The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Season 12, featuring welterweight coaches (and division rivals) Josh Koscheck and Georges St. Pierre, gets underway with Episode 8 and GSP opens the show with some kind of bizarre pantomime method of training.
Needless to say, the contestants aren't too happy with the wildcard selections. Well, let's just go ahead and say it: They're bitter that Marc Stevens got the nod when he was choked out so quickly in his elimination fight.
Dana and Koscheck stand by the pick and say it was a bad performance by a good fighter.
Also getting under everyone's skin is Bruce Leroy, who gets stretched out by the trainers to keep his back loose. Teammate Michael Johnson believes it's a phantom injury designed to keep him out of training in between fights.
In the locker room, Koscheck and Nurse Tate are having a war of words and briefly tussle before breaking away to avoid a "heated" confrontation. Collateral damage includes an innocent plunger and my already lowered expectations.
Aaron Wilkinson works the heavy bag and Spike TV works the subtitles. He elevates his heart rate on the treadmill and makes nice with Marc Stevens, who is pacing on the machine next to him. They even offer an exchange of services after all is said and done.
Camaraderie!
Koscheck and Tate are still rocking the jibber-jabber, including such tried-and-true favorites as "male nurse" and "bottle of peroxide." Once Kos realizes the cameras have zoomed in he goes for the standing rape choke and the benches clear.
Dane Sayers tries to intervene with a modified Thai plum on Haircheck and gets a few bitch slaps for his efforts. After the smoke clears, he storms out but both coaches follow him to calm him down. Kos does the right thing and blames the entire incident on Georges St. Pierre because "Rush" obviously hired a paramedic just to get inside Koscheck's head.
?
After the fireworks, both Stevens and Wilkinson make weight without incident.
GSP takes his team to the locker room and they do the Secret Santa method of picking quarterfinal fights. Not surprisingly, Michael Johnson puts Bruce Leroy's name in the hat and is hoping his motor-mouthed nemesis returns the favor.
A commercial break brings us a preview for the new buddy comedy starring the artist currently known as Iron Man and that hairy fat guy from "The Hangover." You have a beard, you're oblivious to criticism and there's an underlying aw-shucks charm to your every move. We get it. Can we move on already?
Back at the house, Wilkinson gets the dreaded "They're gone" phone call. Just what he needs to hear before his big fight. He's broken up over losing his Nana but will stay and fight.
Coach K won't be cornering either fighter because they're teammates and he likes both guys. Kos hopes for a "helluva fight" with no injuries and may the best man win.
Wildcard elimination fight #1: Aaron Wilkinson (6-3) vs. Marc Stevens (12-5)
Round 1: Low kicks from Stevens. Air jabs by Wilky. Stevens shoots hard and takes him down. Wilky struggles to stay out of side control but gives up his back. Stevens tries to stretch him out but it's early and Wilky is game. Stevens rolls him over and Wilky cage walks out of it but Stevens reverses and locks up an arm. Wilky stays composed and muscles out and has good position. Stevens throws the legs up and Nam Phan is the only one coaching the fight (or at least the only one audible). The round ends with Stevens legging him and Wilky hammer fisting.
Round 2: Low kick by Wilky followed by some jabs. A Wilky kick is caught and used for a Stevens takedown, who apparently didn't learn from his last fight and silver platters a textbook guillotine. Fight over.
Aaron Wilkinson defeats Marc Stevens via submission (guillotine choke).
After the fight, Dana has a few good laughs over Phan's cornering but if he wasn't doing it they would have given us seven minutes of dead air. He also takes a few potshots at Stevens for choking (literally).
It's now time for the quarterfinal fight picks and that means Dana, Josh and Georges will interview each fighter to see who they want to fight. Not surprisingly, everyone wants to fight Alex Caceres because he's deemed the weakest link.
Koscheck thinks it's a conspiracy to give Johnson a free pass to the semis.
Kos also thinks he's tricked GSP into spilling the secrets of his camp by hearing that Johnson has a sub-par ground game and feels bad for Canadian fans because their hero is so easily tricked. I guess he forgot why Michael Johnson was on Team GSP in the first place.
The quarterfinal match-ups are announced and as follows:
Jonathan Brookins vs. Sako Chivitchian
Cody McKenzie vs. Nam Phan
Kyle Watson vs. Aaron Wilkinson
Michael Johnson vs. Alex Caceres
Koscheck blames what he calls poor fight match-ups on Dana's pity for St. Pierre.
Stay tuned next week for a two-fight episode featuring Sako Chivitchian vs. Jonathan Brookins and Nam Phan vs. Cody McKenzie.
See you in seven!
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