TUF 5 Finale: White says Sims and Thomas will NOT fight ...again

When the cat's away, mice will play.

Marlon Sims and Noah Thomas — the two contestants kicked off The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 reality series because of an unsanctioned backyard brawl — will not fight at the TUF 5 Finale on June 23 despite a press release issued last week that said the match up was booked.

That's the word from Steve Seivert over at the Houston Chronicle who recently spoke with UFC President Dana White about the puzzling decision to reward the fighters with another chance in the Octagon in front of a massive television audience.

Here's the snip from White:

"They're not fighting on the finale. Not only are they not fighting in the finale, they'll never fight in the UFC. Spike wanted that fight. It ain't gonna happen. No (expletive) way is that fight going to happen. Those guys will never fight in the UFC - ever."

Apparently, White said it was a "mistake" and that he didn't find out about the news until "yesterday" because of a hectic travel schedule (although the release was issued more than one week ago).

Uh-huh.

I'll let Seivert take this one:

"Hmm. Let me get this straight. The president of the UFC -- a self-professed control freak -- didn't sign off on the announcement and didn't actually find out about the fight until yesterday. The skeptic in me is having a hard time swallowing that one. White is the UFC. He knows when his fighters blow their noses. In front of the cameras, he was livid about what went down. He lit into Sims and Thomas on the TUF episode that featured the backyard fight between the two lightweights. And, you're telling me no one consulted the head of the organization and the executive producer of the show about bringing these two guys back?"

Internet boards and forums exploded with outrage and condemnation when the bout was announced. Perhaps the UFC didn't anticipate all the negative feedback and backlash from the fans.

Or, it really was just one "unfortunate" mistake and Spike television decided to play UFC matchmaker for the day without the consent or knowledge of the UFC.

As Seivert says, I'll let you decide. I'm probably in enough trouble.