight without a problem. Ramsey has a gray banana hammock on. Ugh, that's just gross. They almost kiss during the stare-down. Well, I guess it's good they're both so loose. Ramsey isn't feeling well prior to the fight. He almost throws up.
FIGHT- Clay Harvison vs. Ramsey Nijem
Clay is 1 inch taller, but Ramsey has a 2 inch reach advantage. Steve Mazzagatti is the referee.
ROUND 1- Ramsey starts with an early takedown, after Clay missed with some punches. Ramsey takes Clay's back quickly. Ramsey with a few shots to the head of Clay that flatten him out. Ramsey locks in a rear-naked choke and Clay taps. Wow, that was fast. Damn.
WINNER- Ramsey Nijem by Submission
Ramsey and Junior are very happy. Clay is extremely pissed with himself. Junior says that Shamar's back is feeling better. Shamar says he wants to shut Chris up, as Chris has a habit of screaming first-thing in the morning. Shamar is very confident that he'll win. Chris says he likes Shamar, even if Shamar doesn't like him. Brock says Chris needs to weather the storm early on in the fight. Chris is working on his takedown defense in practice. Brock is trying to teach Chris some basic wrestling defense to help him beat Shamar.
Both Chris and Shamar make weight fine. Team Dos Santos members think Shamar will win, while Team Lesnar guys say Chris will probably win. Back at the house, Chris is talking with Nordin Asrih about Shamar. They start rolling around practicing. Chris wants Shamar to be upset at him, hoping that will gas him out. Shamar says Chris woke up a beast.
FIGHT- Chris Cope vs. Shamar Bailey
Chris is 4 inches taller, but Shamar has a 3 inch reach advantage. Josh Rosenthal is the referee.
ROUND 1- They start off circling each other, feeling the range. Shamar is throwing shots, but not landing any. Shamar shoots in, but Chris stuffs it. They're up against the cage. Chris is tapping Shamar in the head. Chris almost shoves Shamar off. They separate. Both guys trade shots. Shamar is working a combo, but not really landing it. They tie up on the cage again and trade knees to the body. They separate for a second before tying up against the cage again. Chris separates and gets free. Shamar shoots in again, but Chris stuffs it again. Chris hits Shamar in the head several times. They separate. Shamar pushes Chris into the cage and ties him up, but nothing comes of it as the round ends. I give that round to Chris, but neither guy really did much. Chris stuffed a couple takedowns, though.
ROUND 2- Chris throws a couple of early punches. Several of them connect. Chris is throwing a 3 punch combo. Shamar is just throwing 1 punch at a time. Chris is peppering Shamar with these punches. Shamar pushes Chris up against the cage. They trade knees to the body before separating. Both guys should consider kicks of some sort, whether they be head kicks or leg kicks. They're up on the cage again. Now they're circling without doing much. Both guys connect with shots. They keep circling each other. Shamar shoots in, but Chris pushes him against the cage. Shamar reverses position. This is what he did in his first fight. They separate. Shamar tries for another takedown, but Chris stuffs it. They're up on the cage for a second before separating as the round ends. I'd give that round to Chris again, but barely. Shamar didn't do anything to warrant victory.
Dana says that Shamar didn't do much, and that Chris looked scared to fight. Brock says Chris was on defense, but still landed more shots.
WINNER- Chris Cope by Decision
Junior is stunned by the decision. Shamar complains about Chris backing up the whole time. It's not like Shamar did much himself though. Shamar says he showed Dana that he could stand and bang. No, he didn't. He says that to Dana, who says he looked like he was trying to take him down but couldn't. Shamar complains about his bad back. To be honest, Shamar just looked incredibly overhyped. He couldn't do anything to Chris. He tried what he did in his first fight, but it didn't work this time. Shamar is a very one-dimensional fighter. He needs to work on that. Just admit it and do it.
NEXT WEEK- 2 more fights and Tony Ferguson goes crazy in the house
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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