UFC on FX 6/ TUF: The Smashes (Aus vs. UK) Discussion Thread

[David]

So far the Aussies seem a bit boring. I know it's early yet but they seem like a right dour faced lot. And the only one who doesn't (Xavier) seems like a twat.

If by boring you mean focused and looking to take advantage of the opportunity they have, then fair enough. Once the Brits start hitting the booze and going out of their way to prove that they're "real ladz" I expect the Aussies to pull ahead and eventually go on to score more wins on the show.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Oh yeah that 'BRRRAP BRRRAP' shit had me cringing as well. Think that might have been Pastou actually.

 

Bra Boys? That's what your badasses call themselves Down Under is it? Sound like a right bunch of tits to me.

Haha, yeah, I can't defend the name, I actually don't know too much about them, they've cropped up in the news a few times for different criminal activities and I think there was a movie based on them. I'm one of those people that doesn't pay much attention to news, but I think 'Vas' will be out to prove he's 'well hard' or something based on their rep.

 

Wiki

[wandshogun09]

So far the Aussies seem a bit boring. I know it's early yet but they seem like a right dour faced lot. And the only one who doesn't (Xavier) seems like a twat.

If by boring you mean focused and looking to take advantage of the opportunity they have, then fair enough. Once the Brits start hitting the booze and going out of their way to prove that they're "real ladz" I expect the Aussies to pull ahead and eventually go on to score more wins on the show.

 

No by boring I just mean nothing other than they seem like they might not make as good entertainment in the house as the UK team. First impressions is all. I'm sure there will be some on the team who will come out of their shell as the show progresses. A lot of them just seem pretty quiet at the moment. Like I said though early days. I wasn't meaning it as a knock just an early observation.

 

They do seem focused and it might win them the show not disputing that. But we've all been saying how stale TUF has been recently, a bit of personality is what's needed on TUF from a viewer's perspective. The focused straight laced guys will most likely go on to do better. A guy like Cain Velasquez is awesome for example and very successful. But if the house was just full of Cain, Frankie Edgar types the show would be boring bar the actual fights.

 

That's partly why the early seasons are remembered so fondly. Not because guys like Gray Maynard and Joe Lauzon knuckled down and trained hard. But for the twats, the dickheads, the misfits, the weirdos, the loveable nerds etc. Guys like Koscheck, Leben, Bisping, Cummo, Shonie, Burnette were all perfect for TUF. Most of them don't win the show but they add some much needed spice to it.

 

You need some excitement other than just fighting on a show like TUF. If it's just fighting then you can see that on any UFC.

 

That's all I meant. I'm just hoping for something closer to TUF 14 than TUF 15 which was a lifeless corpse of what the show used to be. TUF 14 proved it can still work with the right characters.

 

Oh yeah that 'BRRRAP BRRRAP' shit had me cringing as well. Think that might have been Pastou actually.

 

Bra Boys? That's what your badasses call themselves Down Under is it? Sound like a right bunch of tits to me.

Haha, yeah, I can't defend the name, I actually don't know too much about them, they've cropped up in the news a few times for different criminal activities and I think there was a movie based on them. I'm one of those people that doesn't pay much attention to news, but I think 'Vas' will be out to prove he's 'well hard' or something based on their rep.

 

Wiki

 

I'll probably be sleeping with the fishes with a boomerang shoved up my arse and a Bra wrapped around my throat now for making light of their name.

[wandshogun09]

Anyone who doesn't have ESPN you can watch episode 1 on the TUF Youtube channel;

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=playe...p;v=BXmNSPrCWOU

[Egg Shen]

really enjoyed episode 2.

 

Colin Fletcher is great, i think there's a lot of insecurity behind the act but he's an entertaining guy. Love his style too, one of the beauties of MMA is that you don't have to be technically brilliant to excel and that's kind what Freakshow does, he uses his unique size to great effect and isn't afraid to throw some wild shit...i had him winning 2 rounds.

 

I think George is coming across like he did when he was on TUF, he's a nice guy but he's uber-serious, he doesn't like to be messed with and he's all business. He comes off as a bit of a dick but i think that's down to competetiveness. I don't think it was wise to inform Ben that Freakshow had never beaten anyone with a winning record though, that probably lulled Ben into a false sense of security going into the fight.

 

im quite looking forward to his UFC weigh-in's

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Thought this was a better fight than last week's. I thought there might have been a chance of a 3rd round, as Ben seemed to have a lot of control in the fight but Freakshow got the big moments with the choke attempt in round 1 and the (brutal!) knees in round 2. I don't think clinching was the best strategy for Ben, it left him open to choke attempts and of course the knees. I think he was having more success striking, Freakshow seemed happy to just eat punches, even though Ben should have been more aggressive in R2.

 

Enjoyable episode, it showed the taped format works better than live as they were able to really build to the fight. Hopefully the fighting continues to become higher quality.

[wandshogun09]

Just watched episode 2.

 

Freakshow is fucking great. I'm so glad he's on the show because he's perfect for that setting. He showed he can fight as well. I don't know much about Wall but they were all bigging him up as the best lightweight on Team Aus so it was a good win for the Freak. Whether they underestimated him or not (I think they did, both Sot and Wall) I think it's safe to say his next opponent will be taking him seriously.

 

Freakshow's the man though. He's an odd fucker but it seems genuine to me. He's just having a laugh with it. Unlike someone like say, Mayhem who everything they do seems massively forced, this is something Freakshow's been doing on small shows when he didn't have all the limelight. Also, Freakshow did fuck all the first episode, he only started making himself heard when he was announced to fight next. I don't get the impression he's such an attention whore as Mayhem was. Despite looking like this...

 

 

He's a likeable character I think. I'm looking forward to seeing more of him.

 

The fight was pretty good, Wall showed a lot of toughness taking them knees flush. I think they'll lay off him at the house a bit now. He's probably earned a bit more respect about the place. Freakshow nearly pulled off the first ever (I think) Dragon Sleeper finish in MMA as well.

 

*I like G-Sot as a fighter but I can't really take to him. He's just so fucking serious and a grumpy git. He was the same on TUF 6 at times as well. He looked genuinely insulted by Freakshow's doctoring of his picture in the gym. It was childish as fuck but it's just a bit of harmless fun isn't it. Someone gaffer taping a 'tache and nipple rings onto a picture. It's nowt to be bothered by is it? Lighten up Georgey, Christ.

 

*I'm a bit surprised there's already a bit of needle and banter between the coaches. Sot again I thought came off as a bit of a knob at the weigh in spouting off at Pearson, who had said fuck all to him. It's good though, the show needs stuff like that and it will only help generate interest for their fight in December.

 

Made me laugh though when G-Sot and Xavier were all gobby at the weigh ins then said something like "talk's cheap" it's them instigating most of the talking so far.

 

*Oh and two weeks in a row now, Xavier has just seemed like a complete dickhead so far. And he's had nothing to do with anything yet, I can only imagine what he'll be like when his fight comes around. Such an overbearing arse. That "THE MANIMAL.....THE MAAAANIMAL" shit made me want to nut the telly.

 

*Shame Pastou had to leave. He seemed a bit annoying but it's gotta be a shit feeling having to go home without getting a chance to even fight.

 

*I know I'm coming off like a twat here sounding like I'm bumming Team UK and knocking the Aussies. In reality it's just that the Aussies have been fairly quiet so I can't really form much of an opinion yet and the UK team have been more outgoing so I'm already finding a connection to them.

 

The Aussies seem an alright bunch in fairness, I liked Ben Alloway last week and I'm looking forward to finding out more on that Bra Bloke Shane O mentioned before, he's got a shady past. So yeah I don't mind Team Aus. It's just that Xavier berk who has really been annoying me. And I'm finding G-Sot somewhat of a wet blanket. Seems like a good coach, just a bit of a miserable git.

 

I'm loving the show so far. Just like I enjoyed TUF Brazil more than TUF 15, I'm liking The Smashes more than TUF 16 so far as well. I know it's early days but it's amazing what a slight tweak to the format, a few different accents and even just one compelling character like Freakshow can do to freshen up the feel of the show.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Have to agree on Sots. He's the most successful Aussie fighter in the UFC so I kind of have to back him, and I like his fights, but of the two coaches, Pearson seems like a guy I'd rather have a beer with.

 

Bring on next week, also loving the Smashes. I think they mentioned something at the end about next week's fight being the wildest one yet or something to that effect.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah they did, can't wait. It's been ages since I've had that feeling with TUF where you watch an episode and you're immediately looking forward to next week. The last few seasons I've watched pretty much out of habit. Bisping/Mayhem was fun to be fair but I dunno. I really like these international TUFs.

 

They're doing India next aren't they? Wonder who will coach that. They don't have any Indian fighters do they? Or am I forgetting someone. Should be interesting though, going to a country like India where MMA is meant to be getting popular but they have yet to produce any real breakout fighters. Could be a lot of untapped potential there. And like with Brazil the population there means it could be a big market for them. They don't have the MMA history the Brazilians do but it will be interesting to watch MMA grow there. If it does.

[wandshogun09]

Listen to this interview with Dana;

 

Around 1:10 is what you want.

 

"Craziest fucking season of any Ultimate Fighter we've ever had. Ever! And that's saying a lot."

 

The reporter said something about Dana having to fly out to Australia to deal with whatever it was and Dana said they couldn't air a lot of stuff on TV.

 

VERY intriguing. Wonder what the fuck went on there then?

[Egg Shen]

for me the show's always been about the drama in the house, i think the UFC made the mistake with TUF Live of thinking that everyone tunes in each to see a live fight over the drama... but for me the fight is only works with the build up going in (which is what TUF Live lacked and it ruined the show), by the time the fight happened this week i was really excited to see it, just having an intriguing character in there like Freakshow makes me wanna see what hes gonna bring in the cage, it's amazing what a little character will do.

 

DRAGON SLEEPER!!!!!

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Listen to this interview with Dana;

 

Around 1:10 is what you want.

 

"Craziest fucking season of any Ultimate Fighter we've ever had. Ever! And that's saying a lot."

 

The reporter said something about Dana having to fly out to Australia to deal with whatever it was and Dana said they couldn't air a lot of stuff on TV.

 

VERY intriguing. Wonder what the fuck went on there then?

Had to be huge for Dana to jump on a plane and deal with it personally. I'm picturing something like an all in brawl with every fighter, and they couldn't well cancel the entire show, so maybe he handed down some big disciplinary action, like halving the winner's contract value. Or maybe I'm just getting suckered in by promotion. Either way, I'm intrigued.

[Egg Shen]

 

what's the bets on that face infiltrating your dreams tonight?

[wandshogun09]

Few pints and I...no I wouldn't.

[Supremo]

Colin Fletcher is the smartest Ultimate Fighter contestant in years and if you wan't to talk about guys taking advantage of the opportunity then he's the prime example of it, not the boring, faceless Australians. We're only three shows in and he's already done more to make a star out of himself than anyone on TUF Live did. He's got a distinctive look, a character, everything.

 

It was no more clear than at last weekend's UFC in Nottingham, where Freakshow attended, in full clown makeup, and was treated like a fucking megastar. He walked past us every time he went for a piss and it was mental how often he got stopped for pictures and autographs. Seemed like a really nice guy too. I'll be rooting for him for all the reasons mentioned, but even if he doesn't make it to the finals it's clear as day he'll get a second or third chance in the UFC. He's everything a promoter could ask for.