THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER 8 EPISODE 2 RECAP
MMARINGREPORT.COM
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
The Ultimate Fighter wasted no time in getting to the action,
announcing the winners from episode 1, and pushing right into the
fights that would determine the final 8 spots in the TUF house.
The first fight was a spirited one with England’s Wesley Murch taking
on John Polakowski in a lightweight bout. In an interesting start
Polakowski’s pre-fight jingle included a bit about how he loves
to hug people. "I am giving hugs to everyone, I is so much fun,"
he said. Weird.
There was no hugging during the bout and Polakowski landed a nice
punch that stunned Murch in the opening moments of the match. Murch
got back on track with a takedown and some nice ground and pound but
instead of continuing with the ground assault he fell back for an
ankle lock and it proved to be a mistake. As the round closed Murch
was cluching his leg and wincing in pain and it appeard that he would
not be able to continue, he gutted it out and tried to fight in the
second but he collapsed and the bout was called.
Shane Primm was confident coming into his bout with Sean O’Connell
saying "trapped in a cage with me, that is one of the worst places
you can be." While he preflight spiel appeared pompous, he was able
to back it p in the Octagon with a rear naked choke win in the first
round of their preliminary bout.
In Lightweight action Efrain Escudero took Ian Pariente to the ground,
locked in a rear naked choke/neck crank against his opponent and took
the qick submission victory.
Tom Lawlor defeated his opponent Ryan Lopez by rear naked choke early
in the first round to advance into the house. Lopez who described
himself as a "bounty hunter by day, and fighter by evening" could
have used a gun in his fight because it was over quickly and Lawlor
advanced into the next phase of the TV show.
George Roop took a heavily edited fight by decision over Roli Delgado
Ryan Bader had trouble with the stand up in the early goings against
Kyle Kingsley but the 2-time All American eventually took the fight
to the ground to get into his comfort zone in the second part of the
first stanza. Despite that according to Frank Mir, Kyle Kingsley took
the first round in another bout that was heavily edited and impossible
to judge from watching the TV show.
The second round was a different story as Bader took the bout to
the mat right off the bat and secured an arm triangle choke that
finished Kingsley and sent Bader into the TUF house as one of the
early favorites to compete in the finals.
Shane Nelson defeated Charles Diaz in a bout that was almost completely
edited in a lightweight bout, and was described by Nogueira as one
of the best 155 guys in the house for his efforts.
The final bout featured a controversial decision as Karn Grigoryan
defeated Eliot Marshal via decision after three rounds.
Karn Grigoryan looked like the aggressor in the early goings and worked
the ground and pound off a failed takedown attempt by the lankier Eliot
Marshall and appeared to be in control. It didn’t stay that way and
following a reversal, Marshall took control with his jiu jitsu, taking
the mount, and back control en route to a strong finish to the round.
Grigoryan looked much slower off the hop in the early goings of the
second stanza and Marshall appeared more comfortable in the cage,
working his jabs and keeping his opponent at bay while Grigoryan was
content to throw haymakers. Marshall looked to be the fresher fighter
in the second and appeared to have won the fight after two rounds,
but the fight must have been tied at one round a piece in the eyes
of the judges, as the bout went to a third and final round.
In the third Grigoryan took the bout to the mat but Marshall
reversed with an Oma Plata to take the top position and eventually
the mount. Grigoryan was was game and re-reversed to get on top but
blood started pouring out of the face of the Armenian onto the chest
of Marshall.
Dana White, and Frank Mir both agreed that Marshall should have won
the fight but the judges felt differently as Grigoryan was given the
split decision. Despite the decision it was announced that Antwain
Brit broke his hand in his fight with Ryan Jimmo and because of the
controversial decision it was Marshall who was given another chance
by getting into the house.
Coming on Episode 3
With injuries it appears that Marshall is not the only one that is
going to be getting a second chance on the show following a loss. Clips
of fighting, drinking, and all the other malfeasance that is the
mainstay of the TUF shows appears to be alive and well in season 8