K*Lovely's TUF 12 Recap episode 3

On the previous episode we saw GSP use trickery to get the first pick he wanted and we saw “Bruce Leroy” become victorious and advance to the next round. This show opens with Lentz and Caceres back at the house sharing in a post fight drink. Lentz seems to take his loss like a man. Alex on the other hand is doing some bragging and explaining how the kicks to the head hit his afro so he didn’t feel them. This seems to get under the skin of his housemates. I mean really….the kid is only 21 and came to the house with a gimmick. What were you expecting, maturity?


The show moves on to the training, and its Team GSP that is up first. GSP is happy with the win but says that winning is not the only thing he is there for. He says that the guys on his team are already great fighters, but he wants to transform them into martial artist. To help with this transformation he brings in Gia Sissaouri to help with their wrestling. He wanted his team to experience what it was like to train with a world class athlete. The way they showed him tossing the team around, I’m sure it was quite an experience for all of them but also a great lesson.

Now, it’s time for Team Koscheck’s training. Koscheck feels that after the loss, the team needs to regroup and get ready mentally. As he says this they show the team losing momentum. They are complaining about being tired, needing potty breaks, getting their ass kicked in training….blah, blah, blah. Suck it up boys, after 12 seasons you should already know it’s not easy. This attitude sparks a Koscheck speech to the team. The speech works and you see the team kick into high gear for the rest of the training.

Fight pick time! Gsp goes with his number 1 pick- Michael Johnson and the opponent they choose is Aaron Wilkinson. During the stare down Wilkinson continued to touch his nose. I didn’t understand that. Is that a fighter thing? GSP states that Johnson is the best athlete on the team and feels that the fighters’ styles will match up well. Wilkinson, as well as Koscheck, feels the other team is underestimating him. Wilkinson believes he is a better striker and is better on the ground than Johnson.

Now in this episode we see the practical joke played by the coaches. I think Koscheck wins the award for the LAMEST joke in TUF history. The only joy & laughter I got from this joke was hearing GSP cuss in that cute accent of his. Koscheck thought it would be funny to have the team park their cars close enough to GSP’s car on both sides so that he couldn’t get in. Well, plan failed. GSP was able to maneuver his way into his car. Somehow Koscheck thought this trick would get into GSP’s head. WRONG KOSCHECK!!! You better keep training because it’s going to take more than that lame joke to mess with GSP’s game.

How would you like to have enough pull to tell Dana that you’d like to have Mike Tyson come in and talk with your team? Well, GSP has that kind of pull. No need to toot your own horn GSP, I’ll toot it for you…toot toot!! Dana delivers and brings Tyson to the training center. When Tyson walks into Johnson’s dressing room you see everyone’s face light up. GSP talks about how Tyson was his idol growing up & how he used to play Mike Tyson’s Punchout. Johnson is honored to have him there and it motivates him even more to get the win. Unfortunately, Koscheck doesn’t have that kind of pull so Wilkinson only has his team to help motivate him. I did see Jon Fitch sitting in his dressing room though, so that’s a plus.

Michael Johnson vs. Aaron Wilkinson

Round 1

They come out and Johnson shows a couple of fake moves and then hits with a leg kick. He seems to get the control pretty early. They both start to exchange punches & get a few kicks in. Johnson lands a punch that pushes Wilkinson against the fence. Johnson gets a takedown but Wilkinson quickly gets up and the fighters are back in the center of the ring. They continue to have an even amount of punches and kicks. When Johnson goes in for another kick Wilkinson catches his foot and uses that to push Johnson up against the fence but he can’t keep him there. Johnson gets a nice takedown in the center of the ring but Wilkinson is getting up as Johnson is trying to get his back for a choke. Wilkinson scores his own takedown and starts landing some elbows and punches. You can see it on Johnson’s face, that is not a position he’s not comfortable with. Johnson does a pretty good job of protecting himsef but the round ends with Wilkinson on top.

Round 2

They start the round pretty much the same as the previous one. Johnson lands a nice punch to Wilkinson’s face and they are back up against the fence. They both deliver some knees and as Wilkinson moves away from the fence, Johnson lands some good body shots. They briefly clinch and Johnson gets a takedown and goes for a rear naked choke but can’t sink it. Wilkinson escapes but eats some punches doing so. Wilkinson starts to put the pressure on Johnson and he gets another takedown. He lands more elbows but this time around Johnson gets up much quicker. Once again the fighters are back to the stand up and Johnson is goes for another takedown. He gets Wilkinson against the fence and starts kneeing his legs. Wilkinson attempts a takedown but Johnson is able to stop it from happening. They end the round swinging. The judges score it and we are headed into a third round.

Round 3

In this round Johnson comes out with fire and is striking and Wilkinson goes down. Johnson is all over him as he drops and starts to nail him with the ground and pound. As Wilkinson struggles to escape he gives up his back and Johnson hooks in a rear naked choke for the win. Team GSP remains in control.

Koscheck felt that Wilkinson had controlled the fight and had won both rounds but the judges didn’t see it that way. It’s always heartbreaking to see the fighters come to tears after a tough loss. Koscheck gave Wilkinson a lot of credit for fighting his heart out when no one had given him a chance to win. I think his words were great comfort after a hard fight. There is always the wild card spot, so never count yourself out.

Well that wraps up another good episode of TUF. Next week looks to be just as good, as we see clips of “Bruce Leroy” pushing Sevak to the edge and of course we see another fight. Will GSP stay in control or will Team Koscheck come out with their first win?

Don’t forget tonight is the WEC Aldo vs. Gamburyan fight on Versus. There is so many great fights on this card and I’m excited.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, predictions, etc. You can always find us on Twitter (@woMMAn) with weigh in & fight updates. Check out http://wommanthoughts.blogspot.com on Mondays for the weekly Rampage thought and of course go back there or http://fisttacuff.com every Wednesday for a new TUF 12 recap. Keep it real people and see ya next week!



K*Lovely

K*Lovely's TUF 12 Recap episode 2

We are in the second week and this episode was filled with strategy, drinking, smoking, and of the course team picks. The show starts with the boys heading out to check out the new house they’ll call home for the next couple of weeks. The boys are impressed with the place and quickly race up to grab the best beds in the house. Stevens and McKenzie have no interest in that, they are distracted by the bar and decide that is the place to be. After the beds are picked naturally the next thing to do is to have a few shots, test out the pool and swap stories. They start off showing Lentz as the guy who will handle the liquor as well as the cigarettes. Apparently drinking and smoking is all part of his trickery because he says his cardio is on point. Now after this episode, I am even more convinced that I need to hang with Alex “Bruce Leroy”. He shared his stories about killing an alligator with his bare hands, wrestling a deer, and not to mention he killed it on a harmonica. He just oozes cool.


Now it’s time to get to a little business and the coaches pick their teams. They show Koscheck in the dressing room going over his picks and Michael Johnson is at the top followed by Marc Stevens. Koscheck likes Stevens because he’s cocky. Two peas in a pod right there. Now in GSP’s locker room Greg Jackson is offering him some advice. He tells GSP that if he should go with picking the first fighter, and like Koscheck he is eyeing Johnson as his first pick. Now not only is GSP super fine, he also has a brain and comes up with a good strategy to get Koscheck to waste a pick if he wins the toss and goes for 1st pick. GSP comes up with a fake list and puts Stevens on the top in big letters. At the gym GSP pretty much does everything he can to flash his list for Koscheck to see. Even Dana tells GSP that he’s flashing the list and the other team can see it. GSP tells him “It’s a strategy.” Koscheck wins the toss and opts to pick the first fighter. Silence falls for a second and Koscheck takes Marc Stevens as his first pick. DUMBASS! GSP played him like a trick pony and GSP gets Johnson, the 1st pick he wanted and he get to pick the fight. Dana gives it up to GSP and says “Well played.” Yes Dana well played indeed and just like their upcoming fight, Koscheck came up short and looked silly.

TEAM GSP: Michael Johnson, Jonathan “billy goat” Bookins (my nickname for him), Spencer Paige, Alex Caceres, Karl Watson, Cody McKenzie, Dane Sayers

TEAM KOSCHECK: Marc Stevens, Sevak Magakian, Sako Chivitchian, Andrew Main, Nam Phan, Aaron Wilkinson, Jeff Lentz

Let the training begin. First team they start off in training is GSP. He gives an awesome impression of the Sgt. Hartman speech from Full Metal Jacket. I think this is the first time we get to see just how much of a sense of humor GSP has. He explains that he believes his duties would best fit the team as a training partner and he’ll let Greg Jackson and John Danaher do the coaching. He is happy with his team and is looking forward to helping them learn new skills and improve the skills they have already.

Now Koscheck has a little different approach on his coaching tactics. Koscheck brought in Bob Cook, Daniel Cormier, and Teddy Lucio as his assistant coaches. He wants to push the guys into mindless training. His motivation for them is to win. He makes it very clear that he does not want to GSP at all, even though he has already been out smarted by him.

It’s time for GSP to pick the first fight. The first fight he picks is a doozy! He picks Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceres vs. Jeff Lentz. GSP said that Alex had asked for this fight and since he seemed determined he wanted to give it to him. Koscheck is happy with this choice as well. He thinks this a good match up and that Lentz will win. You kind of get the feel that Koscheck is not giving Alex a chance in this fight. We get the normal “get to know the fighters” stuff. Alex explains that he is influenced by Bruce Lee and when he was 14 he was fortunate enough to find a gym that would let him train for free and that changed his life. He also got himself into wrestling. Lentz talks about his New Jersey pride and being that he is a Kurt Pellegrino look-a-like, it’s no surprise to me that’s who he trains with back home. Alex is doing a little sparring in the backyard with Sayers and as he puffs away on a cigarette, Lentz explains that he is not impressed. Alex dresses in a formal Chinese gi and rocks a Jedi braid that McKenzie thinks should go. Lentz changes his hair from red to blonde and the boys prepare to head out to battle

ALEX CACERES vs. JEFF LENTZ

Round 1

Alex comes out with some kicks to try and keep the distance from Lentz which works for a little while. Lentz starts in with kicks of his own and is able to push Alex up against the cage. They are both fighting for a good position against the cage and exchange a couple of knees. After a little more scrambling Alex gets on Lentz’s back and goes for a guillotine. Lentz is able to escape and the two end up on the mat here Alex goes the guillotine again. Lentz slips out of it and uses this to get Alex back up against the cage. The ref breaks them up and both fighters are back in the center. Alex continues with the kicks and Lentz decides to do the same. They continue with the kicks and throw in punches. Both of them land good shots but nothing damaging enough to finish the fight. In the final seconds of the fight Lentz gets in a sweet judo throw to end the round in a high note.

Round 2

Alex comes out again with his kicks and Lentz starts to time them and catches one and uses this to push Alex back against the cage. They scramble around for a bit and end up back on the mat but Lentz ends up on top in half guard. Alex is able to get into full guard and stop Lentz from hurting him and before you know it Alex is able to slip his legs in for a triangle. He hooks it in and Lentz lifts up and tries to slam Alex down and punch his way out of the choke but it doesn’t work. Instead of going to sleep, Lentz taps and “Bruce Leroy” prevails and moves onto the next round!!

GSP was all smiles after the fight and said he was happy to see Alex on the bottom instead of up against the cage. He knew Alex had a good triangle and could use that to win. Koscheck is disappointed and said that he saw the triangle coming. Now how can you not like Alex? Even Dana likes this kid and was happy to see him win.

Overall I thought it was a good episode and a good fight. I’m looking forward to next week’s episode. Let’s see if Team GSP can stay in control of the fights. Don’t forget folks that UFC 119 is on Saturday with a list of great fights. Make sure to check out http://wommanthoughts.blogspot.com for the TUF recaps as well as the weekly Rampage thought.

K*Lovely

T-Dubb's TUF 12 Episode 2 Recap

I love, love, love GSP. He had me applauding and laughing at the start of this episode. Koscheck, such a chump.  Thought you were slick didn’t you.  The fake list was classic.  That’s something K*Lovely and I would do in a competition.  M&Ms hoochie!! I thought no way Koscheck would fall for such a simple trick.  But hey, he’s not paid to be smart. Now, I have to double check last week’s episode, but I thought Koscheck didn’t remember Marc Stevens, and now they’re admitting to coaching him before.  Things that make you go hmmm.

So everyone knows that the 2 teams will experience very different coaching strategies.  Koscheck calls his coaching style “mindless,” where they roll around and he jumps in to show them something.  Is there going to be some strategy or control lessons in the sessions?  Aren’t the fights 50% physical and 50% mental?  Also, I thought that there was going to be 1 or 2 acting lessons mixed in with the training sessions.  Not much to say about GSP’s team, except that they’re lucky SOBs.  I want to roll around with GSP in those tight shorts.  Besides that, these guys will have an opportunity to learn from some of the best coaches and Mr. GSPrefect.  They’ll get to experience what GSP does on a daily basis, how technical his training is, and his thought process on how to dominate an opponent of any caliber.

So, Koscheck said that if you sit down and have a conversation with him, you’ll fall in love with him.  Ok, hell naw, I will not fall in love with Koscheck.  I wouldn’t be able to get past the fakeness and the hair.  You’re labeled based off your actions and what you portray to the public.  What I’ve seen is cockiness and a fake ass.

Alex Caceres v Jeffrey Lentz

This was an excellent match up and first fight.  I thought it was fitting that these 2 were matched up image wise, good guy vs bad guy, similar to their coaches.  Lentz convincingly dominated the 1st round by keeping Caceres up against the fence, utilizing leg kicks, and has an impressive throw at the last few seconds of the round.  Caceres had several guillotine attempts but nothing came of them. 2nd round started out much the same as the 1st.  Lentz had Caceres up against the fence, and Caceres attempted another guillotine.  They wind up on the ground, with Lentz on top.  There were a few elbows by Lentz, but Caceres was able to get Lentz in a triangle choke for the tap out, and wins with 2:30 left in the 2nd.

Can’t take anything away from Lentz, he could have won this fight if he didn’t get caught up in the chokes.  Both fighters have the potential to have a good career ahead of them if they continue to improve.

That’s all I have for you.  Don’t forget to tweet us your thoughts (@woMMAn).  We’d love to hear what you think of the season so far.

Bye for now,

T-Dubb