UFC Ultimate Fighter 20: Team Pettis vs Team Melendez - Sep 10

[Supremo]

I completely agree with what everyone is saying about the awful bitching from Magana and her crew dragging the show down, but I thought this week's episode turned it all around. TUF is at its best when there's a show-long narrative, with trash talk that makes you invested in the fight. It was super satisfying to see Herrig lose. I'm still pulling for Aisling Daly, obviously, but I'm now rooting for Markos too.

 

But yeah, fuck Magana. One the most loathsome contestants they've ever had on the show. And not even in a good way. I don't want to see her lose. I don't want to see her at all.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Esparza and Herrig are just horrible. Magana only just edges them out on the bitch stakes, which says something when you consider that she is like the spawn of Josie Cunningham and Hitler.

 

The way Esparza and Herrig were ripping into Randa for being "rude" while they were being absolute cunts- total lack of self-awareness. I hope they get their comeuppance in the cage.

[wandshogun09]

I hope Magana gets fed to loser of Calderwood/Namajunas at the finale. Just to put a nice brutal exclamation point on the end of her 15 minutes of semi-fame.

 

I was thinking as well, I think Esparza is in the final but I wonder if Torres upsets her. Esparza was accusing Torres of using PEDs on twitter and Instagram a few weeks back. Maybe Torres beats her and those accusations were her excuse for losing. Just a thought.

 

I'm starting to think this might happen actually and maybe that's why the UFC put Esparza and Markos on that TUF Talk thing. Maybe they're fighting at the finale.

 

I could actually see the finale looking something like this;

 

Calderwood/Namajunas winner vs Torres - TUF Final for title

Esparza vs Markos

Clark vs Magana

Herrig vs Ellis (they've been having digs at each other since the show wrapped)

Hill vs ...Calderwood/Namajunas loser maybe?

 

Something like that. Of course, Esparza vs Markos (if it happens) could even be the title fight yet if they keep winning. I think anyway. I can't remember how the bracket looks.

[hbk4life]

Yeah Magana isn't a love to hate type person, I do just hope she loses on the finale and fucks off. Her total meltdown on Twitter has been weird, kind of sad really. It's funny how she went on about going to Thailand to find peace etc, yet she's a complete cunt to people.

 

I could see the finale exactly as you've predicted Wand. They'll want Herrig and the Calderwood/Rose loser to look strong so feeding them Ellis and Hill makes sense, although Ellis could cause an upset with her experience. Clark and Magana are surely facing each other. Esparza vs Markos could easy be the final, but if it isn't then I hope they are fighting each other anyway. I really want to see that fight asap. I guess they could throw in Penne vs Chambers and Daly vs Rawlings as well.

[wandshogun09]

Sounds about right. Who'd be the odd one out there, Kagan right? Justine Kish isn't fighting on the finale due to her knee injury so I'm guessing whoever the odd one out is will fight a strawweight who's already in the UFC.

 

So yeah, I'll say the final ends up being...

 

Namajunas vs Torres - TUF finals for strawweight title

Esparza vs Markos (could end up as the title fight)

Calderwood vs Hill

Clark vs Magana

Herrig vs Ellis

Daly vs Rawlings

Penne vs Chambers

 

It'll be interesting to see how close we were in a few weeks. Namajunas vs Torres 2 would be an awesome way to crown the first 115 champ as well. Although it'd have a hard act to follow after their first fight.

 

You'll notice I've ended up picking Namajunas to beat Calderwood there. I hope I'm wrong. I like both but prefer Calderwood. Just feels like the way Namajunas is being hyped and featured prominently, that she probably goes further in the tournament. That's the impression I'm getting anyway.

 

Also, could mean nothing but I found it interesting how at the start of the season Ronda Rousey was asked who her pick to win was - she said Calderwood. Then a few weeks later she was fully on the Namajunas bandwagon and predicting her to become a big star at 115. Seemed like Rousey must've heard or seen something to change her mind like that.

[Supremo]

I've absolute no idea why he just popped into my head, but reading about fighters losing on the TUF finale and then vanishing into obscurity reminded me of "Diamond," Dave Kaplan.

 

He's probably most famous for getting knocked out in the house, but for me, I'll always love him for his entrance at the TUF finale.

 

 

UFC used to be so much fun. I'll always look back at those days fondly.

[wandshogun09]

Didn't he unknowingly eat Kyle Kingsbury's cum-splashed sushi as well.

[Supremo]

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2014/7/26/5940825/kyle-kingsbury-retirement-ejaculate-sushi-the-ultimate-fighter

 

Seems to be the case, yeah.

 

For some, Kingsbury will be remembered as a fairly entertaining fighter who picked up a pair of Fight of the Night awards, including a win over Fabio Maldonado.

 

For others, he'll be remembered as one of the architects of the low point in not only The Ultimate Fighter, but possibly all reality TV.

 

Kingsbury and crew had been stealing Tom Lawlor's fruit bowl every day durin The Ultimate Fighter: Team Mir vs Team Nogueira, eating the fruit in front of the camera crew. This led to Lawlor and others from the team urinating on the fruit, leading to Kingsbury and others eating urine soaked fruit.

 

The sushi ordered by Phillipe Nover (a member of Kingsbury's team) also kept coming up missing. As revenge, Kingsbury took the sushi into the bathroom, ejaculated on it and returned it to its normal place. This led to Dave Kaplan eating the tainted sushi, also on camera.

I don't think they aired the footage though. I'm sure that was the one time where they decided things had gone too far. It's so weird to think back to how bonkers TUF used to be. It's night and day to what it is now.

 

Have we ever had a, "Where are they now?" disussion concerning TUF alumni? I'm now findings myself looking loads of guys up. If I'm honest, I'm very surprised Junie Browning isn't dead.

 

EDIT: Poor Ross Pointon! Seemed like a proper nice bloke on TUF 3, ended up with a record of six wins and SEVENTEEN losses!

[wandshogun09]

Yeah I don't think it made the show. It was in the DVD extras though. Obviously you don't see Kingsbury's ground and pounder, just a closed bathroom door and Kingsbury presumably whacking away like a shaved gibbon behind it. Then you see Kaplan eating the slimy sushi and then being told why it was so slimy.

 

Fucked up viewing.

 

I looked up a bunch of ex TUFers a while back but immediately forgot most of it within minutes. I wonder whatever became of Jason 'Strangebrew' Thacker, Wayne Weems, Andy 'Take Him Down' Wang, Solomon from 'Team Dagger', Noah from TUF 3 who left for a girl he'd been with a week or something.

 

One 'where is he now' I do know about though - Joey Scarola off TUF 6. You recall he was Matt Serra's buddy, best man at his wedding, worked as a BJJ instructor at Serra's gym etc. And left for a girl which pissed Serra and Longo off royally.

 

Well, Serra was asked about Scarola by Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour a few months ago. Apparently they did patch things up eventually. And the girl Scarola left TUF for, he's now married to if I remember right.

 

Oh and Luke Cummo is apparently a Grade A looney these days. Serra hinted at that and said his brother Nick Serra hangs around with Cummo now. Serra and his brother fell out as well so fuck knows what the deal is there. Last I read about Cummo he's big into conspiracy theories now.

[hbk4life]

Sounds about right. Who'd be the odd one out there, Kagan right? Justine Kish isn't fighting on the finale due to her knee injury so I'm guessing whoever the odd one out is will fight a strawweight who's already in the UFC.

 

So yeah, I'll say the final ends up being...

 

Namajunas vs Torres - TUF finals for strawweight title

Esparza vs Markos (could end up as the title fight)

Calderwood vs Hill

Clark vs Magana

Herrig vs Ellis

Daly vs Rawlings

Penne vs Chambers

 

It'll be interesting to see how close we were in a few weeks. Namajunas vs Torres 2 would be an awesome way to crown the first 115 champ as well. Although it'd have a hard act to follow after their first fight.

Forgot about Kagan, not that there's much to remember. Maybe she would face Daly and Rawlings would face a newcomer or something. I'd happily take a Namajunas vs Torres or Markos vs Esparza final, or Calderwood vs anyone is my real hope. Can't really lose - there a lot of interesting fights that could end up being the final! Could even end up being a Markos vs Torres rematch.

 

I often end up googling old TUFers, it's interesting to see what happened to some of them. I do remember reading a lot of weird shit from Cummo and that he's totally against MMA as a sport these days.

[freaky]

Quite enjoyed the clinical nature of this week's show, devoid of the childish playground bullshit and bullying from Magana, Hill, Rawlings, Herrig and Esparza.  Instead it was two focussed fighters keeping their eye on the ball.  I was disappointed that Daly didn't win - despite her aloofness (or maybe because of it) I loved it when her eyes lit up when Connor McGregor dropped by and I really felt for her due to isolation in the house, self-imposed or not.

 

Still, Penne going through doesn't generate any complaints from me - she clearly won the third round.

 

I'm interested in Namajunas next week though - her hand is constantly hovering over the self-destruct button.

[wandshogun09]

Aisling Daly's out then

 

Pretty good fight. Daly's been retweeting people saying she was robbed but I didn't think it was in any way a robbery myself. I had Daly winning round one and Penne taking rounds two and three. Maybe there's some argument for giving Daly the second as well, which would've meant no third round and Daly winning outright, but it definitely wasn't an outrageous decision or robbery like Pearson vs Sanchez or something.

 

The bit with McGregor dropping by was cool. You could tell that really lifted Daly's spirits. What was with the rest of the women though? That was awkward as fuck. I could see why Penne didn't want to exchange pleasantries with Conor, she was just about to fight, and against his team mate. But the rest? No manners. Only Calderwood and Chambers acknowledged the fucker.

 

So, we'll know the semis next week.

 

Esparza/Torres vs Penne

Calderwood/Namajunas vs Markos

 

We're still on track for Esparza vs Markos or Torres vs Namajunas 2 in the finals, like I predicted. I keep going back and forth on it now. The closer it gets the more I'm thinking the final is Esparza vs Markos. I'd still love to see Calderwood win it all though.

 

Next week's episode should be really good with the last two quarter finals. Esparza vs Torres and Calderwood vs Namajunas are really quality fights. It's almost like a mini Invicta show. Those two fights would've probably headlined Invicta cards this year if not for the UFC pilfering their 115 division. Great fights and I genuinely am about 50/50 on both.

[mickfan]

Couldnt quite believe Herrig saying she was going to make Randas face hurt and all that when even a blind bloke could see the arse kicking she was about to receive. Very satisfying after the schoolyard pattacake shit that Markos heard. Shes a legit contender.

 

Great seeing C-Mac drop by. He has a really positive aura about him and love the law of attraction way he speaks telling Aisling that was her belt and no-one could take it from them. Awkward meeting the other fighters. There seems like some right bitches in there. Conor should have cut promos on all of them. SBG must be a great place to train.

 

Daly-Penne was fight of the series so far. Pennes now put out my two faves on the show (bitch!) and a shame as Daly won the first round. Penne has an impressive ground game and if she ever catches anyone with that front kick they'll be OUT! Next weeks double header looks good. Haway JoJo!!

[wandshogun09]

Joanne Calderwood speaks out on the twats on TUF 20;

 

"I don't really remember the 'slumber party' that Team Melendez had. I was probably in bed at the time. It's pretty bad that they weren't thinking about Tecia Torres still being in the room and still being in the competition, but that's the kind of girls they are. They're selfish and they weren't really thinking about the girls who were taking it seriously.

 

Some of the girls had started getting their party heads on and drinking, but they're supposed to be professional athletes. I thought they should be training and still taking it seriously.

 

Even if you're out after your first fight, you've still got four or five weeks where you can be learning and training with other people, rather than getting drunk and not turning up to training.

 

Randa Markos and I were close. We shared a room and we ended up training together most of the time because we were both serious about the competition.

 

We just clicked because we were both there for the same reason. Both Randa and I are serious about wanting to go to the top and we don't really think about anything else, which can't be said about some other people.

 

I just didn't see the point in splitting the Team Pettis training sessions at all. You could see Carla Esparza and Jessica Penne training together, they trained with each other from the start, but they were in the same side of the draw too! If they won their next fights, then they'd be fighting each other, so it didn't make sense.

 

It was mostly Randa who was on the mat with me. We were on the same side of the board as well but we weren't thinking about that. We just got on with it.

 

It was silly and I totally agreed with Randa. She thought, 'Hang on a minute, I'm not giving up one of my training sessions.' It's bad enough that we only got an hour at training so to then give up even more time was crazy.

 

In the TUF house, you were lucky if you were getting two good hours out of your day. To cut that back even more when you're supposed to be working towards the most serious fight in your career, was silly. It shouldn't have been an issue.

 

Carla and Felice Herrig were really immature. I hate watching these episodes because it brings it all back and what we had to deal with.

 

I hope they're both embarrassed watching it now. They're supposed to be role models for anyone who is out there and is looking to get into MMA. Anyone watching that would think, 'Why would I want to go and be around these people?' These are supposed to be people at the top of their game. They should act like it.

 

That's what it was like, twice a day, every day. Randa and I were trying not to get involved with it all but it's hard when Carla and Felice were acting like that. You don't want any conflict but they were creating it.

 

I thought Randa hit Felice at the weigh-ins. From my angle, it looked like she slapped her! We had talked about it and I said, 'You know she's going to try and get a reaction out of you' which she did.

 

I'd said, 'Don't rise to it or lower yourself to her level.' I don't know what I would do if someone blew a bubble in my face but obviously Randa felt the need to burst it.

 

I thought that was really disrespectful but that's what Felice is like, she is a disrespectful person. I would never get in anyone's face like that. It's called a staredown; you're only supposed to stare!

 

The fight between Randa and Felice didn't last very long. It was pretty sweet; that's a really rare submission that Randa got and I think only one other person has ever pulled it off in the UFC.

 

It just shows that you have to stay focused out there and you can't get caught up in your emotions. Felice was quite vocal that she just wanted to go in there and punch Randa in the face but Randa was just focused on going in there and executing her gameplan.

 

I didn't even know that argument between Randa and Carla after the fight had happened, to be honest. I was laughing watching it.

 

It reminded me of the thing in Invicta where Tecia beat Felice up and Carla stormed into the cage and demanded she fight Tecia next because she 'beat up her best friend'. She's so childish."

And yeah, I read the whole thing in a ridiculously quiet Scottish accent.

 

The more I hear about Carla Esparza the more I dislike her. I knew I wouldn't like Felice Herrig going into this TUF. I'd seen enough of her that I knew she'd annoy the piss out of me. But I'd only seen fight footage really of Esparza. I can see why they get on so well. Two cunts in a pod. Then there's Vinegar Tits Magana.

 

I really want Calderwood to win this but if she doesn't, then I hope the final is Esparza vs Markos and Markos absolutely batters her. Would be fantastic. And it'd be all the sweeter because she'd have eliminated both Herrig and Esparza from the tournament.

[herbie747]

During every season of TUF, someone appears halfway through that I swear I've never seen before. And in this season, it was this lady:

 

 

I turned do my wife and said "where the fuck did she just come from?"