Tag: the ultimate fighter live

mma

The Ultimate Fighter Live: Unlucky week for Cruz

Posted on by Beau Dure

The idiosyncrasies of the new TUF format are truly coming home to roost.

Basically, we’re not yet through the first full round of competition. And we’ve completely run out of time to show what’s happening in the house.

The last three weeks are packed. Two quarterfinals May 11. Two more May 18. Then the semifinals May 25. And because it’s live, we don’t know how long the fights will last. They have to allow 15-20 minutes per quarterfinal and devote the entire May 25 episode to the semis.

If we get another Koscheck-Leben blowup or a Junie Browning meltdown, they’ll have to rush right through it. At this point, there’s no point to keeping these guys in the house.

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mma

The Ultimate Fighter Live, Episode 5: Tickle me emo

Posted on by Beau Dure

Which ’80s comedy movie villain is Dominick Cruz? It’s driving me crazy because he really dials it up this week. He tries to get Sam Sicilia to narc on his good friend and training partner Michael Chiesa, figuring that a good betrayal on top of a guy’s dad passing away would be a good thing. Then he plays doctor, diagnosing Chris Tickle’s foot.

It’s really amazing how TUF coaches fancy themselves as doctors. More than once, a coach has said a guy is faking, only to find out later that something really serious has happened.

Chiesa apparently will be fighting one of his roommates. But he’s easygoing about it, as he is with nearly everything. “As long as you don’t reach out in your sleep and strangle me,” Chiesa tells Jeremy Larsen.

After Cruz gets on Tickle’s case again, possibly with some justification this time, he tells us he knew Larsen growing up. They drifted apart later, but they seem to have good rapport now.

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mma

The Ultimate Fighter Live, Episode 4: Judging Jury

Posted on by Beau Dure

For the first time since the premiere, I’m actually watching live. Tonight’s fight is Myles Jury (Cruz) vs. Al Iaquinta (Faber), and because no one already knows the outcome, we have fight odds. Jury is a huge favorite, even though Iaquinta is Faber’s No. 1 pick. This could easily be a semifinal matchup.

Long recap of last week, with everyone agreeing that jiu-jitsu expert Cristiano Ronaldo, er, Marcello should have tried some jiu-jitsu against Justin Lawrence. The stand-up battle did not go his way.

Flea’s bass line kicks in, and the opening credits are underway.

We cut immediately to Dominick Cruz bragging. People seem to like that. I don’t understand it. But I’m old. I don’t understand the kids today. I always though Urijah Faber was the cool and hip one, but maybe I’m biased because he’s a much better interview than Cruz. Or because Faber looks like the cool surfer dude and Cruz looks like an 80s movie villain.

I have time to muse on all this because … nothing’s happening. Team Cruz is happy. Team Faber is disappointed. Iaquinta is confident.

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