For a complete preview of all the fighters for TUF 4, click here. Do it.
This season is entitled The Comeback because all the men are experienced UFC fighters. They have all had fights in the UFC but have struggled to make a mark. This is their shot at redemption. Something about $100,000 and a title shot to the winner was said, but I’m sure they are all more interested in the redemption.
As the fighters arrive and greet each other at the UFC training center, Dana White introduces the trainers. This season does not feature coach vs. coach, so these men mostly advise the fighters as opposed to leading them. The trainers are Randy Couture, Georges St. Pierre, and Mark Dellagrotte.
Dana White tells the fighters he is excited about this season. Unlike past seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, he knows that each and every one of these guys wants to be a fighter. The question will be if they still have the drive to be a fighter and if they have what it takes to be a champion. Dana seems most relieved that he won’t have to baby this group of fighters and hold their hands through the competition.
Picking Teams
Since there are no coaches or team captains, Dana White decides to choose teams by the time-tested random jersey draw. Each weight class (welterweights and middleweights) has a box of eight jerseys, four blue and four gray. Pick a jersey from the mystery box and that’s your team. Dana also gives the men the task of renaming their teams once they have been formed. This is how the teams shape up:
Gray Team
Welterweights: Matt Serra, Shonie Carter, Chris Lytle, Din Thomas
Middleweights: Patrick Cote, Edwin Dewees, Pete Sell, Scott Smith
Blue Team
Welterweights: Rich Clementi, Mike Burnett, Jeremy Jackson, Pete Spratt
Middleweights: Charles McCarthy, Gideon Ray, Jorge Rivera, Travis Lutter
Teams in Training
Shonie Carter likes his team. Randy Couture, however, is not too fond of Shonie’s training shorts. If you can’t deal with another man flaunting his junk then that’s your problem.
Matt Serra likes his team but he’s a little disappointed that Shonie Carter is on his team. When Serra heard that Shonie was going to be on the show, he was excited to fight him because Carter holds a UFC victory over him. It was a spectacular fight that Serra was winning until Carter knocked him out with a spinning backfist. Now the chances of Serra getting his revenge are slim since they are on the same team.
Rich Clementi says his team is full of a bunch of tough SOBs. One of whom is Mike Burnett who Rich is happy to have on his team because his quite a character. A short profile on Burnett explains his absence from the UFC. He wants to fight with a clear head and didn’t feel like he could do that for the past six years as he was going through a divorce and battling alcoholism. You know, that’s not exactly what I had in mind when Rich said he was quite the character.
The Coin Toss
After the teams had a day of training, Dana did a coin toss to determine which team gets to pick the first fight. The fight selection for this season of The Ultimate Fighter is just like the current season of The Contender. The winning team gets to pick the next fight. The fighters also came up with new team names. The Gray Team will now be known as Team Mojo. The Blue Team shall now be referred to as Team No Love. Those are both pretty lame. They probably came up with both during the van ride to the training center.
Dana flips a blue and gray colored coin and Team No Love win the toss. This doesn’t sit well with Matt Serra. It’s just a coin toss, Matt. During the first day of training, Matt emerged as the unofficial team leader of Team Mojo. Shonie Carter is having some problems adjusting to Matt as the team leader as he’s used to being the leader. Shonie doesn’t do himself any favors by throwing up after a drill. He claims it’s the first time he’s thrown up as a pugilistic competitor. It’s kind of odd too as he’s a sloppy vomiter. Shonie’s poor showing during training leaves Matt to believe that Team No Love will pick him first as he looks to be the weakest.
Fight Selection
The welterweights are fighting first. Pete Spratt speaks on behalf of Team No Love and announces Rich Clementi vs. Shonie Carter. Rich believes he can win this fight but Shonie thinks Team No Love is underestimating him.
Both men weigh in at 171 lbs, within the one-pound grace limit for welterweights. In a great touch, they show highlights of each man’s fights in the UFC, starting with Rich Clementi. Apparently, Rich’s nickname is No Love so I see where the team name came from. I wonder how everyone else feels about being on a team named after Rich Clementi. Rich’s lone fight in the octagon was at UFC 41 against Yves Edwards, where he fought as a lightweight. Clementi hung in for two rounds with Edwards despite losing those rounds. He knew he was behind in the third round and started taking more chances. Clementi got too aggressive and Edwards was able to choke him out in the third round.
Shonie “Mr. International” Carter is a crafty UFC veteran. He is 3-2 in the UFC but his last two fights were losses. Dana recalls Shonie throwing Brad Gumm around for a decision at UFC 24 as well as dominating Adrian Serrano at UFC 26.
Dana starts talking about UFC 31 where Shonie Carter fought Matt Serra in what Dana says is one of the best fights he’s ever seen. Serra was winning the fight, according to Dana, with his submissions. With about twenty seconds left in the fight, Shonie nails Matt with a spinning backfist and knocks him out. Shonie went on to lose at UFC 32 against Pat Miletich as well as an upset loss to Nate Quarry at UFC 53. Quarry jumped right on Shonie in that fight and got a quick KO. Now Shonie Carter is working his way back up the ladder. Shonie says he’s been hit with everything in his career, including baby momma #2 throwing a flat-iron skillet at him. Wow. If this guy loses I’m going to be pissed.
Rich Clementi not only guarantees a win against Shonie, but also a berth into the finals. He thinks Shonie is more interested in being famous than in winning the fight. Ah, the classic Billy Hoyle-Sidney Dean argument. Would you rather look good or win?
At the House
Shonie Carter spray paints the metallic UFC logo. Din Thomas jumps on the bandwagon and questions Carter’s intentions for the show. Thomas also believes Shonie is just here to make a name for himself. Matt Serra starts helping Carter regain his confidence and gives him a lot of tips during training. Serra is mostly interested in Carter’s well-being so his team can gain “The Hammer” and choose the fights.
Fight Day
Carter says his strategy is to do the damn thing. Seriously, that’s what he says. This guy CANNOT lose. Serra keeps coaching Shonie up and I can see a friendship develop between these two by show’s end.
Both Rich Clementi and Shonie Carter are confident going into the fight. Clementi says the only way he loses is if Carter’s uncle happens to be on the Commission and fixes the fight for his nephew. Carter says something in Japanese that means “you’re dead and you don’t even know it.”
As usual, the fight is two 5 minute rounds. If the judges have it a draw after two rounds then they go to a third sudden victory round.
Rich Clementi vs. Shonie Carter – Round 1
The first round begins with both men content to keep it on their feet. Clementi lands a jab and Carter counters with a kick to Clementi’s ribs. Clementi scores a takedown on Carter and moves into side control but Shonie rolls out of it. They get back to their feet and Clementi presses Carter against the cage. Matt Serra yells at Shonie to underhook and circle away and that is precisely what he does. The advantage of having Matt Serra as team leader can clearly be seen. Serra continues to shout instructions at Shonie while Rich Clementi is mostly on his own in the octagon.
Clementi blocks a high kick from Shonie but doesn’t do a very good job of blocking the right left combinations that follow. Another good straight right by Carter. Both men are staying very patient, something some of the fighters in earlier season have lacked. Carter trips Rich to the ground and gains side control. Shonie Carter is bleeding. Didn’t see where that came from. Carter gets to his feet and gives some half-ass kicks to Clementi while he’s on his back. Big John is having none of that and stands them up. Rich lands a nice knee while the two are clinched against the fence followed by a right hand as the round ends.
Clementi goes to his corner and says that Shonie is slimy. Not as a personality trait, but as in massive amounts of perspiration. Well Rich, people are prone to sweat when they fight. Serra tells Shonie to let his hands go a little more.
Round 2
Clementi starts the round with a nice belly to belly takedown. Clementi gets the mount and drops elbows on Shonie. Shonie uses the fence to flip over but Rich grabs an arm. They showed Matt and Shonie training for this very situation earlier in the episode and Shonie is able to escape and gets into Clementi’s guard. Shonie isn’t as active as his team wants him to be in the top position. Clementi might even be landing more shots from the bottom. They transition into a north-south position, otherwise known as 69. That doesn’t last long, because, well, it’s gross and Carter goes for Rich’s back. Rich rolls through and seems to be going for a knee bar. Carter goes for the back again but Rich stands up. Thirty seconds remain in the fight and they slug it out, with Shonie seemingly getting the better of that exchange.
The round ends as well as Matt Serra’s merciless yelling of “Hammerfist! Elbow! AHHHHH!”
The scorecards are in and the winner by unanimous decision is Shonie Carter. Thank God.
Post-Fight
Shonie Carter boasts in his post-fight interview, dismissing any and all of Clementi’s abilities. He ignored the fact that he could barely walk out of the octagon after the fight and looked like he was about to throw up again. That’s why Shonie rules.
Dana tries to give Rich some encouragement as Rich tries his “He was slimy” excuse one more time. Team No Love tells Rich to keep his head up and reminds him that he’s likely to be first back in the house if anyone gets hurt. Good point. He better be back, otherwise the dude they named the team after only lasted two days. Dana also mentions that Shonie should thank Matt Serra for being in his corner as he believes that’s a big reason why Shonie was victorious.
Next Week
Team Mojo develops a strategy to pick apart Team No Love one by one, but encounter some complications as a result of someone’s silly mistake. It also looks like Shonie sings. I’m there.
