TUF Episode 4 Recap: Spilled Secrets, Catty Nicknames, and Hissy Fits. Has The Ultimate Fighter Become The Real World?

Share on Facebook posted 10-08-09 by John Freeman Gill

So what exactly was that we saw last night on the fourth episode of Spike TV’s fighting show? My impression — and correct me if I’m just being naive here — was that a show called The Ultimate Fighter would have, you know, a bit of fighting in it. Instead, what we got more closely resembled an episode of The Real World: Octagon, in which a bunch of muscle-bound men spilled secrets, gossiped behind one another’s back, gave each other catty nicknames, and then got all teary about having to “crush each other’s dreams.” The only thing missing from the standard let’s-all-move-in-together-in-a-totally-contrived-living-arrangement-and-enact-melodrama reality-show fare was a late-night scene of Kimbo Slice lying in bed in his Hello Kitty PJ’s, weeping into the phone to his girlfriend that “I need to know if you really like me.” Oh yeah, and the fighting. Did I mention that a little fighting would have been nice, too?

Yes, the show did eventually get around to showing us Team Rashad’s cocky Brendan Schaub and Team Rampage’s decorous Demico Rogers squaring off and rolling around a bit before Demico abruptly gave up his dominant position and allowed himself to be choked with an oxygen-depriving anaconda maneuver. But the fighting was so uninspired, and the tapout so sudden and anticlimactic, that the show was compelled to revert immediately to its bitchy-housemates reality-show formula in order to gin up a little drama. The moment Brendan was declared the winner, Demico’s ostensible coach, the still-winless Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, threw a hissy fit about his fighter’s poor performance, storming out of the arena and leaving Demico in the octagon to face his failure alone. Opposing coach Rashad Evans, maybe sincerely and maybe just because he’s a clever showman who knows an opening when he sees one, then stepped into the octagon to console Demico — a responsibility, he pointedly noted later, that properly belonged to Rampage.

Rashad was right, of course. The normally likable Rampage was indeed behaving a touch like a narcissistic douche, but most fight fans will agree that this little high-school sideshow was a poor substitute for a well-fought bout. Even in victory, Brendan looked sloppy and vulnerable on the ground, exposing his weaknesses for the next fighter he takes on.

Could that be Kimbo Slice? In case anyone had any doubt that the show’s producers are going to shoehorn the street-fighting YouTube sensation back onto the fight docket, the opening sequence of the show was devoted to showing Kimbo’s teammate, Marcus Jones, coming down with a mysterious case of the sweats. And who, conveniently enough, should be the one to spot Jones in such distress, with the cameras looking on? Kimbo, of course. His golden grill glinting winningly for the fans at home, Mr. Slice gamely offered to take Jones’s spot on a future fight card if Jones should become too ill.

Contrived? Hell, yeah. But after last night’s snoozer of an episode, I’m about ready to slip Jones a Mickey myself if it’ll get a fighter with Kimbo’s undeniable charisma back in the spotlight and back in the octagon.

Watch the pre-fight buildup!

Watch TUF drama unfold!

A toothless fan review!

Kimbo’s last stand!

3 responses to TUF Episode 4 Recap: Spilled Secrets, Catty Nicknames, and Hissy Fits. Has The Ultimate Fighter Become The Real World?

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DeLorme

Demico didn’t give up his dominant position. He gave up side control to go for a full mount. While he was mounted, he was swept. Brendan looked good. Everyone knew going into the fight that Demico was a better wrestler, but Brendan showed he had an excellent guard and sustained very little damage after he was taken down. Also, his anaconda choke was an excellent display of jiujitsu. The tapout was not anticlimactic at all — Brendan set it up deliberately and beautifully. Kimbo wouldn’t last a round with Brendan or any of the other real fighters in the house. You are right about one thing, though: Rampage really did prove himself to be a douche. What a classless scumbag!

John Freeman Gill

I didn’t mean he intentionally gave up his dominant full mount; I meant he lost it. But your points are all well taken, especially as regards the second round. Still, I think Brendan was lucky that the round break — rather than his own skill — allowed him to escape the first round, where I feel he looked anything but good. The fact that everyone knew going in that Demico was a better wrestler doesn’t make it any less true. I like Brendan, and he deserves credit, but I do think he’s vulnerable on the ground.

PugBoy

Gill’s got a point. Saying that someone “sustained little damage while he was down” is a nice way of saying he was getting his ass kicked, but just not as bad as it might have been. What Brendan did was compensate well for his weakness, but his ground game is a weakness all the same, and I think we’ll see that exploited in future fights.