In Hindsight: The Ultimate Fighter 5 – Episode 6

Last Week…

You can find this image on Spike TV’s Ultimate Fighter page

If you somehow missed that fight (and I think many of you did), check out the image to the right –>

As The Rev recently noted, Gabe posted his comments over at The Underground Forum. And managed to spout off 2 or 3 of the usual clichés about Reality TV. You know, it’s not reality, I was edited to look like a blork, that’s not who I am in real life, I did it on purpose, etc.

Hey, I got no problems with the fact that Gabe acted like a blork (for the record, the Peter David-created term [read Marvel’s X-Factor!], not the increasingly common “blogging dork” contraction), but the fact is, while he was cast because he was “reality-worthy”, Gabe forgot the primary reason he was there – to fight for a 3-year guaranteed contract.

Here’s the current “standings”:

We recap last week’s fight selection. Dana’s high on Joe. I’m sure that has nothing to do with Lauzon beating the crap out of Pulver.

Training
B.J. notes that Joe looks like a psychopath. We get clips of Lauzon vs. Pulver. Pulver tells Brian to forget that Joe beat him. Jens has no hard feelings, because these things happen.

Preliminary Fight #5a – Joe Lauzon (Penn, 13-3) vs. Brian Geraghty (Pulver, 24-9-2)
The referee is Steve “The ‘Stache” Mazzagatti.

Round 1
Joe gets under and delivers a nice slam. He puts Brian up against the fence, posts up and starts pounding away. Brian manages to get back up but Joe literally jumps on his back and sinks in a rear naked choke. Brian holds off for a bit, drops to the ground but Joe rolls over and even though he really doesn’t have any hooks in, the choke is tight and Brian is forced to tap.

Winner: Joe Lauzon (Tapout -> Rear Naked Choke, 1:12 R1)

Total domination by Lauzon, and finally, a win for Team Penn. Too bad that this wasn’t the hammer match.

After the Fight
Jens reiterates that Joe comes like thunder. Joe notes that he landed on his head on the slam. Dana has a huge man crush on Lauzon based on his praise. Jens is happy that Joe has shown that he’s real good, because it proves that Jens was not “beaten by a bitch”. Fair enough. Brian thinks that he got embarassed and cremated, and thinks that Dana shouldn’t invite him back.

But there’s still one match to go.

Training
Emerson feels like there’s more pressure than the first time since he’s a “lucky loser”. He feels that he’ll have more fun with the fight because Corey isn’t as good on the ground as Nate is.

Corey admits to Jens that he’s only had two amateur fights, but he lied to Dana about it. Yep, he’s a true rookie. And he has to make weight again – probably not an issue.

Weigh-ins
And it’s not – both men weigh in at 155. I could’ve done without seeing Rob’s S&M briefs though. If you liked it though – good on ya. Dana figures that this will be a good standup fight.

Preliminary Fight #6 – Rob Emerson (Penn, 8-6) vs. Corey Hill (Pulver, 0-0)
Once again, the referee is Steve “The ‘Stache” Mazzagatti. Judging from the time, this looks to be a long fight.

Round 1
Corey starts out exposively but Rob recovers and takes him down basicall with the Stroke. Corey gets some kicks in, now they’re circling, looking for an opening. Emerson gets a straight left but he seems wary of Corey’s reach. Bullrushes from Rob land a punch or two each, but no real damage. Corey really isn’t doing much of anything. Clinch, and nothing comes of it. We get a few more brief exchanges, Rob doing more than Corey. No real damage this round, but Emerson was more active, so I’ll give the round to him.

10-9 Emerson

Round 2
Circling to start, and more brief exchanges, Rob mixing things up by adding kicks to his charges. We get a clinch, and Corey works for a takedown, but opts instead to punch out of the clinch. Emerson is still charging in, Corey bouncing around, looking for… something. Hill then charges in and lands some uppercuts, but Rob punches out of the clinch. Jens tells Corey to finish the round strong. Corey’s charging more now. One minute left, and I think Corey has to do more to take this round. Emerson lands a nasty sounding leg kick, but he slips and Corey gets on top. Emerson gets a leglock, and the round ends.

10-9 Emerson

They’re thinking that the fight is a tie at this point (judges had Corey winning round 1), and Dana confirms it.

Round 3
Corey looks fresher at this point. He clinches and lands some uppercuts. Guess that’s his move. Corey again gets some punches in, while B.J. tells Rob to “go”. Corey is still running in. He gets a straight right about two minutes in, but Emerson’s ok. B.J. wants Rob to exchange more. Another nice leg kick from Emerson. Two minutes left, and I think Rob is behind. Corey is keeping Rob at bay with jabs. Rob charges in but slips. Another nice leg kick from Rob. Final minute, and Rob lands another leg kick. Superman punch kinda lands, as does another leg kick. Round ends, and I really don’t know. I think Rob may have pulled this one out, but I’ll give this one to Corey.

10-9 Hill.

B.J. thought the first round was a tie, while they both gave round two to Emerson. Jens notes that Corey was pushing the pace in the final round. Emerson felt that he was more hesitant in the final round. Dana didn’t think that either one was overly impressive, but that Emerson won the final round. But it’s the judges that count, and the verdict:

Winner: Corey Hill (Unanimous Decision)

After the fight, Corey confesses to Jens that that was his first “pro” fight (that doesn’t officially count). Dana notes that Corey was picked based on his raw talent. Rob, meanwhile wonders what Corey actually DID in that fight, and Wiman notes that Corey was dictating the pace and moving forward, which in a standup match does count for a lot. Rob doesn’t agree with the result, but Dana notes that he was fighting not to lose.

Next week, B.J. blows up at Trevor MurdochNoah, and Marlon, Wayne, Matt and Gray fight in the final two preliminary matches.

Sir Linksalot: The Ultimate Fighter