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Post by LWPD on Apr 3, 2006 20:28:44 GMT -5
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Post by LWPD on Apr 3, 2006 20:34:53 GMT -5
Ken Shamrock & Tito Ortiz Interviews w/ Forest Griffin tinyurl.com/opmpk
Like Watching Paint Dry (the Spike TV website is horribly set up and slow to navigate...but content like Tito being interviewed by FG...the very man he'll be fighting...make it worth it) |
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Post by LWPD on Apr 5, 2006 19:55:03 GMT -5
Courtesy of Boston Herald
Heavyweight entertainment: 'Ultimate Fighter' scores a knockout in third season
By Mark A. Perigard
"Ultimate Fighter." Season premiere tomorrow at 10 p.m. on Spike TV. Grade: A- For its third season, Spike TV's "Ultimate Fighter" punches up some major improvements, a scrappier group of fighters and two new coaches ready to pound each other into gristle. The popular reality series about mixed martial arts combatants returns tomorrow night at 10. Gone are the ridiculous product placements and the insipid challenges that had no bearing on the fights. (One challenge last season pitted the combatants in a race to pull each other's socks off.)
Now it's all about the training and the bouts that will end in a live finale June 24 with two fighters walking away with six-figure contracts. The 16 contestants make last season's group look like a bunch of librarians - OK, beefy librarians who could pound the snot out of you, but you get the idea. Among the contestants: Matt Hamill, a deaf athlete; Ed Herman, who goes by the nickname "Short Fuse"; and Kendall Grace(sic)Groves, who says, "I love punching people in the face. That's my paradise." The real drama comes prepackaged with this season's coaches, Ultimate Fighting Championship stars Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz. Their bloody rivalry is legendary and recapped here with several video clips. Left alone in the gym, the two men won't even look at each other. After the coaches pick their teams, they demonstrate surprising approaches to training. Ortiz favors working out with his guys and emphasizes conditioning. "Prepare for the worst and the best will always happen," he says. Shamrock maintains a distance. His decision to bring along a nutritionist mystifies some of his players. To cap the premiere, two middleweights brawl and the loser is sent home. It's a satisfying opener to what promises to be the best season of the franchise. (The show is preceded by a two-hour, live "Fight Night" special featuring alums of the first two seasons.)
Alas, like a cut that won't heal, UFC president and human wedgie Dana White returns to focus the drama on himself. "I'm the one that really did choose the coaches and set the season up, but I'd rather eat poison and jump off the roof of this building than do season 3," he says. If only. No show is perfect. "Ultimate Fighter" is back, swinging for a knockout.
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Post by LWPD on Apr 6, 2006 19:05:47 GMT -5
The time is now....Spike TV....Ultimate Fight Night followed by the season premier of The Ultimate Fighter 3...a 3 hour block!
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Post by MikeMcKinney on Apr 6, 2006 23:16:57 GMT -5
Good show, Tito and Ken are gonna kill each other by the end!!!
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Post by Knapik on Apr 6, 2006 23:44:54 GMT -5
I thought the show was great. It's going to be a grand season!
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Post by canadianpittbull on Apr 7, 2006 0:02:00 GMT -5
I think this will be the best season thus far. And yes Tito and Shamrock are just a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.
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Post by habbalah on Apr 7, 2006 0:16:23 GMT -5
Was this just me or did the ultimate fighter 3 seem better than ultimate fight night?
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Post by Knapik on Apr 7, 2006 1:29:04 GMT -5
Way better, habbalah.
Bonnar-Jardine was fun, though - I'm happy Bonnar won, but I think Jardine may have got the better of him.
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Post by habbalah on Apr 7, 2006 5:36:09 GMT -5
Yeah I thought the same thing, I wasn't really happy with the decision some how, but it's not like it's going to change alot.
In the scheme of mma it was a small matter.
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Post by Darth Turkish on Apr 7, 2006 5:49:15 GMT -5
Stevenson got beaten and stopped. Nice kneebar at the beginning, though.
I was a bit surprised that Rashad won. He looked better at 205 than HW. I thought Hoger did a better job of defending and striking.
I only saw round three of the Bonnar- Jardine. The announcers said it was pretty split for rounds 1 and 2. Aside from the knockdown Bonnar had in round3, I thought Jardine pushed that round, especially in the last 2 and 1/2 minutes. I was surprised by the UD.
All in all, it seemed like a good card. Some surprises ( Burkman and Stevenson losing) and some good things (Cuomo winning). I was hoping to see Koscheck lose, but meh, no big deal.
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Post by LWPD on Apr 7, 2006 7:48:46 GMT -5
Tito Ortiz is going to make an awesome coach. Look for him to come out of this show as a bigger star with a public image that's more 'true to life' and positive. He has put together a world class training staff and will serve as an 'in the trenches' mentor who holds himself to the same elite standards he demands of his team. Look for him to inspire loyalty and respect along the way. When all is said and done he may become the best TUF Coach ever.
LOL @ Shamrock being so shortsighted as to bring in a 'nutritionist' instead of a full time elite level grappling coach and then further destroying his team's morale by admitting 'I'm no good at jiu jitsu...I like leg locks and brawling'. So not only doesn't he 'know jiu-jitsu' but he isn't going to bring in anyone who does! The look on the faces of the poor guys who were picked to be on Ken's team was priceless.
Red head Herman gloating about how he wants to be on Tito's team and then completely turning on him once he wasn't picked in the draft was interesting. Herman may be the sleeper of the MW division with KS lucking out during the draft.
Like Watching Paint Dry (as time goes the distant 'respect me' mentality of Ken Shamrock is likely to see him over-train his fighters without giving them much in the way of productive advice or training techniques...while Tito's 'I've been where you're at and win, lose or draw we're all in this together' approach...his emphasis on teaching the fighters how to effectively market themselves (ie 'create stars') and his well rounded cutting edge training format will see his fighters benefit much more from the experience when all is said and done)
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Post by gamtime247 on Apr 7, 2006 10:23:56 GMT -5
Completely agree with your post LWPD. I think Ortiz will come out of this with even more fans, I respect Shamrock as a legend but think his time has come and gone and the game may have really passed him by. He just comes off as a real emotional meathead while Ortiz is emotional but it seems more passionate.
I'm definately already cheering for Ortiz's team, you may hate his attitude and cockiness but it seems hard to question his passion and dedication already. I think just by the fact he doesn't call his guys Team Ortiz but Team Punishment, and actually trains the entire time with them instead of the hands off Shamrock approach says a lot about Tito as a teammate and competitor.
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Post by Knapik on Apr 7, 2006 12:33:40 GMT -5
"So not only doesn't he 'know jiu-jitsu' but he isn't going to bring in anyone who does!"
I thought the same thing. Very good post, LWPD. I can see what Shamrock is saying about standing back and watching, and I can see Ortiz's theory of getting in with the guys. It will be very interesting to watch two contrasting styles; but from the looks of last night, Ortiz came in way more prepared to make his guys winners.
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Post by MikeMcKinney on Apr 7, 2006 15:13:44 GMT -5
Tito is great....... Back to Fight night live, I thought Jardine beat Bonnar also
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Post by traviz on Apr 7, 2006 18:17:14 GMT -5
Did I hear them say that Spike TV would re-broadcast the 4/16 ppv on the following Monday?
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Post by LWPD on Apr 7, 2006 19:19:28 GMT -5
Did I hear them say that Spike TV would re-broadcast the 4/16 ppv on the following Monday? This Monday at 9:30 PM Spike TV will run a special that shows footage of how guys like Arlovski and Forest prepped for UFC 59...none of the 'PPV Fights' from UFC 59 are set to air for free immediately after the event. |
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Post by habbalah on Apr 7, 2006 23:55:22 GMT -5
Now this is what I noticed about Ken that made me smirk.
He knows his limitations. DO you really know why Ken won't get hands on with his team?
I'll bet some of those guys are better than him. And he wants to hide that fact. He's interested in not being exposed.
Smart. He also did something (gutless but smart) picking his teams best to fight Tito's worst.
If you leave weak guys around they might get better. Ken needs to sqeeze every victory he can against Tito (Cause lord knows he can't do it in a real fight).
I actaully think Ken because of his tactics (and not his training) will be able to pull some fast ones on tito. And he'll look better for it. Now I'm no Ken Shamrock fan (God no) I just think he'll be able to help these guys out on the show... maybe not so much in mma.
Quick question (this would be at Dana)
If a real talented fighter gets eliminated due to Ken's short comings to you think Dana White will relize this and bring him back? I do, so don't feel bad for anyone, they'll get their chance, sooner or later.
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Post by Darth Turkish on Apr 8, 2006 6:32:06 GMT -5
I think if a really popular or talented fighter gets eliminated, they will make it to fight in the UFC anyway, just without the contract. See Leben, Burkman, Koshcheck, Quarry to name a few.
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Post by LWPD on Apr 8, 2006 17:10:10 GMT -5
Here's an article on the Tito Ortiz's number one draft pick Matt Hamill.
Courtesy of Utica Observer-Dispatch
N.Y. Mills man fighting to win
Saturday, Apr 8, 2006
Patrick Corbett
Observer-Dispatch
NEWYORK MILLS — Matt Hamill couldn't hear the crowds roaring as he pinned one opponent after another on his way to national collegiate wrestling titles in 1997, 1998 and 1999 at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
He caught only an occasional glimpse of fans leaping to their feet to applaud as he scored a pair of gold medals in 1997 at the World Games for the Deaf in Copenhagen, Denmark.
But as Hamill, who is deaf, prepared to take on his first opponent in "The Ultimate Fighter 3," a reality series that airs at 10 p.m. Thursdays on Spike TV, he said he could literally feel the excitement in the vibrations rippling through the octagonal ring beneath his bare feet.
On Thursday night's premiere episode, Hamill, a Cincinnati native who moved to the Mohawk Valley in 2003, was the first fighter selected as coaches Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz picked their respective teams to battle throughout the series until one fighter remains.
Hamill, 30, said contestants are experts in a range of sports and martial arts, including boxing, wrestling, Kung Fu, jujitsu, judo and kickboxing. Hamill's pedigree is in amateur wrestling, where he won three NCAA Division III national wrestling championships and earned the Deaf Athlete of the Year award in 1997.
Hamill has shared that wrestling expertise with Whitesboro High School students about a half-dozen times. Wrestling coach Dan Keating said Hamill has stopped by to help out their program.
"He helped our program by really pushing the limits for our heavyweights," Keating said. "One of the outstanding things about him is that he doesn't want to let you stop. He continues to wrestle until you are exhausted. He wants to help our people improve by going beyond their limits."
Hamill also has worked with New Hartford wrestlers, including senior Adam Brockway, who wrestles at 189 pounds.
"He came to our practices a few times," Brockway said. "I was impressed. One, he's jacked. Two, he's deaf ... and he's just tossing people."
Hamill has a rigorous training regimen and said he is priming his body for a shot at the 2008 Olympics. But first Hamill said he spent eight weeks in Las Vegas getting in shape for the series, and for the next couple of weeks he will be circulating around the United States promoting the show.
Skill and training ultimately decide a contest, but a little good fortune helped Hamill earn a spot on the show.
"When I was a bouncer at Cavallo's (restaurant and tavern in New Hartford), people saw how I fought and the techniques I used to deal with unruly people," Hamill said in an interview using the Relay telephone system for the deaf. "I got lucky and met a cousin of another bouncer who was affiliated with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and she referred me to the president of the UFC, Dana White. He was also impressed and he invited me to try out.
"The tryouts in Las Vegas took two weeks. They did drug tests and physical tests and a lot of interviews. There were a lot of skilled, excellent fighters at the tryouts. Only 12 made it out of 2,000 who tried out."
Hamill has worked at Cavallo's for about two years. Manager Noelle Cavallo said Hamill is one of her best "door guys."
She and her husband, Russ Natresse, are big fans of Ultimate Fighting and have been watching it for three seasons. They watched with about seven or eight people Thursday night, but Hamill was not selected to fight.
"It's just so cool to see someone you know on TV, and you know he's worked so hard to fulfill his dream," she said.
Hamill said one fighter is eliminated each week. The finalists in each weight class — Hamill is fighting as a light-heavyweight — will get a six-figure contract to fight at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event, he said.
Hamill said his contract prohibits him from revealing how he fared, so fans will have to tune in next week.
And maybe the week after. Or longer.
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IPPON!!