We open into a training session for Team Dos Santos. Junior reminds them that nobody has ever died from being tired (not sure if that is true) and encourages them to keep going. He also has his team wearing gas masks during the work out, no idea what the purpose of that it but I’m sure somebody out there does.
Back in the land of Team Lesnar Brock informs the camera that he expected to lose last time (way to believe in your team!) and then says that stupid thing about chicken shit and chicken salad that he keeps repeating. Charlie uses his face time to express his fear that if his team doesn’t win the next fight Brock might kill all of them.
Now onto the big news of this episode which is that Keon from Team Dos Santos wants to return home to be with his little girl. Junior tries to talk him out of this rather ill advised decision but he seems to have his mind set. In the next scene Dana White enters the gym to give him the pep talk and try to get him to stay. He eventually agrees to not flee the premises and returns to practice.
Fight Announcement
The matchmaking responsibilities remain in the hands of Junior Dos Santos and he once again decides to take one of his early round studs and place them against somebody low on Lesnar’s totem pole so we get
Javier Torres vs. Chris Cope
Brock points out for the idiots at home exactly what Dos Santos’ strategy is and says that it is fine because he would be doing the exact same thing. Of course as I pointed out last week that tactic can only work for the first 3 fights or so before Dos Santos will have to start pitting his lower picks against Lesnar’s higher picks.
We get to spend some time learning about Javier Torres. He speaks about his childhood in Mexico and how finding a UFC DVD on the streets of Mexico is what inspired him to become a fighter. Meanwhile Keon, now safe from Dana White’s wrath, goes to Dos Santos and says, once and for all, that he cannot continue to be without his family. At that point all Dos Santos can do is send him on his way. Dana White does take the time to give the camera an interview speaking about what a bone headed move it is and what a phony Keon is. I guess Dana doesn’t understand anything other than people sacrificing their entire lives just to impress him.
The storyline they are giving us with Chris Cope is that he is not a full time fighter. He talks about how he works an 8 hour day so training is something that he has to squeeze in whenever he can. They are definitely invested in building him up to be the underdog. Brock then gives this thinly veiled egotrip dressed up like a pep talk to his troops where he is basically saying that on Any Given Sunday any fighter can give any other fighter. The problem is that his example is himself losing to Cain Velasquez. Not sure if that was a fluke or not, but that is neither here nor there.
Javier Torres vs. Chris Cope
Round 1- Javie starts things out by tying Chris up against the cage. He’s able to keep him there for a few minutes and lands a few knees in the process. Chris gets in a few knees of his own but they have no authority behind them. Javier even goes for a foot stomp at one point I guess in an attempt to win style points. A boxing match breaks out and Chris seems to be throwing a little wild. Javier lands a throw, takes side control and then the back but does nothing with it. Chris reverses things and gets Javier up against the cage and lands a few nice elbows to the face. Near the end of the round Chris suffers a cut under his left eye. The round ends and it looked to be a 10-9 round for Javier.
Round 2- Chris comes out the aggressor though almost instantly his cut opens back up. A hugging contest soon breaks out as this round proves to be something of a snore. Chris dominates the clinch but can’t use it to do anything. Javier finally catches fire near the end of the round landing some nice shots and a massive inside leg kick that chops Chris down. The round ends and it was an incredibly close one. We’ll say 10-9 Chris.
The judges seem to concur and Dana announces that we are headed to a third and final round.
Round 3- Chris opens with an inside leg kick of his own. Chris gets him up against the cage and seems to be trying to rest/win points. Javier claims that he has taken a shot to the groin and calls for a break. Referee Herb Dean kind of falls for it for a second and lets him get a break. Somebody, either Brock or Dana, expresses extreme dislike from outside the cage. Dean quickly amends the situation and they continue on fighting. Javier pops him a good one but he is neither in control nor the aggressor throughout the rest of the fight. We’ll give the third round to Chris 10-9.
Chris Cope def. Javier Torres via Unanimous Decision
Back in the locker rooms Team Lesnar, now in control, celebrates loudly while in the next room Team Dos Santos mopes and seethes at the classlessness of their opponents. Where have I seen this storyline before?
Final Thoughts
As much as I dislike the way Dana White felt the need to publicly humiliate Keon on his way out the door I did find it to be a curious decision. If he truly did want to be a fighter he had to know that this was the opportunity of a lifetime and that it was going to require sometime away from his family. That said I get separation anxiety with the best of them so I totally understand where he was coming from and wish him the best going forward. The episode itself was pretty good but it kind of wrote itself as half of it was dictated by Keon’s departure and the other by the fight which ended up going the entire 15 minutes.
