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Post by LWPD on Jul 24, 2006 18:01:13 GMT -5
TUF 4 Video AnnouncementFeatures Dana White introducing the fighters...and words from TUF 4 Coaches Randy Couture and George St. Pierre. TUF 4 Hype VideoA look at some of the favorites in actions. Courtesy of gatago.com
"The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback" is set to debut Thursday, Aug. 17 at 10 p.m. on Spike. The fourth season will focus on fighters whose dream of winning a UFC title have never come true. The 16 former UFC fighters - eight middleweights and eight welterweights - are `already gathered in Las Vegas for production of the series, which began yesterday. Added to the drama of these guys all living in one house is the fact that some of them are former rivals, bringing revenge and redemption into the equation. The winning middleweight and welterweight will earn title fights and a six-figure cash prize.
"The Ultimate Fighter 4 is the comeback season and it's going to be the most exciting yet," said UFC president Dana White.'Everyone knows these fighters, but it's going to be a totally different show and we're pumped to get started on it." Instead of coaches for the two teams, prominent UFC personalities will serve as advisors and counsels for the 16 fighters. They include Randy Couture, Georges St. Pierre and Mark Delagrati.
LWPD (The Ultimate Fighter makes it's return to Spike TV on August 17th at 10 PM)
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Post by LWPD on Aug 10, 2006 17:59:23 GMT -5
Below is a lengthy article featuring TUF 4 contestent Travis Lutter.
Courtesy of FWWeekly.com
Fort Worth’s Travis Lutter goes for the green in a bloody new combat craze.
By DAN MCGRAW
Travis Lutter is lying on his back, “in the guard” as they refer to it in Brazilian jiu jitsu, with one of his students on top of him, their legs intertwined, the student’s forearm pressed against his neck. It is a standard move in jiu jitsu, a way for a smaller opponent to use leverage, hands gripping the collar of the gi robe, faces a few inches from each other.
The fighter on his back is kind of like the scrappy wolverine, which at 40 pounds or so uses its leverage and claws and teeth to disembowel cougars and wolves, animals three times its size. The wolverine is a scavenger, naturally combative, beating other predators off carcasses or off its own belly. The wolverine knows that there are times it’s best to be on its back, other times to drop out of trees and pounce on a prey.
Here at the gym Lutter runs in east Fort Worth, 20 students are paired up, practicing these “in the guard” moves for an hour. In jiu jitsu, knowing how to grapple on the mat is as important as knowing how to throw a left hook in boxing. This style of fighting used to be practiced mostly in Europe and Asia. The combat sport of choice in America has always been conventional boxing, guys with big gloves who stand toe-to-toe and wallop each other. Do that enough, and one boxer eventually kisses the canvas.
Lutter, 33, has cauliflower ears from training and fighting, but he first got them when he wrestled in high school and college. He has had 12 “ultimate fights,” and the only injuries he sustained were a couple of small facial cuts. He doesn’t do this style of fighting because he gets off on kicking guys in the face and throwing opponents around in an octagonal cage.
“I liked wrestling, and I liked competition,” Lutter said, sitting on a bright blue mat in his gym. “I watched the UFC [Ultimate Fighting Championships] on tv and figured I could do that. I saw guys winning who I knew I could beat. So I studied jiu jitsu and other martial arts, learned boxing, and the fighting just evolved. It wasn’t some thing where I think my entire life and character is defined by beating some guy up in the ring. I just figured it was something I could be good at.”
Over the next few months, Lutter will be on the main stage for ultimate fighting. He was chosen for Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter reality show, in which 16 fighters shared a house for six weeks where they argued, trained, and fought each other in the ring. The series premieres Aug. 17, and the live series finale in October will have all 16 fighting on a UFC card. If ratings go as they have in the past, about three million viewers will watch, making it the highest-rated cable tv show of the year.
Lutter won’t say how he did in the fights (the series was filmed in May at a house in Las Vegas, and his contract says he can’t reveal the outcome). But he knows he could be on the verge of making a name for himself in this new and controversial sport. He is working on getting an agent for the first time and wants to line up sponsorships. He is opening a second gym on West Vickery Boulevard near the Railhead Smokehouse next month.
Lutter won’t be making a lot from the Spike TV action. The fighters earn $1,000 a week for the six-week series and could get another $12,000 if they win all their fights. It’s not a lot of money for such a highly rated show, but it beats the $300 or $400 per fight that he used to make in the ring.
And the paltry financial return is becoming a point of angry contention for many of the ultimate fighters. The Las Vegas-based UFC controls most big fights in this country, and the money filtering down to those in The Octagon has been only a fraction of what even mediocre boxers make. No one knows if the huge growth of ultimate fighting is just a passing sports fad or whether this new sport is going to go the distance and knock out professional boxing.
For those on the far side of 40, mixed martial arts, or MMA, bouts must seem like a boxing version of the X Games for the younger crowd. The ring’s chain-link fence came about in the early years of the sport, to keep the “ultimate fighters” from getting thrown into the spectators in the first few rows. And the ring, contrary to the rumors, has no ceiling to it. The fighters wear 6-ounce gloves (compared to 8- to 10-ounce boxing gloves) with fingertips uncovered, allowing grasping of any head or appendage that gets within arm’s length.
The fighters move toward each other, standing upright like boxers, and punches get thrown in the same way. But MMA skills borrow from the other combat sports: Kicks are allowed, wrestling an opponent to the floor is used — sometimes by grabbing a guy and spiking him to the mat — and dominating the opponent the same way Greco-Roman wrestlers do in the Olympics.
The popularity of the sport is not up for debate. This spring, Spike TV ran its third Ultimate Fighter reality series, and the audience numbers were striking. The major fan base for ultimate fighting is — big surprise — 18- to 34-year-old men, and Spike TV drew 799,000 of those on April 27. On that same night, ESPN2 showed a major league baseball game, OLN aired a National Hockey League playoff match, and TNT broadcast two National Basketball Association playoff games. For those three cable channels the combined 18-34-year-old viewership was 725,000.
In late June, a NASCAR race shown on the FX network drew 1.4 million total viewers. That same night, Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV drew 2.8 million viewers.
Several big UFC fights in Vegas have sold out 10,000-seat arenas and drawn more than 600,000 pay-per-views at $39.95 a pop. Add up those numbers, and each fight can bring in more than $20 million in revenue. Dana White, president of UFC, says the popularity is a generational thing. “Boxing [is] these people’s fathers’ sport. Our fans grew up on playing Mortal Kombat video games.”
And indeed, it was computers — specifically the internet — plus high-powered marketing that took MMA from an almost- bankrupt fringe sport 10 years ago to being the sport of choice for the Maxim magazine crowd today.
MMA competitions were introduced in the United States in 1993, styled after the popular vale tudo (Portuguese for “anything goes”) matches in Brazil. The promoters figured fans would love to have an answer to the eternal sports bar debate: Would a boxer or a sumo wrestler or a karate guy win in a no-rules tournament? Who’s really the toughest?
But the “no holds barred” fights — with head-butting, kicks to the groin, stomping on the head, no weight classes, no time limits — drew critics like wolverines to a wounded caribou. U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona led the charge to ban the competitions from cable television, describing them as “human cockfighting.” McCain sent letters to all 50 governors asking them to ban it, and the cable networks caved to the political pressure.
By 2001, the UFC was bleeding on the mat. White and two Las Vegas casino operators led a bid to buy the company. White will not reveal the purchase price, but news reports suggest it was about $2 million.
White and his partners redefined the sport and made it less violent. Fighters had to go through rigorous pre-fight medical tests and were forbidden to head butt, stomp or knee an opponent on the ground, or strike the throat, spine, or back of the head. With those rules in place, Nevada and New Jersey agreed to sanction MMA fights. Eleven other states followed, including Texas.
Timing was everything. Boxing had fallen on hard times, with no real characters to grab fans’ attention and a perception that promoters were setting up fixed fights to keep the money flowing. “When we bought this company, we did not want to make mistakes that boxing had made,” White said. “We wanted the sport to be real — not like pro wrestling — and make the fighters the biggest part of the show. The biggest problem in boxing is that the two biggest guys in the sport are [promoters] Don King and Bob Arum.”
The mainstream media were ignoring this new version of boxing, but the internet kept it alive. Its young male fans posted info on championship bouts results, profiles of the fighters, and pay-per-view marketing on a host of web sites. “UFC stayed alive on the web,” White said.
In 2004, Spike TV was looking for ways to build a new network aimed at younger men. “We were looking at [different]combat sports,” said Brian Diamond, senior vice president of sports and specials for Spike TV. The UFC “had approached us a few times before that, but we weren’t sure how the sport would be received. But then the UFC came back to us with an idea for a reality show. It was about building characters, getting inside the mind of the fighters.
“The Ultimate Fighter has been great for our network, but also great for the UFC as well,” Diamond continued. “The comparison people make to pro wrestling is very wrong. There is no predetermined outcome with MMA; it is about as real as it gets. And this show is able to take you inside that fighting, focus on guys who live together for weeks at a time and then have to fight each other in the ring. The audience seems to like this because it is a mix of real sports with a reality show.”
The fourth Ultimate Fighter series starts next week, with Travis Lutter and 15 others who have previously lost UFC fights, being billed as the “Comeback” series. Lutter, who had lost twice, initially did not want to participate. “I didn’t consider myself any kind of comeback fighter,” Lutter said. “The way this sport works right now, anyone who fights 10 fights will lose one. It’s not like boxing, where they can set up a fighter to go 40-0. There are just so many variables in ultimate fighting. One quick move can mean the end of the fight.
The money in the smaller fights was rarely more than $1,000, more often just a few hundred dollars. “I didn’t fight for a few years, because of the money,” Lutter said. “Some promoters wanted to talk me into it, but it wasn’t worth it. ... I’m not going to get hit in the head for a few hundred.” Instead, he achieved a black belt and worked at supporting his family by running the gym.
He has about a hundred full-time students in his Travis Lutter Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Academy, and that pays the bills. The gym is located off Brentwood Stair Road in east Fort Worth; the building includes an apartment where he lives with his son and his current girlfriend. While Lutter is talkative in his own way about fighting, he likes to keep his family out of the conversation.
In 2004, UFC tapped Lutter at the last minute for a fight; he scored a second round knockout over Marvin Eastman and made $4,000. But Lutter lost twice in 2005, once to a chokehold and once to a decision. His designation as a “comeback” fighter shows how much power the UFC has over the sport these days. The company will sign fighters to two-year contracts, but nothing is guaranteed. If the UFC wants a competitor for the lower part of a fight card, the fighter gets a “2 and 2” payday, meaning he receives $2,000 for showing up and another $2,000 if he wins. The smaller promoters offer much less. In May, for instance, Fort Worth-based International Freestyle Fighting (IFF) held an eight-fight event at the Will Rogers Center. Lutter, the headliner, made just $700.
The fighters are unhappy about this payday system now, but they are afraid to complain about it. In Lutter’s contract, UFC even controls his life’s story, meaning he’s not allowed to write an autobiography or work with a filmmaker to tell his story. The UFC controls the millions now, and they can dump anyone they want at any time. For any reason.
The trick is for fighters to hang around long enough to make a name for themselves and thus gain some bargaining power. But that’s not easy in a sport this unpredictable and physically chancy.
Lutter said he has never felt in danger in MMA fights. “In boxing, you can get hit in the head 30 times per round,” Lutter said. “In ultimate fighting, getting hit 30 times in the head during an entire bout is a lot. Plus there is a lot of grappling on the mat and ways to be more defensive.
“It’s funny, because they have always marketed this sport as being more real, more violent,” he said. “The fans think they are watching gladiators. But the way this sport works, there is less violence than in boxing. And you can always tap out if you are getting beat really bad. In boxing, they usually only stop it when a guy is knocked out.”
Guy Mezger, 38, owns the Lion’s Den Gym in Dallas and did martial arts fighting for 17 years. He was a wrestler at Plano East High School and then at Texas Tech University. Like Lutter, Mezger merged kick- boxing and full-contact karate with his wrestling and fought in some of the early UFC matches (when there were no rules) in 1994 and 1995. Mezger also fought for a few years with PRIDE in Japan, one of the largest MMA promoters in the world.
“In those early days there were no rules, and guys like me were enthusiasts,” Mezger said. “The athletes were such a diverse group. Some were really good fighters, and others were just real delusional, thinking they had talent. I remember one kick-boxer knocked the teeth out of a sumo wrestler in the ring. If they had the no-rules fighting today, the athletes are all so good that someone would be killed.
“The problem now is that there are many talented fighters, but there is not really any world championship,” Mezger said. “Companies like UFC own the rights, and their fights are really a UFC championship. The business side is very much like pro wrestling in a way. The fighters are employed by the promoters, and they determine who fights and how it is marketed. It is very good for the growth of the company, but overall it is not that great for the fighters.” Eventually, he said, “someone will come along and figure out how to use a sanctioning body to create real-world championships among the fighters who have contracts with the UFC and those who don’t.”
When boxing was in its heyday, sanctioning bodies controlled where fighters were ranked and what match-ups would determine world champions. Part of the problem with boxing now is that it has degenerated into a multitude of alphabet belts —17 divisions and 68 champions at any given time — and promoters like Arum and King have too much control over who fights for all these world championships.
UFC’s White says the paydays for ultimate fighters are getting bigger and that any sanctioning bodies will ruin the sport. “We are sanctioned by the state athletic commissions, and as promoters, we build fights and build stars,” he said. If sport-wide sanctioning bodies are created, “I hope I’m not in it anymore.”
Tra Telligman of Bedford also fought in MMA fights from the beginning. He too sees the business model eventually following that of boxing. “Just like boxing, it all comes down to how many PPVs [pay-per-views] you sell,” said Telligman, who owns a construction business. Over time, he said, “the stars of the UFC will become more popular and have the power to negotiate. The UFC has made good decisions on keeping it real, but eventually you’ll have fighters making $10-20 million a fight and promoters getting their cut. All this will happen if the growth continues.”
Already, big corporations are seeing the numbers and wanting in. The younger male demographic is key for a company like Anheuser-Busch, and it is why they do so much sports marketing.
Dean Bonham is president of The Bonham Group, a Denver-based sports marketing firm that is among the most influential in the country. Bonham said ultimate fighting has a chance to overtake boxing in the next decade, and the big corporations, which viewed MMA so negatively a few years ago, are taking note. With ultimate fighting, he said, beer companies and car companies have a very concentrated audience of young men to appeal to. The corporations “are watching this very closely right now.”
The major questions for such companies right now, Bonham said, is whether to give their advertising dollars to the sport in general or to the individual fighters. “The very nature of this type of fighting is that you won’t have champions who can last for years,” he said. “But if the number of fans continues to increase, the fighters will become the characters and personas that companies want to use in their marketing.”
The question is whether ultimate fighters can withstand the punishment to market themselves for a long time. Boxers have always faced this problem.
“I don’t ever think I’ll end up stupid after all this fighting,” Lutter said. “But [Mohammed] Ali would have told you the same thing. ... Did getting hit in the head cause his Parkinson’s disease? No one knows that.”
So who are the fans of this sport? “I see it as a guilty pleasure, something my wife doesn’t get, but something I really have fun with,” said Glenn Terrell, a 40-year-old local chef. “I think it is the multi-discipline aspect of it that is appealing. It is a lot faster, and it appeals to my impatient side. I had to sit through those boxing matches with my father — six or seven or 10 rounds. This is just a lot more dynamic, and for whatever reason, I found it keeps me on the edge of my seat unlike any other sport.”
Bob Sturm, sports talk radio host on “The Ticket,” is one of the few members of local sports media on board with ultimate fighting. “I was a big boxing fan, and the problem with boxing has been well documented,” Sturm said. “Boxing can’t seem to get their act together, and they don’t have any good fighters coming up. UFC has done a wonderful job. Every time I give them a chance, I say ‘Wow, that was great.’ If you give them $30 on PPV, they deliver. With boxing, $40 might be a one-minute knockout. How many times I have thought, ‘I just wasted 40 bucks.’
“Boxing will probably always have an audience, especially with Hispanics, whose fighters dominate the lower-weight class,” Sturm said. “But with the suburban general American sports fan, they get bloodthirsty. This is what they like, it is their own sport, and they feel like they own it. It is fantasy in some ways, but aren’t all sports that way for the fans?”
The racial aspect of ultimate fighting is something the promoters don’t want to talk about, but it does influence its popularity. White America has always held out for the Great White (Homegrown) Hope in boxing, but it hasn’t happened in 50 years. Boxing champions are now Hispanic in the lower-weight levels and African-Americans or Russians in the heavyweight division. To younger white sports fans, a seemingly quiet and calm Travis Lutter — 6’2” and 200 pounds — looks more like them.
Bert Sugar, 70, a boxing writer and host of Classic Ringside on ESPN, hates ultimate fighting and doesn’t mince his words. “It is nothing more than a bar fight without broken beer bottles,” Sugar said. “They get on the floor and beat the shit out of each other. Pro wrestling is cartoon violence, but this is real violence.”
Sugar said fighting has always been a mirror of society, with the ones on the bottom of the ladder succeeding. That’s why, he said, the Irish and Jews and Italians dominated the first half of the 20th century, blacks and Hispanics the second half.
Ultimate fighting, he believes, is giving white America more of what it wants to see. “A lot of people don’t follow Latino fighters for whatever reason,” Sugar continued. “Some don’t identify with black fighters. It is certainly a cultural thing. The fans of [UFC] go to the fights, or watch on the couch with their buddies and drink their beer, and they see guys who look like them. And we all know that whether you are black or white or Hispanic, you like to root for people who look like you.
“But I still think boxing is a sport, and this isn’t,” the writer said. “It is a tough-man contest that has been gussied up. I’d rather go out and watch a car wreck. But that is what they are selling here — a car wreck in a ring. I guess that is what these young guys want to watch.”
Lutter knows the fans are interested in the car wreck, and he doesn’t care much. The exposure on Spike TV will help his jiu jitsu teaching business at the very least, and he might have the chance to make his “comeback” during a time when the purses and sponsorships are growing with the PPV revenue.
What Lutter likes most about the sport as it has evolved is the respect fighters have for one another. Some of this may come from having the high school wrestling background, some of it from the mental and emotional discipline conveyed through martial arts, and part of it is no doubt the fact that most of these MMA fighters think they aren’t getting paid enough right now.
“The respect is always there in ultimate fighting,” Lutter said. “We don’t do all that trash talking, and we don’t have this feeling of hatred for each other. If you beat me, you were the best that night. If I beat you, I was the best. I don’t think fans see that in boxing, and I think that is part of the attraction here.”
So why does he do it? “I always loved competition, and after college wrestling was through for me, I still had that competitiveness,” Lutter said. “When I studied martial arts and won those events, I just looked to the next level. Until recently, the money hasn’t been right to do it full-time. But that is changing now.”
This year, ultimate fighting is predicted to out-gross boxing in Las Vegas. The current stars of the sport — Tito Ortiz, Ken Shamrock, Chuck Lidell, and Randy Couture — will make their nut. UFC wants to expand it from Nevada and California to sites around the country. The company has announced there will be a championship match in Houston or Dallas in 2007.
Lutter realizes that at his age, he has about five or six years left to reap the rewards in his sport. If spending the worst six weeks of his life making a tv show is the way to go, then that’s what has to be done. He wants to be there when the money gets right and he can work at a good wage for a championship.
“The reason people like this [sport] is that there are just so many ways to lose. When you have that many ways to lose, it creates an exciting sport,” Lutter said. “But I have learned there are also so many ways to win. Some ways are in the ring, some are outside. I never paid that much attention to the things outside the ring. I am paying a lot more attention to that now.”
If Lutter becomes that star of the Spike TV show, he will be able to write his own ticket. But even if he doesn’t, his name will be out there as one of those reality show fighters who gets put on a bill because of name recognition. And even if that fails, he will have his gyms where police officers and firefighters and young guys with big dreams go to be trained by a black belt in jiu jitsu.
In the next six weeks, the fight club world will know whether Lutter will be able to move on to the fame and the big bucks. “Whatever happens on the show ... I expect to be a contender for the title,” Lutter said with his quiet and unassuming confidence, such a contrast to the hype that surrounds his sport. It is that confidence, perhaps, without any hint of bragging, that makes it hard to bet against this guy.
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Post by LWPD on Aug 17, 2006 17:55:08 GMT -5
This is a very extensive preview for TUF 4 which features break downs on everyone involved. The season premiere is tonight at 10 PM on Spike TV.
Courtesy of bettormma.com
Sumu's Corner: The Ultimate Fighter 4-The Comeback Preview
by Pete Sumulong
Hot on the heels of UFC Fight Night is The Ultimate Fighter 4- The Comeback.
The concept is simple, take 16 UFC vets who have decent talent, but not the best of success in the Octagon, put them in the infamous TUF house, and let the sparks fly! The weight classes to be contested are welterweight and middleweight. The winners of each weight class earn themselves title shots, where they will most likely be crushed.
The UFC took care to choose not only skilled fighters, but also very interesting personalities for this show. After an awful TUF 2, and a somewhat stale TUF 3, I believe this series will provide a shot in the arm for the TUF franchise.
Gone are the team concepts, it's now every man for himself.
Each fighter will be evaluated on the probability that he will win the competition, as well as star appeal.
Before we look at the fighters, let's take a look at the trainers.
Trainers
Randy Couture: The resume is impressive: U.S. Greco Roman Wrestling Olympic Team Alternate, Greco Roman National Champ, NCAA All-American, UFC Heavyweight Champion, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, UFC Hall of Famer. "The Natural" is the perfect trainer for this show. First of all, Randy is a level headed and smart individual. He's had experience coaching at Team Quest, and also on TUF 1. He is a fighter that everyone likes, and respects as well. Randy, though he may not make for great TV, will be a tremendous asset and role model for these athletes.
Georges St. Pierre: Now this is an interesting pick. GSP is one of the UFC's hottest young superstars. He's beaten Trigg, Sherk, Parisyan, Mayhem, and Penn. He's headed to a title rematch with Matt Hughes at UFC 63. He's also one of the most humble, respectful, and likable personalities in the UFC. Three things concern me about GSP's role: his youth, the fact that's he an active fighter training fighters in his weight class, and his grasp of the English language. No doubt GSP has attained great success in his young career, but will he feel confident enough to give advice to fighters much older than him? Will fighters like Mikey Burnett or Shonie Carter listen to a youngster like GSP? We will see. Also, St. Pierre speaks English with a very thick accent, and I'm concerned that the average viewer will have trouble understanding him.
The UFC chose two of the best and nicest trainers out there. Do not expect any Matt Hughes style putdowns, or any of the wild tension that occurred between Ortiz and Shamrock.
Middleweights
Patrick Cote (8-3): "The Predator" is undefeated save his 3 UFC appearances. He showed major cajones stepping up to face Tito Ortiz on short notice, actually dropping Ortiz to a knee before losing a decision. Cote landed heavy shots on Joe Doerksen before being submitted. Cote's last UFC loss was a tough decision to Chris Leben. Cote has defeated tough Canadian fighters like Steve Vigneault and Jason MacDonald in his career. Cote possesses KO power and has trained with St. Pierre in the past.
Outlook: In my opinion, Cote is the favorite in the middleweight division. His striking is much better than the competition's. I would look forward to a possible slugfest between Cote and Jorge Rivera. I would be wary of matchups with submission guys like Charles McCarthy and Pete Sell.
Star factor: Not a whole lot. Cote isn't much of a talker. His one shining speaking moment was comparing Tito Ortiz to Jay Leno in a UFC promo. Cote seems pretty low-key and humble.
Edwin Dewees (34-9): "The Babyface" has seemingly been fighting in Arizona's Rage in the Cage promotions since he was 12. At the young age of 24, Dewees has seen action in 43 fights. His lone UFC bouts were a TKO loss to Rich Franklin and a submission loss to Chris Leben. Dewees has 27 wins via submission (but apparently has no submission defense) and showed great resolve in his fight with Franklin.
The outlook: Dewees' submission skills pale in comparison to a Travis Lutter or Pete Sell. The mere fact that Chris Leben submitted him is a red flag. Looking at the competition, I don't see Dewees lasting more than one fight.
Star power: Moderate. They don't call him the "Babyface" for nothing. He looks like he's 10. Otherwise, Dewees, much like Cote, seems very low-key and humble.
Travis Lutter (8-3): Travis Lutter stands at 1-2 in the UFC, and it's actually a good 1-2. Lutter scored a huge upset with a hail mary haymaker KO over Marvin "Bad Luck" Eastman. Lutter stepped up on short notice to 205 to replace Patrick Cote and, lucky or not, put the Beastman out. Lutter's 2 UFC losses were to 2 high quality wrestlers that negated his submissions: Matt Lindland and Trevor Prangley. Lutter is a solid fighter who prefers to be on the ground. Recently, Lutter dominated Brazilian MMA legend Pele, but also holds a loss to fellow housemate Jorge Rivera.
The outlook: If there's a dark horse in the middleweight division, it's Lutter. Lutter has fought tough competition and can catch anyone in a sub. He'll have trouble with more physical and athletic fighters like Pete Sell or Charles McCarthy. Lutter is good for a trip to the semifinals.
Star factor: Lutter is about as controversial as a piece of toast. He fights hard and keeps quiet.
Charles McCarthy (9-4): "Chainsaw" Charles McCarthy has an 0-1 UFC record. His lone loss was by KO against David Loiseau. Up until the KO, McCarthy looked very good in controlling The Crow on the ground. The spinning back kick Loiseau hit him with would have crumpled anyone. McCarthy's 9 wins have all come via submission. He's submitted UFC vet Keith Rockel, but is coming off a loss to Trevor Garrett (whoever that is).
The outlook: McCarthy is an unknown quantity. His style will make for great ground battles with Lutter, Dewees, and Sell. I expect McCarthy to make an impression regardless, and will go to the semis if he gets the right fight. He could just as easily not win a fight.
Star factor: I remember hearing him on MMAWeekly Radio with Ryan Bennett and Frank Trigg. He sounded like a real strange dude. He could be in the running for house eccentric.
Gideon Ray (13-4-1): Gideon Ray's 2 Octagon appearances resulted in a 22 second KO loss and a gaping hole on his head. The KO came courtesy of Mike Swick, while the hole was courtesy of David Loiseau. Ray is an impressive physical specimen who I've always thought is more of a 170 pounder. Reportedly Ray replaced his trainer, old school UFC vet Keith Hackney (the karate guy in tank top and sweats who beat the sumo guy). Ray is a finisher who's defeated UFC vet Derrick Noble and Trevor Garrett (the guy who beat Charles McCarthy).
The outlook: We don't know what Ray's capable of simply because he's been matched up with 2 of the UFC's best middleweights in both his Octagon appearances. Ray is a solid fighter who might steal a win on the show, but ultimately I think the other fighters are a little farther along than him.
Star factor: Ray looks good and talks good as well. It will be very interesting to see how he interacts with the others.
Jorge Rivera (13-5): Jorge "El Conquistador" Rivera is a UFC vet who's fought a ton of top competition in his career. Rivera's UFC record is 2-3. His UFC debut was his crowning achievement as he gutted out a decision win over David Loiseau. His other UFC win was a decision win over a lethargic Dennis Hallman. Rivera was submitted by both Rich Franklin and Lee "The Fugitive" Murray, and was also KO'd by Chris Leben. It should be noted that he gave Franklin all he could handle. In addition to his UFC career, Rivera has beaten UFC & Pride Vet Mark Weir and fellow housemate Travis Lutter. He also has a loss to top middleweight Anderson Silva. Rivera is a solid fighter who never quits. He is mostly a striker who peppers his opponents but never knocks them out.
The outlook: Rivera is tough enough to merit a potential spot in the finals. Ultimately, I feel he will win one fight and bow out in the semis. Rivera is tough but not overwhelming with his strikes, and is susceptible to submissions. There are plenty of submission artists in the house.
Star factor: Every cast has a good guy. Rivera has the potential to be that guy. Rivera is a blue collar Bostonite (I think he works in steel or iron--something to do with metal) and he brings that work ethic to the cage. He always comes across as a good guy in his interviews. His Puerto Rican heritage will also serve to gain him fans, as the UFC tries to build more Latin stars.
Pete Sell (7-1): "Drago" Sell has a 1-1 UFC record. He holds a very impressive win in his debut over Phil Baroni, but also lost a Cecil Peoples Early Stoppage Special after being knocked down by Nate Quarry. Sell impressed in his win over Baroni with solid striking and good submissions. Sell was fearless in facing the highly touted New York Badass, and showed good cardio and heart. The loss to Quarry was questionable at best. Sell is a jiu jitsu stylist who has trained under fellow housemate Matt Serra. His toughness will be hard to beat.
The outlook: This is one tough dude. I think he has the skills to go all the way to finals. He can fight standing and on the ground as well. Expect him to make an impact win or lose.
Star factor: He's a tough talking New Yorker who likes to kick ass. Should make for great TV. Keep an eye on a potential NY-Boston rivalry between Sell and Rivera.
Scott Smith (9-2): Smith has fought once in the UFC, a bizarre submission loss to David Terrell in April. In the midst of the fight, an incompetent California referee called for a break in the action, or did he? A break in the action calls for a fighter restart standing, but for some reason it wasn't observed. Smith relaxed and Terrell pounced. Smith has a lot of potential. He's stopped 2 tough opponents in Justin Levens and Tait Fletcher in the 1st round. Smith is a banger who will do damage in this competition.
The outcome: Smith has a shot at the finals, but ultimately I think he'll fall short and end up losing in the semi-finals. Smith is good, but I honestly think Cote and Sell are just better at this point of the game.
Star factor: I'm not sure about this guy. He didn't say anything out of the ordinary before the Terell fight, so I'll reserve judgment.
Totally Irrelevant Finals Prediction
Patrick Cote defeats Pete Sell by KO in round 2
Welterweights
Mikey Burnett (5-2): Mikey Burnett has a 2-1 record in the UFC. Sounds good right? Why the comeback? Well, ol' Mikey last fought in 1999. An original member of the Lion's Den, Mikey was pitted against Pat Miletich in the 1st ever title fight in the 170 pound division. Miletich not only pulled out a decision, but also exposed Burnett's shiny white ass to the audience by giving him multiple wedgies in the fight. I'm not kidding. Mikey beat Eugenio Tadeu stupid in their UFC meeting, and also handled Olympic wrestler Townsend Saunders. With the Saunders fight being his last, Mikey hopes to make a UFC comeback at the age of 32. In his day Burnett was super strong and had heavy hands to complement good wrestling skills.
The outlook: Not good for Mikey. The sport is constantly evolving and we have no idea if he's kept up. I see him as one and done.
Star factor: Want an older Chris Leben? Mikey is your man. Mikey gave a drunken interview at an early UFC that is still talked about to this day. After losing an internet bet on the first Ortiz-Shamrock fight (he bet Shamrock lol) he dressed up as a leprechaun and took a picture and posted it on the Internet. If you're looking for someone to get drunk and belligerent, Mikey will fill that role.
Shonie Carter (34-15-6): It's not often we get to see a real pimp on television, but there's a 1st time for everything. "Mr International" is a true veteran who's fought all over the world in many different disciplines. He holds a 3-2 record in the UFC. He was KO'd by Pat Miletich and Nate Quarry, but holds a KO win over housemate Matt Serra in one of the best fights in UFC history. Shonie is a tough striker, combining Muay Thai and Kyokushin karate. Shonie also has experience in judo and can avoid submissions really well. Carter is a consummate veteran who has seen everything the fight game has to offer. Shonie holds past wins over housemates Serra and Chris Lytle, and lost a war to housemate Jeremy Jackson. To really sum up his career would require an entire novel.
The outlook: Interesting. Shonie is back at his best weight and with the proper training he can be a force. I like Shonie to reach the semis because a lot of the welterweights in the competition are blown up lightweights. I feel that either Serra or Lytle will avenge their loss to Shonie on their way to the finals.
Star factor: Off the charts. If Lil' Jon, Bishop Magic Don Juan, and Billy Blanks combined their DNA, it'd be Shonie. Shonie is a flashy character who dresses like a pimp and acts like one too. When Shonie brought a pimp cup to his fight with Quarry it was pure comedy. Spike has already run some promos focusing on Shonie and his bizarre behavior, including him sparring in a pair of slacks. Combine that with the fact that, win or lose, Shonie comes to fight and you have a bonafide reality TV star.
Rich Clementi (23-10-1): Rich "No Love" Clementi is an MMA veteran that normally competes at 155 lbs. Clementi has an 0-1 UFC record, thanks to a submission loss to Yves Edwards. Up until a loss to MMA legend Caol Uno earlier this year, Clementi had been on a 10 fight win streak. Rich has beaten tough lightweights like Kotani and Joe Jordan, and has a loss to fellow cast member Pete Spratt. Clementi is a well-rounded fighter who just may be a little small for this competition.
The outlook: No doubt that "No Love" is a tough fighter, but the quality in this weight class makes it hard for me to believe that he'll make it even to the semis. Once he gets back, he'd make a solid lightweight contender.
Star factor: Rich has always seemed like a pleasant, good-natured guy. Sometimes people surprise you though.
Jeremy Jackson (8-4): Jeremy "The Scorpion" Jackson is one of the most feared strikers in this competition. Jackson is a part time pro boxer who holds an 0-1 record in the UFC. Jackson was armbarred by Nick Diaz in his lone UFC appearance. Jackson has fought just once in the past 2 years so ring rust could be an issue. Jackson has KO'd Diaz in the past and also won a unanimous decision in a war over Shonie Carter. Jackson has scary power in his hands and has improved his submission game.
The outlook: Jackson is a dark horse in this competition. He can put anyone to sleep with his hands. I believe he can make the semis but he doesn't have enough of a ground game to make an impact.
Star factor: Jackson is a well put together dude who comes to fight. People will like his style. He's always seemed like an interesting guy, so let's hope we get to know him on the show.
Chris Lytle (21-12-5): "Lights Out" Lytle holds a 2-4 record in the Octagon. He has impressive submission wins over Tiki and Ronald Jhun, but has been beaten by Joe Riggs, Robbie Lawler, Karo Parisyan, and Ben Earwood. Lytle is very well-rounded. He has boxed professionally and is very skilled in the submission game. Lytle also holds a win over Pride standout Kazuo Misaki and a chokeout of housemate Pete Spratt.
The outlook: Lytle is an impressive fighter and is my pick to go all the way. He is more well-rounded than the other fighters in the competition and is a legit 170 pounder. Expect to see him get a title shot.
Star factor: Lytle will be a very popular fighter. Every reality show has one person where the audience asks, "he's normal, why is he there?" and Lytle will be that person. Lytle is a soft spoken guy who speaks with a Midwestern drawl. Lytle is a firefighter when he's not busting heads. His aw-shucks personality will be a hit with viewers.
Matt Serra (5-4): Amazingly, 8 of Serra's fights have been in the Octagon. He has four wins over the likes of Yves Edwards, Kelly Dullanty, Jeff Curran, and Ivan Menjivar. He looked impressive in a razor thin loss to BJ Penn (one of the best pound for pound in the world) and gave Karo Parisyan all he could handle at 170. Serra was KO'd in his 2nd MMA fight against Shonie Carter, and lost a controversial decision to fellow housemate Din Thomas. Serra is a jiu jitsu wizard with improving striking. Serra is poetry in motion on the ground, but needs to focus on finishing submissions instead of looking for the next move. Serra is a more natural 155 pounder, but will still be tough at 170.
The outlook: This show will be Serra's coming out party, and a showcase for great jiu jitsu. Serra brings great heart and determination to the show. I believe he will finish as a runner-up to Lytle.
Star factor: Serra is a good-natured, fun loving New Yorker. He will gain fans because of his personality and fight style.
Pete Spratt (14-7): "The Secret Weapon" Pete Spratt has been searching for his secret weapon for a long time. Ever since a TKO win over Robbie Lawler, Spratt's career has gone hot and cold. Spratt has a 2-2 UFC record. He submitted Zach Light and TKO'd Lawler. He was outclassed on the ground in submission losses to Carlos Newton and Josh Koscheck. Spratt looked especially lost in his loss to Koscheck last year, where he failed to attempt to counter Kos' rear naked choke. Regardless, Spratt is 1-1 against his castmates, with a win over Clementi and a loss to Lytle. Next to Jeremy Jackson, Spratt is another feared striker. A legitimate kickboxer, Spratt is a load to deal with if he gets his strikes off. If he appears even a bit tentative, he'll get taken to the ground and submitted.
The outlook: Seeing Spratt's loss to Koscheck really had me question his desire to show up for the fight. Spratt will be tough to handle but will be submitted. I think he'll be one and done.
Star factor: Spratt's "Secret Weapon" may actually be his personality. Spratt has starred in various D movies and has released a few rap records. His internet freestyle battles with castmate Din Thomas and others are legendary.
Din Thomas (17-6): In 2002 and 2003, Thomas was one of the best lightweights on the planet. Strong and athletic, Dinyero frustrated many an opponent. However, Thomas has dropped 2 of his past 3 fights to less than stellar competition. Din's UFC record is at 2-2. He beat Matt Serra and Fabiano Iha by decision. He lost by KO to BJ Penn and by decision to Caol Uno. The defining moment of Thomas' career was his heel hook win over former UFC Lightweight Champion Jens Pulver. Thomas is very well-rounded, but a move up to 170 may not be the best thing for him. It's not known if he can adjust to this weight and what his fighting mindset is.
The outlook: Even though he owns a win over Serra, I don't feel confident about Thomas' chances in this competition. The farthest he can sneak is into the semifinals.
Star factor: If he gets into a freestyle battle with Pete Spratt, that's pure entertainment.
Totally Irrelevant Finals Prediction
Chris Lytle defeats Matt Serra by unanimous decision
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Post by Darth Turkish on Aug 18, 2006 19:37:25 GMT -5
If I heard some dude in a bar talk about "Arona", I'd go ask him why he does not like him. The rest of the bar would not know who he is. The "Arona" hater may be an idiot, but at least you may be able to shut him up with some facts.
And by and large, the people I have witnessed watch MMA with little to no background in wrestling, judo, or ju jutsu, got annoyed when fighters would try for submissions. Mind you, I am not talking about people you have over to watch (who, on some level, will understand and appreciate what is going on). Next time a UFC pay Per View is on, go to your local Hooters (which plays the event). You will be able to quickly pick out whom I am talking about.
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IPPON!!