As the episode opens there is some dissension in the team Lesnar ranks as the boys are upset with coach because after the fight last epsiode he used his cliched “Chicken shit into chicken salad” line. Now they all feel as though he was calling them names. Obviously if that is all it takes to bring these guys down they just aren’t cut out for the UFC but that is neither here nor there. Lesnar calls his team together to clarify his remarks, which he does basically by insulting them again and reminding them of how lucky they are to be on the show.
Zach speaks about his anxiety over Keon leaving the show, saying that as of how the team has a good dynamic going but one knucklehead could screw that all up.
Justin Edwards is then brought in as the replacement. We don’t have a lot of info on this guy as of this moment but we will bring it to you as it arrives. Everybody seems cool with him and they sit around and discuss his physical resemblance to Randy Couture.
Team Dos Santos coach Lew Polley is upset with the direction his team is headed saying that Junior is being too soft and nice to the guys and that he is going to usher in a new era of meanness.
This leads to a training cut to Shamar that happens while he is wrestling Ramsey under Polley’s new rules. Of course Polley’s solution to the problem is to patch it up and get back to work ASAP. Dos Santos has a different interpretation however and calls out his assistant saying that he doesn’t want to run a gym with lots of screaming and insults.
Fight Announcement
Lesnar comes out and makes the match that will serve as the climax to this episode.
Len Bentley vs. Ryan McGillivray
The cast spends some time wringing their hands because Chris has been spending time with the other team. This seems like one of those shoehorned in storylines that are supposed to serve the casual fans who are used to a certain brand of reality TV. However, as the ratings have shown, the product is stale and the fans simply aren’t as interested as they used to be even with Lesnar in a starring role.
We spend some time getting to know Len. From there we go directly into Len squealing to Lesnar about Chris and the time he spends with the opposing team. As he said though this is the opportunity of his lifetime so treating it with a bit of paranoia isn’t all that outrageous. Lesnar tries to sidestep the issue, then says that he will mention it to Chris, then reminds Len not to get caught up in the BS.
Lew concocts a plan to rotate everybody every 15 minutes. This upsets Dos Santos and that causes coach to call Lew into his office for a talking to. Dos Santos reminds him that he there to be a wrestling coach and that he is in charge. Believe it or not this strong armed push from Dos Santos in the name of kindness has raised his stock considerably in my book.
McGillivray says that he is fighting for his little girl. He also says that he is comfortable if this fight gets to the ground or stays standing. However, with only a few hours to go before weigh ins McGillivray is almost 10 pounds heavier than the 170 welterweight cutoff. Lew comes up with a strategy to dump a lot of weight very quickly. It’s complicated but included a sauna.
Official Weigh Ins
Len Betley= 170 pounds
Ryan McGillivray= 170
That is a huge amount of weight to cut right before the fight so it will be interesting to see how that affects him and if he can avoid pulling a Jake Shields in his fight.
Lesnar informs his team that due to a personal issue he will not be attending the fight tomorrow. He reminds the audience that his personal life always comes first and that “everybody” knows that.
Dana White and Shogun Rua show up to watch the fight. This was, of course, pre the Jon Jones fight so Rua still had some respect amongst fans and fighters.
Ryan McGillivray vs. Len Bentley
Round 1- Rosenthal is the ref here. Bentley comes out throwing haymakers. Jab from McGillivray. Bentley lands a big shot though and Mcillivray falls backwards and almost looks to be out. Bentley lands a shot from above but McGillivray stays alive. Bentley takes top control. McGillivray gains control of the leg preventing Bentley from doing anything too damaging. Bentley begins to drop elbows from above. Bentley winds up in McGillivray’s guard and quickly after they stand up. Body kick from Bentley. Big hook from McGillivray. Another huge shot from McGillivray and then another which drops Bentley. McGillivray follows him to the ground and ends up in the guard. McGillivray is able to land a few body shots but for the most part his offense is muted. Bentley rolls and starts looking for an arm bar. 1 minute left in the round and Bentley gets his arm bar. it looks to be deep but McGillivray survives and escapes. McGillivray takes advantage and put on a choke hold that is like a modified guillotine. Bentley appears to be in trouble but the clock is almost dead so he waits it out and lives to fight another day. 10-9 McGillivray
Round 2- Jab from McGillivray. He keeps throwing but doesn’t really connect. He hits another jab. Body kick from Bentley, he follows with a crisp jab. Another body kick that lands on McGillivray. Jab from Bentley, he seems to be dictating the pace here. More boxing from both parties. Spinning back fist from Bentley that hits McGillivray in the back. McGillivray goes for the takedown but Bentley uses the cage to stay upright. He finally gets it by dropping to Bentley’s shins, but Bentley stands up out of it quite quickly. In the clinch Bentley hits a series of knees. Combo from Bentley. McGillivray is really doing nothing in this round. Another spinning back fist that fails from Bentley. Inside leg kick from Bentley. McGillivray throws a jab. Then connects with one. Both fighters are totally gassed as time expires. 10-9 Bentley, 19-19 on the Inside Fights scorecard.
Ryan McGillivray def Len Bentley via Majority Decision (19-19, 20-18, 20-18)
After the smoke clears Dana White congratulates Bentley on a great fight and tells him that he has nothing to be ashamed of. Dos Santos meanwhile is off congratulating his man playing up the “Your daughter is gonna be so proud” card. Let’s hope Ryan doesn’t hightail it off the show to spend more time with his family as well.
Final Thoughts
I’m curious to take to the web and see how other MMA writers out there scored the fight this week. To my eyes that 2nd round was not even close in favor of Bentley and, truth be told, that opening round could have easily gone either way. Lesnar has obviously proven to be a less than magnetic presence on the show and now that he is MIA dealing with family issues it will be interesting to see how the show develops going forwards.
