It is wild card week on The Ultimate Fighter as Chuck O’Neill faces Javier Torres.
Things are still tense around the house and gym following last week’s decision to bypass Len Bentley for one of those wild card slots. Len is really distraught over the issue and goes to plead his case to Dana White on his way out of the gym. White gives him the usual speech about him wanting guys who want to fight, so on and so forth. I don’t think Len has shown anything other than that and his statement about him striving to be Dana’s employee does nothing to change that. His knee though was injured and I’m sure on some level he is downplaying that. Dana concludes by saying that had Len shown that kind of passion before the decision were made he would have certainly gotten in there.
From there Len takes his bitching back to the house. He even lays into Chuck asking him to name one person who fought harder than he. Len may be completely oblivious to this but that move right there came off as monumentally egotistical. Ryan takes the opportunity to stir the pot and says that he heard from Dos Santos that Lesnar was the reason that Len didn’t get the shot. This sends Len into even more of a rage as he criticizes Lesnar, his credentials as a coach, and says that he would like to fight him.
The next day at the gym Len can’t help himself and confronts Brock face to face to ask him what happened behind those closed doors and why he didn’t get the spot. Lesnar references his knee and then kind of passes the blame on saying that Dana wanted “healthy” fighters. I don’t believe we actually saw those words come out of his mouth. Then things take a slightly odd turn as Lesnar starts to criticize Chuck and his devotion to the sport. I guess when he saw Chuck’s laid back style side by side with Len’s hyper aggression it struck him and he even went so far as to say that he regretted his decision.
Back at the house there is more low rent storyline building going on as a minor feud has broken out between Shamar and Chris as every morning Chris wakes up and let’s out a loud scream, subconsciously or so he claims. This has enraged Shamar so much that he confronts Chris and tells him that he now wants to fight him. Really? Over his morning ritual?
Now it is time for the coaches’ challenge and once again Dana has stacked the deck. Well maybe not quite as bad as last season when he told GSP to go swing a baseball bat, but here former Minnesota Vikings wannabe Brock Lesnar will be competing against Junior Dos Santos in a football challenge. Dana reminds us that Brock tried out for the Vikings and that he was very very good…but not good enough to make the team which I think is the main point here.
The challenge involves running drills, pushing a sled down field, kicking a field goal, throwing a pass through an octagon, catching a pass and running the length of the field. Things are pretty tight throughout but Dos Santos gets the field goal in first and is a little quicker with the passing obstacle which allows him to win. Then of course he takes his money and gives $100 to each fighter on Team Lesnar and $500 to each coach on Team Lesnar. Nothing for Brock though.
Weigh Ins
Chuck O’Neill= 170
Javier Torres=170
During the square off O’Neill pulls his pants down around his ankles and reveals purple underpants. A funny move that serves to ridicule a part about this sport that may be essential but is also outdated and overly self-serious.
Chuck O’Neill vs. Javier Torres
Round 1– A close round between the two wild carders. O’Neill found a lot of luck throughout by throwing and landing counter punches. Torres was sticking to a gameplan of pressing O’Neill up against the cage and trying to land knees from the clinch. He had some success with that but not enough to win the round, I would say. Torres lands a low blow near the mid-point of the round but nothing ever comes of it. The intensity level is pretty low from both these guys as they seem to be cautiously approaching this fight which is obviously of the utmost importance for their careers. 10-9 O’Neill.
Round 2– After standing and banging for a few moments early in the round O’Neill moves in for a takedown. Torres smells it, reverses it and ends up on top. He quickly grabs the back and starts looking for a rear naked choke. O’Neill will have none of it, slides out of it and gets a takedown of his own. And there things will stay for the duration. He looks to be looking for a kimura but I am not convinces that his heart was in it. It almost felt like he was doing that to placate Herb Dean and to avoid a standup. O’Neill does a great job of keeping Torres planted on the mat. Once Torres finally does get into a kneeling position it turns out to be a terrible move as O’Neill slaps on a D’Arce choke and earns himself a ticket in the quarterfinal round.
Chuck O’Neill def. Javier Torres via Submission (D’Arce Choke)
Quarterfinal Matchups
Clay Harvison vs. Ramsey Nijem
Chris Cope vs. Shamar Bailey (how convenient)
Chuck O’Neill vs. Zach Davis
Tony Furguson vs. Ryan McGillivray
Final Thoughts
There was nothing overly awesome to be found on this week’s episode but in it’s own, entertaining enough kind of way it worked. It was familiar to a fault as we got the silly feuds that bubble up when you put 14 fighters into a house together, and the coaches challenge, and the pissed off fighter who got overlooked for a second chance. These storylines have been drilled into us from the very beginning and as we have spent a lot of time talking about this year the formula needs to be reconfigured. I might also go so far as to say that this season has suffered because this cast hasn’t exactly set my world on fire. Len and his annoying whining about being passed over is at least noticeable. Who had given Shamar two thoughts since that first episode until he burst back on the scene here with a noise complaint? Poor Chris is just hated by everybody for the most insignificant issues. Looking back over the past few season you would have to agree that season 10 (Nelson, Schaub, Slice, Titties, McSweeney, etc) really set a high bar. Of the eight remaining my money is on Ramsey which is nice because he is also my favorite of the remaining 8.
