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Recap of The Ultimate Fighter Episode 3
Reported By: Boxing Insider - 02.02.2005 11:34 PM
THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER: EPISODE 3
(a.k.a. The F-Bomb Episode)
By Ken Pishna, BoxingInsider.com
Last week on The Ultimate Fighter, two fighters were eliminated: light heavyweight Jason Thacker and middleweight Chris Sanford. Both men hailed from Team Couture. To the dismay of many, they were eliminated following team challenges instead of fighting in the Octagon.
All of you who were in an uproar, you can now rest easy. The fighting has begun!
After two episodes that focused on drawing in the non-mixed martial arts fan, episode three was the nearly perfect segue into the heart of the sport. The main focus of the show was weight-cutting and what a fighter sometimes goes through leading up to a fight.
Episode three started out with more footage of fighters working out and giving different perspectives on the issue of making weight. There was also a lot of talk among the fighters discussing the prospect of fighting for “free.” It seems many of them were under the impression that they wouldn’t be fighting until the finals of the show… they were sorely mistaken.
UFC president Dana White caught wind of the descent, called an impromptu late night meeting with everyone, and proceeded to kick off an F-Bomb laden tirade. “I am not happy… I get the feeling that some guys here don’t want to fight.” Then he sharpened his axe, “I don’t know what the f**k everybody thought they were coming here for... We picked who we believed were the best guys in this country right now… and you guys are it. F**king act like it, man. Do you want to be a fighter? That’s the question. It’s not about cutting weight. It’s not about living in a f**king house... Do you want to be a f**king fighter? That is my question... Anybody who says you don’t, I don’t f**king want you here and I’ll throw you the f**k out of this gym so f**king fast, your head’ll spin!”
Now if that doesn’t motive a fighter, I don’t know what does.
From here, we move on to the challenge. This week, it was the light heavyweights, but unlike last week, this was an individual challenge. The winner earned immunity for this episode. The loser would have to make weight (or be sent home) and fight for his spot on the show.
In the challenge, each competitor had to pull himself along a dry lakebed with a rope while sitting in a kayak. Then the fighter had to gather ten 10-pound weights into a bucket and carry it to the specified finish line.
Alex Karalexis, of Team Couture, won his immunity. Team Liddell’s Bobby Southworth lost the challenge and would have to fight.
The issue of making weight would be a huge factor. By 2 p.m. the next day, Southworth would have to cut 20 pounds to get down to the specified 205-pound light heavyweight limit.
As the losing team, Liddell and his fighters were given their pick of opponents for Southworth. They chose who they believed to be the weakest of Couture’s light heavyweights… Lodune Sincaid.
The better portion of the rest of the show focused on Southworth’s struggle to cut the weight and the efforts of Team Captain Chuck Liddell and teammate Josh Koscheck to push him to his limits to get there. At one point, he spent an hour in a 210-degree sauna, took a break, and then was forced back into the sauna by Liddell and Koscheck.
It was a dynamic segment leading up to Southworth’s weigh-in. Marc Ratner, the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission performed the weigh-in. Southworth was still three pounds overweight. In accordance with Nevada regulations, he had two additional hours to make weight.
Again Southworth struggled to drop weight in the sauna. But his team didn’t let him down. Koscheck literally drug him by his feet back into the sauna.
Southworth weighed-in again, this time at 206 pounds, one pound over the specified limit. In accordance with the State of Nevada, Southworth did make weight as the rules allow for a fighter to be within one pound of the limit to qualify.
The next day, the fight was on. Due to the fight taking place in Nevada, and due to the fact that they are indeed real, legitimate fights, the Nevada State Athletic Commission was completely involved in all aspects of the bout. Big John McCarthy was the referee. The Commission assigned all the judges. Nevada’s Chief Ringside Doctor Margaret Goodman was there. Everything was in place just as it would be for the Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view events. The only thing missing was the throng of screaming mixed martial arts fans.
Southworth and Sincaid battled through a very close first round with a cut opening up over Sincaid’s left eye. In between rounds, Liddell instructed Southworth to let his hands loose with a combination. He followed his coach’s instructions to the letter and the result was Sincaid dropping to the canvas and Big John stopping the bout within the opening moments of the second round.
Lodune Sincaid was sent packing as Bobby Southworth earned his stay on the team.
From the perspective of an insider that wants to see the sport of mixed martial arts gain a foothold among a more mainstream audience, this episode was a tremendous insight into the fight world for the uninitiated.
The producers did an excellent job from beginning to end. Specifically, they showed the superhuman effort that is sometimes required just to make it to the ring. But on the flip side, they also gave some great insight into just how much emphasis is placed on the safety of the fighters. Especially crucial along these lines, was the involvement of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
I think subtle moments such as showing Dr. Goodman checking on Southworth’s health once he made weight and later showing her examining Sincaid after the knockout are crucial in convincing the non-faithful that this is indeed a legitimate sport, not the blood bath spectacle that it was once marketed as.
Up next week: As Team Couture’s ranks have thinned – they have lost two light heavyweights and one middleweight – Chuck Liddell will have to choose one of his light heavyweights to send over to Randy.
Ken Pishna is a regular contributor to BoxingInsider.com and a senior writer and editor at MMAWeekly.com. He can be contacted via email at KenPishna@MMAWeekly.com.
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