In Hindsight: The Ultimate Fighter 5 – Episode 7

Post-Fight
Joe beat on Brian, and then choked him out. Corey jabbed, Rob did more damage, and Corey made it through. Team Pulver is now five and one.

Dana is worried about this, and takes BJ aside. He notes that BJ doesn’t want to be a ing Ken Shamrock on this show who can’t train his team properly. BJ sidesteps the blame by saying that his team only looks at one another as training partners. Dana will have none of this and tell BJ to be the general. BJ then blames Jens having the hammer and being able to choose fights, so the solution is for him to beat up Jens in the finale. But he tells Dana that he’ll try to turn things around. Given that it’s his #2 and 3 fighters versus Pulver’s #7 and 8 guys, I’d say his chances are pretty good.

Meanwhile, Gray cheers Emerson up with a hookah, a keg and a beer bong. Well, not so much the beer bong – Brian seems to be taking control of that.

Training – Team Penn
B.J. is pissed off at his team, and apparently has been taking fear lessons from Dwight Schrute, as he kicks Andy out for not giving 100% “since Day 1”. Andy’s shocked, and Tony and Regan escort him out. Andy comes back in to plead his case, but B.J. thinks that it’s a waste of his time. Emerson (who was riding around in a scooter and drinking beer DURING TRAINING) is confused by this, and Andy feels like a Ronin. Echo, Clint Barton, Andy Wang? Why not. Dana gets called in, and B.J. blames Andy for being a big part for his team losing. I love how B.J. is accepting all the blame for his team’s failures, and not putting it on anyone else. Dana figures that B.J. is overreacting, but the show needs alternates.

Training – Team Pulver
Dana asks Jens if he wants to take in Little Orphan Andy. He asks his team, and they want to take him in. Andy tries to explain the raising hand thing from episode one, and Andy tries to resist it, but Dana Warbucks is all “tough shit” and tosses a yellow shirt at Little Orphan Andy. In the confessional, Little Orphan Andy says that he felt like he still had a committment to Team Penn. Dana Warbucks thinks that Little Orphan Andy’s disrespecting Jens now, and he gives a classic f-bomb laden speech about second chances and gets him out to the gym. And then the team gives him a group hug and everything’s OK in the world of Andy Wang.

Going over this again, it seems to me that Andy has never been fired before. I know that the first time I was let go, I was in a state of shock for a while. Andy seemed to be in that same sort of haze. Luckily for me my friend’s wedding was the next day, so I managed to get over it quickly without having the likes of Dana White cutting a promo on me. Or having my blabbering airing in front of millions of viewers.

Fight Selection

Here’s the current “standings”:

Team Pulver still has the hammer, and gets to choose the last two fights. Jens calls out Wayne, who calls out Gray Maynard. So by default, the final match is Marlon versus Matt.

Training – Team Pulver
Pulver talks about Weems in a way that basically says that he’s tried real hard but he’s gonna get his ass kicked. Wayne calls himself a tough kid who’s only been training seriously for about two months. Jens “really” thinks that he’s got a legitimate chance. Riiiiight.

Training – Team Penn
“My name… is Maynard. And I like to fight.”

OK, so Gray didn’t say that, but it was the gist of his confessional. He’s done a lot of wrestling, but he’s gonna punch Weems hard. B.J. has faith in Gray, and tells us that you shouldn’t underestimate anyone. And then says that Gray’s gonna walk through Wayne. Yeah, not underestimating anyone. Sure, B.J.

Preliminary Fight #7 – Gray Maynard (Penn, 3-0) vs. Wayne Weems (Pulver, 16-2)
The referee is Herb Dean.

Round 1
Gray quickly takes Wayne down into side mount and drives him into the cage. Weems has a guillotine but Gray gets out and attempts a modified choke from half guard. Wayne gets out and Gray lands an elbow. Weems gives up his back and Gray pounds on him from there. Wayne is making no attempt at offence right now, simply covering up. Gray pounds on a turtling Weems for about a minute (that seems to last 10 times as long) until Herb mercifully stops the fight at 2:47.

Winner: Gray Maynard (TKO -> Strikes, 2:47 R1)

After the Fight
Jens notes that they knew Weems was outclassed and gives him credit for stepping into the Octagon. Weems looks like hell, and says that he wasn’t going to give up. Wayne’s upset. Nate gives Wayne credit for having a lot of heart. Jens calls him a real fighter now. Wayne is determined to make the most of his final two weeks on the show. Gray’s ready to move on.

We go back to the previous day, as we see Marlon bragging and the hookah bunch making fun of him.

Training – Team Penn
Apparently Wiman has been downgraded from “Handsome” to “Mildly Attractive”. Just for the show though, so he doesn’t come off as arrogant. He’s working his way to “Sexiest Man Alive” though, so all you ladies, look out for Matt Wiman. He’s blessed to be a fighter. B.J. figures that Wiman should slam him down. Wiman wants to smash his face in.

Training – Team Pulver
Marlon’s been fighting since he was 5 and he’s 33 now. He’s Muay Thai, and wants to show that striking isn’t dead. Dana figures this to be a fun fight.

Preliminary Fight #8 – Matt Wiman (Penn, 6-3) vs. Marlon Sims (Pulver, 3-1)
The referee is “Big” John McCarthy.

Round 1
Both men hit each other with rights, but Wiman lands his right on the chin Marlon staggers. Matt quickly gets on Marlon’s back and rides him to the ground. Wiman gets his hooks in, sinks in a rear naked choke and Marlon’s out.

Winner: Matt Wiman (Submission -> Rear Naked Choke, :50 R1)

After the fight, Marlon talks about never tapping, so he went to sleep. He was dreaming of his girlfriend, and woke up to Big John looking at him. Must’ve been a bit of a shock.

Next week – the quarterfinals begin, B.J. and Jens can’t agree on the fights, and we get a “technical” streetfight at the house.

Sir Linksalot: The Ultimate Fighter