Three Men Down - August
22
(Many thanks go out to
Spiketv.com for their assistance in the
preparation of this recap.)
Team Hughes v. Team Franklin.
Dana White, the owner of UFC, explained last week that 3
fighters--all in the heavyweight class are all out of
the UFC2. Two of them quit, one of them was lost to
blown knee cartilage. The fighters leave the gym
dejected. They question why they are in this competition
and whether or not they have what it takes to make it.
Dana decides to bring in an alternate--Dan Christison,
an engineer from New Mexico.
And now it's time for the welterweight division to get
banged up. Jorge Gurgel goes down while sparring. He is
forced to go see a physician who drains some fluid out
of his knee, and the diagnosis is not good. His knee
will only continue to get worse. But, Jorge is
determined not to let his knee injury affect him in this
competition and will continue on even if it means a
complete knee replacement. These UFC fighters are tough
nuts to crack.
Back at the house, everyone is getting fed up with
Melvin Guillard (Welterweight 5'9", 170 lbs. Age: 22
From: Kenner, Louisiana) always talking about Melvin.
Melvin has a mouth that doesnt quit. And he is about to
write some checks his body won't cash. In the evening
Franklin and Hughes pay a visit to the house to see how
the guys behave when theyre not training.
Today, Hughes and Franklin picks teams. UFC Owner Dana
white flips a coin and coach Franklin gets to pick
first. He selects Keith Jardine (Heavyweight 6'2", 220
lbs. Age: 29 From: Albuquerque, New Mexico) followed by
Jorge Gurgel (Welterweight 5'9", 170 lbs. Age: 28 From:
Cincinnati, Ohio)... Coach Hughes picks Joe Stevenson
(Welterweight 5'7", 170 lbs. Age: 23 From: Las Vegas,
NV) and Mike Whitehead (Heavyweight 6'0", 255 lbs. Age:
24 From: Davenport, Iowa). The coaches continue to pick
teams, alternating their selections, until Brad Imes
(Heavyweight 6'7", 260 Age: 28 From: Columbia, Missouri)
and Luke Cummo (Welterweight 6'0", 170 lbs Age: 25 From:
New Hyde Park, New York are the last two fighters
chosen.) Dana reminds everyone not to forget the goal
two six-figure contracts in the UFC. And remember that a
fighter, even if they lose may get a deal...look what
happened in the Bonner/Griffin classic in the final of
TUF 1!
The fighters arrive at Centennial Park for the first
team challenge. They are surprised when UFC legend and
TUF veteran Randy "The Natural" Couture shows up as the
challenge coordinator. He explains the welterweights are
up for elimination. The object of this week's challenge
is to capture the dummy -- a large heavy bag in the
middle of a field -- and bring it back to their
respective end zones. And the winner this week--Team
Hughes when Luke uses his grappling skills to hold onto
more than one team Franklin fighter at once, allowing
Josh to get the dummy to his end zone. And as the
winner, Team Hughes has the honor of deciding the
match-up.
Team Hughes joins Team Franklin at the Ultimate Fighter
House and Dana announces that the fight will be Josh
Burkman (Welterweight 5'10", 170
lbs. Age: 25 From: Salt Lake City, Utah) vs. Melvin.
Josh tells everyone he picked Melvin to fight because of
his claims that he was the best fighter in the house. He
is going to shut Melvin up.
Both fighters make their way to the UFC Training Center,
focused and
ready to fight on fight day. Both are intense in their
warm up and are
ready to get down to business as they enter the octagon.
As round one
begins Burkman and Guillard prove their tougness as they
waste no time
making contact. Melvin gets Josh in a guillotine choke
and it looks like
it might be over before it even gets started but Josh
manages to slip
out Josh manages to pick Melvin up and drop him for some
ground and
pound. But Melvin catches Josh in another guillotine
choke. Josh
struggles to get free but the bell rings just in time
and round 1 is over.
Time for round two. It produces the same results as Josh
and Melvin
trade kicks and punches. Melvin makes another attempt at
a choke but
can't get it locked. As Round 2 ends, Franklin tells
Melvin that his only
option now is to knock Josh out or hes going to be
eliminated.
Round three is underway. As round three goes on, Melvin
tries to get Josh in another choke. But Josh, realizing
his strategy, takes him to the ground again. Melvin
struggles and gets out from underneath Josh. But the
fight is over before Melvin can get more punches in.
Josh wins by unanimous decision, but gives Melvin credit
for being a lot stronger than he thought before the
fight. He even hurt his arm while blocking one of
Melvins kicks. Melvin broke his hand during the second
round when Josh threw up his elbow to block. Melvin
humbly admits that he froze a little bit upon entering
the ring. With his ego in check, Melvin leaves the UFC
Training Center a bit wiser and out of the competition.
Who will be left? Find out next week on the third
episode of "The Ultimate Fighter 2!"
(Again, much assistance to spiketv.com for the
assistance in the
preparation of this recap) |