New TUF episode 1

Any threads on this yet? I hadn't seen any. What did everyone think? I was suprised to hear big country tell the guys all they need to do is get in the house and not worry about winning in exciting fashion...I, like Dana, disagree, you not only have to prove yourself by winning, but you have to prove yourself to Dana when it's all said and done. We've all seen over the past umpteen seasons how the guys that want it the most get it...you never know when you're gonna need Dana's nod for something.

Overall the fights seemed pretty good, I think my favorite guy overall was the smiley red head kid that Shane picked first...I love that type attitude. Those guys that hate the world and want to prove themselves with bad attitudes...500 tattoos and a sour face are a joke to me.

Looks like they're going back to showing lots of drama this time around....and I'm kinda surprised I'm saying this, but I'm really glad and can't wait. It'll make for an really entertaining season.

Other thoughts?

Tru Indeed. Does look like an interesting season. That one uber boring guy with the Pink Mohawk and tattoos... looks like he'll get really crazy embarassing himself. Good thing he was picked last lol.

I want to see how the 2 top guys do Dominic Waters and Sam Alvey.

Not bad episode at all, just wish our fighter didnt pull that douche move but whatever he got into the house and maybe can help put our gym on the map.

That dude with the mowhawk will probably lose...as they said on the show he must put more time into his appearance than his training. He's from Mansfield, Ohio which is about an hour from me...always interesting when there's someone so close.

I hate that Roy told them to just win. That shit is no good, many times the exciting fighters who lose will wind up getting signed on as well. So playing it safe in this format just makes no sense to me. Gecko are you saying that douchey guy who faked the glove tap is from your gym? Man... thats the guy I'm rooting against the most... so sorry if it is a team mate. But that was some dirty fuckin shit!

This season looks like it could have a few guys that will stick around even if they lose and contrary to what everyone else is thinking I see the mohawk cat as dark horse and think he's much more dangerous than he showed. I don't think he will win the show but he might be able to get past the next round, depending on who he gets matched up with.
I don't think I have a favorite yet, but Team Carwin is pretty solid on paper.

Quote :

Getting to Know Team Carwin and Team Nelson
1. Cameron Diffley: A coach for Forrest Griffin’s TUF crew, Diffley entered the cage as a contestant this time, facing Hawaiian slugger Zane Kamaka and finishing him via straight-arm bar. Diffley not only brings extraordinary grappling talents, but a cerebral take on fighting that comes across in his calm movements and meticulous movements on the mat. While the striking aspect of his game is a large question mark, his ability to force the fight on his terms makes him a solid favorite to take the contract.

2. Sam Alvey: Team Quest product, Bellator cast-off and a good old country boy, Alvey had the most impressive outing in the elimination round, shutting down 14-1 Leo Kuntz in the grappling department, before shutting down his brain with a crushing right hook. Raw power and real wrestling skills make him one to watch in this tournament, though his lack of a second gear could make him easy pickings for aggressive strikers.

3. Colton Smith: While the fake glove tap at the beginning of the fight left a sour taste in our mouths, the utter domination against Jesse Barrett showed Smith could be an easy favorite to take this tournament. Elite-caliber wrestling and a relentless pace could be enough to break several fighters on this show, although some of the BJJ aces lurking in his ranks might have just what it takes to spoil his run.

4. Bristol Marunde: One of the largest competitors this season and with the most experience of anyone in the house, Marunde managed to find a rare bottle cap guillotine submission over Marine George Lockhart halfway through the first round. With tons of cage savvy and a plentiful arsenal at his disposal, Marunde makes for one of the stiffest tests for the young crew of men looking to take the contract.

5. Neil Magny: One of the best fights of the elimination round, Magny faced the raw natural product in Frank Camacho, but persevered and pulled out a three round decision. Magny has a level of footwork and natural striking acumen you rarely see inside MMA and was able to do a great deal of damage to a game opponent in Camacho. Unfortunately, his footwork and stance are from the world of traditional martial arts, and his takedown defense appears to be almost nonexistent. While his determination and cardio could allow him to outwork the majority of his competitors, a smart wrestler will keep Magny in check the entire fight.

6. Dominic Waters: Sporting a Diaz-style boxing game and a ridiculous 81 inch reach, Waters made fast work of Kevin Nowaczyk inside the first round with a massive uppercut and follow-up strikes. Waters lack of nerves and clearly advanced striking should serve him well here, but his obvious contempt for his opponent’s counter-striking ability may cause issues later in the bracket. Time will tell what other skills he brings to the cage, but he holds one of the better offensive striking set-ups of the cast.

7. Igor Araujo: An elite BJJ competitor in the European circuit, Araujo came into the elimination round against highly regarded Cortez Coleman. Weathering the ox-like wrestling assault of Coleman, Araujo brought his submission and positional grappling savvy to the table in the second and third rounds, finding the tapout by triangle choke in sudden victory. While his inability to stop the takedowns makes him a target for wrestlers in the house, his smooth flow on the mat could prove to be a nightmare once he’s on the mat.

8. James Chaney: Showing the will to make it into the TUF house, Chaney executed an all-offense game plan, sucking Jerel Clark into a ground battle and eventual triangle choke tap-out. Chaney presents a problem for his opponents, as someone who isn’t afraid to engage, pull guard, and work chain submissions off of his back. While fighters can see this coming a mile away, dealing with it is a whole other problem unto itself.

9. John Manley: Facing off against Strikeforce spoiler Ricky Legere Jr, Manley was able to out-wrestle the wrestler, and showed a simple, yet effective striking arsenal. Being simple and effective is something for mid-level competition though, and Manley will need to shine brightly if he hopes to have a chance to win this competition. Even so, Manley has the foundation to be something exceptional if the coaches can work with him in this time frame and put a little polish on his pedestrian skills.

10. Michael Hill: A large fighter for the division, Hill worked a measured striking game that paid off big, finishing opponent Lev Magen with a right-left hook body-head combination. Hill’s size should give him an advantage over some of the smaller competitors, but his lack of set-up with strikes and reliance on power attacks makes him a tough sell against superior talent. With all the pieces there though, he’s someone who coaches may be able to mold into a real killer in a short amount of time.

11. Mike Ricci: Most well-known for introducing the world to Bellator Champion Pat Curran after suffering a brutal KO loss, Ricci showed what he brings the cage in his eliminator bout, using precision strikes to finish off the Jason South. Unfortunately for Ricci, his reach and straight punches will have less effect at Welterweight than at his typical 155lb weight class, and he shows serious defensive flaws when pressured on the feet. While he had an impressive showing initially, he’ll be in deep waters against almost any of his fellow housemates.

12. Nic Herron-Webb: In a surprising turn of events, Herron-Webb found himself fighting for his life under ace wrestler Tim Ruberg, yet a dogged armlock finally paid off as he forced Ruberg to tap in the first round. Herron-Webb may handle other wrestlers fairly well given his performance, but with his striking being a mystery and some obvious elite grapplers in the mix, he’ll have a hard time shining in this bunch.

13. Eddy Ellis: The older fighter with the most experience in the house, Ellis used his strength and experience to hustle the smaller David Michaud, finishing in the second round with an arm triangle from his own guard. Ellis is a bull of a man, but has never done well under pressure, and in the grand scheme of things, this show is nothing but pressure. A stern test for the younger fighters, but a beatable opponent for most.

14. Joey Rivera: A judo fighter by trade, Rivera took Saad Awad to a lackluster decision with his stiff offensive grappling and willingness to exchange. Rivera has a unique set of skills for this show, but being the smaller fighter with a history of being sloppy when it counts most sets him low on my list of hopefuls. A bit of coaching could help him in his journey, but he faces a serious uphill battle if he wants to win this show.

15. Julian Lane: A major surprise to see inside the house, particularly going against top pick Diego Bautista, Lane brings youth and intensity into the cage, but is lacking in the polish needed to go deep in this tournament. Stronger things have happened for sure, but Lane’s simple and sometimes predictable fighting style will do him few favors at this level.

16. Matt Secor: The absolute last person I expected to make it to this show and one of the only fighters to ever loss a 30-24 decision in MMA, Secor used a bizarre form of submission grappling to overwhelm novice fighter Max Griffin. Despite making it into the house, Secor’s utter lack of striking ability and underwhelming grappling game are doubtful to allow him another win in this tournament.
source

samger2 wrote:

Any threads on this yet? I hadn't seen any. What did everyone think? I was suprised to hear big country tell the guys all they need to do is get in the house and not worry about winning in exciting fashion...I, like Dana, disagree, you not only have to prove yourself by winning, but you have to prove yourself to Dana when it's all said and done. We've all seen over the past umpteen seasons how the guys that want it the most get it...you never know when you're gonna need Dana's nod for something.

Overall the fights seemed pretty good, I think my favorite guy overall was the smiley red head kid that Shane picked first...I love that type attitude. Those guys that hate the world and want to prove themselves with bad attitudes...500 tattoos and a sour face are a joke to me.

Looks like they're going back to showing lots of drama this time around....and I'm kinda surprised I'm saying this, but I'm really glad and can't wait. It'll make for an really entertaining season.

Other thoughts?

I don't think there is a single word of this i disagreed with.

Big Country is actually annoying me already and I usually like him. He so badly wants to be Mr. Fuck the System that he is just choosing retarded shit to to say against Dana. I mean seriously, does he really believe its smart to play it safe in a two round fight to try and get into the house? No. He was just trying to pick something to disagree with Dana about in the first episode and it backfired, because Dana made him look like a tool. These kids have two rounds to get into the house for the biggest shot of their life and he recommends not going all out? What a dope.

I also agree with you about the house drama Sam. I can't believe I am saying it either, but I was almost looking forward to the first episode getting over with so the fun will begin...lol Lets face it the season based entirely on the fights and training last year was a COLOSSAL FLOP. I think they went out of their way to pick as many controversial guys as possible in an attempt to bring some reality fans back.

yeah our guy was one the one who faked the glove tap. It was a douchey move and all i can say is that that was some thing he did on his own merit. hats not a style of fighting we are taught. Not defending him but i was surprised he did do that. I have been at several of his fights in the past and has never pulled that stunt before to my knowledge.

I dont blame you for not being a fan if he wasnt from my gym i would be on board with you.The only other thing i will say is that i 100% disagree with the guy from colts team who was friends with the guy my guy fought. When he said if colt didnt do that move his boy would have won....ummmmm it went to a 2 round decison his guy had plenty of time to recover and make some thing happen. If colt knocked him out 0r submitted him seconds to a min after that cheap move i would agree with him then. but dude had plenty of time to make some thing happen and just show i am not completly unbiased i will admit even though colt told roy he didnt mean to do that cheap move, i actually think he did mean to. like i said before it is out of his norm to be doing that but it looked pretty intentional to me.

Yeah...I think it was intentional...I mean, he's already contradicting himself. When they interviewed him immediately after he said he feels that once the ref says to fight...then it's on...but when Roy confronted him he said it was unintentional...I think he's starting out all wrong.

That Matt Secor kid who was getting worked over on his feet but ultimately ended up winning by decision is from South Glens Falls, which is the town right next to mine (I'm from Glens Falls). I could literally leave my house and walk to South Glens Falls in about 7 minutes. That's kind of cool, except I imagine he loses his first fight in the house based on what he showed.
Funny thing is, I don't know of any gyms around here, other than the jiu-jitsu academy I trained at for awhile, which is a little ways south og here in Saratoga. maybe we've trained at the same place!

Holy shit! Matt Secor, Triggerman and Hacksaw Jim Duggan all from the same place!!!

Hooooo!!!!!

FistK wrote:

Holy shit! Matt Secor, Triggerman and Hacksaw Jim Duggan all from the same place!!!

Hooooo!!!!!

And don't forget about Jimmer Fredette- the college basketball star and National Player of the Year who went in the first round of the NBA draft last year. He's from Glens Falls, too. I actually remember him when he was a little chubby kid, and I would go play kickball at his house with his older brother.

Matt Secor, Jimmer Fredette, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan.....oh yeah, I'm surrounded by greatness!

So... sounds like douchey no-touch-shoot-for-the-take-down-guy is gonna be a weekly TUF correspondent on an internet radio program that Dominage sponsors...

damn it....

The guy that gecko trains with?

I hope he doesn't take questions, cuz he's probably gonna keep getting the same one over and over again.

Oh, I am fairly certain the host is gonna get that outta the way right off the bat.

I read on bleacher report today...as did all of you I'm sure...that the debut of this season was the lowest rated/watched in all TUF debuts to date. Kind of a shame because I thought it was a great episode...but honestly kinda makes sense to me too...I don't really think the coaches bring too much to the draw to be honest. Both guys came in with sort of a bang...but did nothing with it...and I don't really see much potential for either of them in their division either...dunno, kind of a blah choice of coaches in my opinion.

^^^
Agreed. And it's really annoying that the pitch for this somehow being a rivalry between the coaches is a comment made by one of them on twitter os some stupid shit like that. Twitter wars as a whole are lame as shit, so trying to pimp this as though it's some kind of bitter rivalry is insulting to me as a fan.

Chrom wrote:

So... sounds like douchey no-touch-shoot-for-the-take-down-guy is gonna be a weekly TUF correspondent on an internet radio program that Dominage sponsors...

damn it....

Damn colt going to be on there, thats kind of cool. I swear he's really not a bad guy at all. I know he is very gun-ho marines, plus our coach use to teach the hand to hand combat to the marines at quantico marine base. I dont know the guy all that well to be honest. Just trained with him my first few years and gone to a few of his fights to support the team and all. After we opened our new gym i went over there cause they had the better kick boxers and muay thai fighters the gym colt trains at has the much better grapplers and to be honest have the more updated equipment. Where i train is mostly raw weights and lots of sparring.

I'm hoping he turns my opinion of him around... but I'm pretty bullheaded so that may be a daunting task lol. I figure he has to be at least a half decent dude though, since he agreed to go on a show where you could only assume he is gonna be put on the spot about his actions. We shall see this Friday night...

Well Nelson's comment was pretty harsh on twitter...lol

But in all honesty it doesnt surprise me that the ep was rated so low. Its going to take them a while to win back the crowd they lost last seaosn. I think FX has a shot to do so, but they have to market the hell out of the in house antics during the week in an attempt to get the reality fans back. Just my opinion.

I hate the semi slow motion replays FX does. It makes it look fake.
Neither of these coaches have huge personalities so may be a bizarre season. Roy looks like he's been living in a tent eating ho-hos for the last 6 months, and Shane Carwin appears to have lost a ton of weight and for whatever reason does not look as mean as he used to.

Who was the guy that went on and on about how happy he was that Carwin picked him as Roy and company are a super unorganized group of people and horrible coaches. If that's just an ounce of truth, I think Carwin will win all but 1 or 2 of his fights. Carwin got all my top 5 guys except the BJJ coach.

I think the production value of FX or FUel or whatever the hell it is is bad,
Spikes production was way more entertaining; the FX version is so quiet
and nothing going on.

This season has 2 great things going for it,
1) the fighters look great and there should be some awesome tilts.
2) the drama and reality shit in the house appears to be back up around the TUF #1 season
level when Leben was a total write-off. So thats good>
3) Not something I am looking forward too, how pathetically stupid
the coaches challenge should be this season.

The coaches challenge should be a 10K.

^
A 10k run I assume (lol), was going to say they have usually been for 10k-20k cash no?

lambhimself wrote:

I think the production value of FX or FUel or whatever the hell it is is bad,
Spikes production was way more entertaining; the FX version is so quiet
and nothing going on.

That's a good point. I am always thinking the same thing. It almost seems like FX is shooting the series with a fucking home camcorder or something.