The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen (Tuesdays on FX)

[EmpireWF]

The new season kicks off this Tuesday with a 2-hour special and then 1-hour episodes every week after through April.

205 champ Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen are the coaches leading up to their title fight in Newark.

This season is made up of middleweights looking for 1 long-term UFC contract.

Team Sonnen
Luke Barnatt (5-0), 24, Cambridge, ENG
Uriah Hall (7-2), 28, New York City, N.Y.
Zach Cummings (15-3), 28, Kansas City, Mo.
Tor Troeng (15-4-1), 29, Umea, SWE
Jimmy Quinlan (3-0), 26, Metheun, Mass.
Kevin Casey (5-2), 31, Hawthorne, Calif.
Kelvin Gastelum (5-0), 20, Yuma, Ariz.

Team Jones
Clint Hester (7-3), 24, Atlanta, Ga.
Josh Samman (9-2), 24, Tallahassee, Fla.
Bubba McDaniel (20-6), 29, Albuquerque, N.M.
Gilbert Smith (5-1), 30, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Collin Hart (4-1-1), 23, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Adam Cella (4-0), 27, Fenton, Mo.
Dylan Andrews (16-4-1), 32, Gold Coast, AUS

FIRST ROUND
Week 1 - Luke Barnatt (SON) def. Gilbert Smith (JON) - flying knee KO
Week 2 - Uriah Hall (SON) def. Adam Cella (JON) - spinning back kick KO
Week 3 - Collin Hart (JON) def. Kevin Casey (SON) - unanimous decision
Week 4 - Kelvin Gastelum (SON) def. Bubba McDaniel (JON) - rear naked choke
Week 5 - Josh Samman (JON) def. Tor Troeng (SON) - right hand KO
Week 6 - Jimmy Quinlan (SON) def. Clint Hester (JON) - rear naked choke
Week 7 - Dylan Andrews (JON) def. Zach Cummings (SON) - unanimous decision
Week 8 - *Wildcard* Bubba McDaniel (JON) def. Kevin Casey (SON) - TKO, did not answer bell

QUARTERFINALS
Week 9 - Kelvin Gastelum def. Collin Hart - left hook knockout & ground/pound
Week 9 - Dylan Andrews def. Luke Barnatt - TKO, ref stoppage
Week 10 - Josh Samman def. Jimmy Quinlan - tap out due to strikes
Week 10 - Uriah Hall def. Bubba McDaniel - KO, right hand & hammerfists

SEMIFINALS
Week 11 - Kelvin Gastelum def. Josh Samman - rear naked choke
Week 11 - Uriah Hall def. Dylan Andrews - TKO, ref stoppage

LIVE FINALE FOR TUF CONTRACT
Uriah Hall vs. Kelvin Gastelum

 

[Epidemik]

I'd watch this just for Chael Sonnen.

But that's what UFC is banking more people will do.

 

[EmpireWF]

Having family at the first set of fights, doing a little backstory...better than recent seasons of just throwing guys into the cage and having a fight.

Nik Fekete, ouch, coaching wrestling is his thing I guess.

 

[EmpireWF]

Uriah Hall looked like a beast...plus one of the Tiger Schulman ads that ran during the episode had him featured. Guy comes from a karate background but damn with some of the kicks he was throwing. His only losses came against Weidman & Philippou, btw.

Clint Hester had some powerful strikes (he's been doing pro boxing and MMA side by side) but impressed with a few explosive takedowns.

Sonnen said he picked Luke #1 because of his conditioning.

Gilbert Smith is jacked, like a middleweight version of Marcus Hicks (for those who may remember him from WEC). Questions about him relate to whether he can keep his wind in a long fight.

Kevin Casey is close with the Gracie's, a BJJ black belt, so only way he's losing is if he gets clobbered with punches (how Lindland beat him in Strikeforce few years back)

Zak Cummings, former Strikeforce, Bellator fighter & MFC champ, quickly finished his opponent.

Josh Samman already a bit ticked because Jones chose Gilbert to fight Luke 1st and not the fight he wanted. He's out of Florida, has trained under Erik Paulsen and Gracie Barra BJJ's Roberto Cuartero.

Bubba McDaniel has trained with Jones in a few camps down at Jackson's so they're pretty tight.

Pretty much the fighters of note and the guys who left the biggest impressions.

 

[EmpireWF]

1.5 million viewers -- highest viewed TUF episode on FX.

0.8 adults 18-49

 

[EmpireWF]

1.27 million viewers and a 0.7 in the adults 18-49 demo for week 2.

Next week is Uriah Hall's next fight with Dana promising the most violent KO in series history.

 

[Liquidrob]

In the words of Aerosmith, going down...

 

[EmpireWF]

Luke Barnatt on the KO that airs tonight...

scariest thing I've seen in my life...we honestly thought he was dead.

 

[EmpireWF]

Uriah Hall about to mess this guy up in the next 1/2 hour.

 

[Jmiles]

That shit was brutal

 

[EmpireWF]

This season is so much better than the last few.

Dana said he was out cold for 4 minutes

 

[Jmiles]

The last season I Actually watched was probably the heavyweight season, before that it was pulver/penn (probably the most stacked season ever IMO). This season has a new layout and so far I am enjoying it. Tape delay is definitely the way to go. Live was an epic fail.

 

[Cornelius]

Every dude in the house has to be scared after seeing that shit. The one faggot who said,"are you ready" when he mounted that guy in the entry fights is going to get ko'd next.

 

[Epidemik]

That KO was fucking brutal.

 

[Epidemik]

His interview about that fight

 

[EmpireWF]

Jimmy Quinlan, a wrestler/BJJ guy out of New England, upset Jones' top pick Clint Hester (the boxer) with takedowns and a second round rnc.

Next week is the final opening round fight with Zak Cummings & Dylan Andrews (striker out of New Zealand).

 

[CrimsonGhost56]

a part of me wishes i still watched this because there can be some good fights but at the same time the whole fake "rivalry" between jones and sonnen and the soap opera dramas with the guys in the house completely turn me off to it

 

[EmpireWF]

a part of me wishes i still watched this because there can be some good fights but at the same time the whole fake "rivalry" between jones and sonnen and the soap opera dramas with the guys in the house completely turn me off to it

Know what you mean. On the bright side, there literally has been no beef at all between the coaches. They legit act like friends, laughing and joking around whenever they're in the same room. Btw, next week is the coaches challenge which looks like some stupid set of competitions with both guys driving a bulldozer or some shit.

As for the house crap, it's also been downplayed. The only issue is Uriah Hall alienating most of the guys in the house because 1) he doesn't know how to relax and 2) because he was bullied as a kid in Queens, he takes friendly ribbing as insults and lashes out.

Still he's a bad ass striker & the only guy who looks to want to fight him in the tournament is the lay and pray wrestler Collin Hart.

 

[Primetime]

Quarterfinals start tonight. I really want to see Uriah and Josh get through simply because it's easy to see how scared Josh is to fight Uriah. Would love to see Uriah win this whole tournament.

 

[EmpireWF]

damn Bubba's all mindfucked because he was assigned Uriah. ouch.

Kelvin is one hell of a fighter and that young, too...power in his hands and solid wrestling.

Dylan Andrews is also a fun guy to watch, brawls but can handle himself on the ground so far.