The hype for The Ultimate Fighter 6 was large. Current welterweight champion Matt Serra will pit his coaching skills against former welterweight champion Matt Hughes. The two will then face each other in the cage for Serra’s first title defense in December.
The producers would have you believe there is a bitter rivalry between the two Matt’s but it seemed mostly dramatized. I’m sure the tension will mount the closer they come to their December title fight, but for this episode, it really wasn’t there in earnest.
Unfortunately, the premier of TUF 6 was by far one of the most boring TUF episodes I’ve ever seen. With the exception of Roman Mitichyan going Manny Gamburyan on the doctor after hearing his elbow fracture was going to prevent him from fighting, the show was a bit lackluster.
This episode’s fighters are: Matt Arroyo, Daniel Barrera, Blake Bowman, Mac Danzig, Paul Georgieff, Richie Hightower, John Kolosci, Troy Mandaloniz, Billy Miles, Roman Mitichyan, Dorian Price, Jared Rollins, Ben Saunders, Joe Scarola, George Sotiropoulos, Tommy Speer[1]
One of the best moments was seeing a hint of Dan Barrera’s butt-crack as he stood in the kitchen discussing Mac Danzig’s strict vegan diet. Dan Barrera has the same girl-fan attraction of last season’s Handsome Matt Wyman. It’s uncertain if he can fight yet, but he’s pretty to look at. He definitely showed potential as a contender.
Dana White tossed the coin and Matt Hughes gave the first pick to Serra, who chose Joe Scarola. Because Serra picked the first fighter for his team, Hughes now had the right to decide the first fight. He picked his fighter Mac Danzig, a King of the Cage veteran with a 16-4-1 record to fight Scarola, a less experienced fighter from Serra’s own gym.
It was clear from the look on Scarola’s face when Hughes called his name that he was going to need some extra encouragement. The former champ believed that his experienced fighter had more than enough skill to take on the relative rookie.
Serra worked with Scarola to build his confidence while Hughes merely agreed with Danzig’s bravado. Scarola put up a good fight, reversing top control and even getting back to his feet. Hughes would occasionally call out a reminder to Danzig about his technique but Serra was hand-holding his man, encouraging him in the way one might encourage a toddler to go pee pee in the potty (I actually rather dislike Serra’s coaching style).
Danzig sunk an airtight triangle choke. Serra begged Scarola not to tap. Despite a half-hearted attempt to follow orders, he realized it was either tap or sleep. Serra was profoundly disappointed and let the fighter know. To Scarola’s defense, he demonstrated he could fight; he’s just not a competitor.
