(upbeat music) - Hello and welcome to The Hammer. I'm your host Dave, during this always by my good friends. - Greg, how's it going guys? - And of course, Steve. - Hey. - So we've got a good show for you today. We're gonna talk a little bit about the history of the Ultimate Fighter and who has gone on to do well with that show. - There aren't many. - This is the new season of the Ultimate Fighter between GSP and Kosh that we're excited about. However, we're gonna start with a topic near and dear to all of our hearts, Shark Fights. - Yes, I may be the only person-- - Don't know. - I may be the only person out there who watched Shark Fights 13 this past week. - I know I didn't. - And yeah, not a lot to say about it, but I don't know, I figured I would just do a quick rundown because it was a wacky, wacky show. I didn't hate it. - Shark Fights was wacky. - The reason why I watched it was I saw a commercial with Boss Root and one of the commentators, and there was like a poorly computer animated water, and then he was running around with him, he was a shark. - Oh my God. - And I was like, I have to watch this, so I did. And he was a commentator along with Don Fry, who was in the craziest, like the craziest American flag cowboy outfit you've ever seen. - Oh yeah, this is a surprise me. Knowing Don Fry, that doesn't surprise me. And there was about 11 people in the crowd. - More than I would expect. - So anyway, there were a bunch of matches, and it was-- - More for sure. - There were a bunch of matches, and really not that many really worth talking about, but Paul Daley did fight on Paul Daley, who was exiled from the UFC. - For good reason. - Yeah, he missed weight. - Well there's a surprise. - Don Fry buried him for missing weight. - And not being American. - And then buried the whole fight because it was boring. And it really was. - How's a daily fight boring? I mean, the guy's insured. You know, I was injured. - No, no, no, no, no, no. - He was a fight east now. - He's fighting Jorge Massadol. And it was supposed to be a real brawl. They hyped it up as a real brawl. It was boring, and the commentators didn't really have much time for it. But I will say though, the commentating on this show was incredible. - Yeah. - I have a clip. - Well, Bass used to commentate for pride too, right? - Except he didn't have a partner like this. - Yeah. - Check this out. - Company fighting in Focal Fire. - Oh, syntax team. - What a septice beat. Oh, I hear it's an explosive powder. - That is correct, sir. - You put a, like, a battery thing in there and it goes, I, I, I, I, it, it, at night at one time, the ball. - Is it like a double rainbow? - It's a double rainbow. - Double rainbow color. - Oh. - Oh my God, it's a triple rainbow. - It's a triple rainbow. - It's a triple rainbow. - It's a triple rainbow. - It's a triple rainbow. - That was what happened for three straight hours as they made terrible, terrible jokes. - It's a triple rainbow. - And buried all the fights, and it was, it was, it was pretty funny. It was actually pretty entertaining. But, but yeah, so anyway, so in that daily, first Maspidol fight, I easily gave the fight to Maspidol. So of course, Paul Daly won the unanimous decision. - Yeah, of course. - Well, Maspidol is not the supposed to starve shark fight. - Yeah. - Daily is right. - And the answer to just finished burying, like, like being like, oh, there's no way. Oh, Paul Daly looked terrible, there's no way he won. Then he got the unanimous decision. (laughing) So, and the crowd was really into Daly on the way out, but then booed him insanely after he got the decision, 'cause it really did seem like a scam. - It makes, it makes Strike Force look professional. - I will say though, so could you, versus Houston Alexander, what's great? - You know what, I'm, I'm not surprised by that, 'cause so could you's always good to watch, and Houston Alexander, he's got to have learned his lesson from the Kimbo fight. He's got to be a little more exciting. - Just a really fun brawl. So could you dominate the first round? - Yeah. - And then in the, and then second round, so could you gas as usual? And then Alexander just went nuts, although when he was on top, he was throwing multiple headbutts and the ref didn't call it. (laughing) So. - They got the ref out of the neighborhood Walgreens or something. - And then the fight, the fight was stopped. Alexander was, was grand of having so could you, it was stopped in the second round. I'd say 25 to 50 shots too late. (laughing) And so could you look bad. This was like, I rarely seen a fight that was stopped so much later than it needed to be. - Yeah. - So it was pretty bush league. The refs were totally bush league. And the main event was Key Jardine versus Trapper Pringley. First shot Evans was there. - Yeah. - Did you do a run in? - No, you should have made it better. But Don Fries said that Jardine looked like a rabbit octopus. (laughing) - Did they play octopus's guard in the background or something? - A rabbit octopus. (laughing) So that, and then absolutely nothing happens for like the whole fight. - Did he use all eight of his limbs to pummel? (laughing) - It was back. But nothing happened. And then Jardine went absolutely crazy in the last 30 seconds, which did not save this fight being, being entertaining at all. And then Pringley got the split decision. So Jardine is now five losses in a row. - Yeah. He's officially done. - So Daley and Keith Jardine, they went to this promotion. I mean, this promotion is significantly lower down the depth chart than UFC. And they're not even doing well there. - Yeah, I mean, Daley should have lost and Jardine did lose, so. - So, I mean, the thing with Jardine is though, 'cause he is fighting top of looking to a competition like Trapper Pringley. (laughing) You can't always expect to have wins. - To be fair to him though, he did fight excellent competition in the UFC. He did, but he should have beaten Trapper Pringley. - Well, for sure. And as far as Daley, I mean, he did get the win. - Sure, he came in overweight and sure it's a contested win, but I mean, you know, he was there. - Oh, and then when he won, he kind of promo on the crowd that they're just jealous 'cause he makes so much more money than they do. - Which he doesn't. - Which he doesn't. - He didn't get paid for his last show. So, it was, you know what, I gotta say, it'd be-- - $5,000 a night. - No, he didn't get paid for the Australian show. - Yeah. - They know what they didn't pay him. - Yeah, they might have gone $5,000 for the sharks. - Oh, for sure. - Well, I mean, if the 11 people in the crowd, and maybe there's one person who makes 10-10. - I actually do hope, though, that shark fights made some money because the commentating was just so wildly entertaining. - Yeah. - And the fights were not great, but there's potential there. - Yeah. - And they're never gonna dethrone UFC. - Well, there's not, I mean, the commentating is, as you said, wacky, and wacky commentating doesn't make you, people take you seriously. - No, we're not at all. - It makes you a joke. It makes you strike force. - The other thing is that in any given mixed martial arts competition, any given cage fight, by far the most important thing that any fighter can have going into the fight, is a good wrath. - Oh, and the rest here were as bad as I've seen. - The wrath is supposed to save your life, so you don't die. Otherwise, you end up like Muhammad Ali, in a punch-drunk, and not able to eat your own soup. - Yeah. - Oh, so could you? - So could you fight? - He was beaten to a pulp, and he did help him up, he had to give him air. Like, he, that punch had been stopped so much. - Like, I have no patience at all for that. This is a sport, sports have rafts, you know, I like-- - Sports have competent rafts. - Competent rafts, you know, there's a level of, if you are not able to get sanctioned rafts from your sanctioning body, (laughing) why are you, what fighter in the world, in his right and why, would ever step into your cage? And the thing with daily, and so could you, and, you know, Houston Alexander and Jardin is, they're desperate enough that they're not in the right mind, they're doing whatever they can to get one more payday. - Yeah. - But at the same time, for God's sakes, if you go and you say, "Who did I draw for my raft?" and they tell you, it's like Mark Greenham, and he's the first time he's ever rafted a match in his life, walk out, you know, like, you can't always get her deep-- - The only thing that separates professional fighting from backyard brawling is the rafting. It's the only thing that separates it. I mean, you want to put a cage around people, it's still going to be backyard brawling unless there's a decent competent raft. - I will say though, that shark bites as a whole, it was, they did a, they seem like they did a pretty good job. Stuff like judging and the rafts and stuff, that stuff, they don't control that stuff. So you can, you know, like, they put on the best product they could for what they had to work with, but they're a long way from USC or even a strike force. - I don't even really have a lot of sympathy for the whole organization saying, "Well, we don't control the rafting." Well, you pay your rafts. I mean, you either want to pay them. - No, rafts are assigned by the commissions depending on your area. - Yeah, if you're commissioning the state, which, I mean, you know, if this was a commission state, they would have had a commission rafts. They didn't have commission rafts, they had-- - Yeah, but not all, I mean, not all states are as professional and have as good rafts as Nevada does. I mean, Nevada State Athletic Commission is pretty much the peak, I think. - However, the strike force for their main shows and UFC gets those rafts on the road. They get Herb Dean whenever they want him, pretty much anything. - Oh, but that strike force Texas show, they didn't have any of their rafts. - Yeah. - Yeah, you're at the mercy of the commission. - There's a lot of red tape to go through, and I'm not sure exactly how it works, but, I mean, the different athletic commissions, I'm sure, are not all on par. They're-- - How could this say if I was so good to you right now, with that whole hospital bill, I'd be suing the raft and I'd be suing the promotion and I'd be suing the State Athletic Commission 'cause I'd say, hey-- - If he's beaten-- - Your obligation is to provide a competent raft who understands the rules of the sport. - And if he's beaten as bad as, I didn't see the fight, but if he is beaten as bad as is that is, he's gonna be missing other fights and other opportunities to make money, and so could you still a draw, and so could you as still a good fighter? - At least severe concussion. - Yeah. - Yeah, he-- - Possibly, he could do something about him. - But I will say, I mean, that that's the rafts, that's the judges did a poor job. Strike, Shark Fights did a fairly decent job, and we don't really have time for too much news, but there's a couple of things I thought I'd mention. BJ Penn versus Matt Hughes had just been added to the November USC card. - Ooh! - A welterweight fight. - I'd like to see that. - Which I think is big. - That's BJ going a welterweight, that is big, for sure. - Which we've theorized about for quite a while. - I've seen it for a while. I mean, you know, the worst gatekeeper you want in division is a former champ who's gonna be anyone in the division, but the current champ. - Yeah. - Yeah, if BJ wants to make a run out welterweight anyways, let him make his run out welterweight, get him out of lightweight. - And a win over either of these guys is enough to get these guys right back in the title contention in welterweight. - If Matt Hughes beats Penn, for sure, he's there. If Penn beats Matt Hughes, he's there too. I mean, this is great. I love this matchup. - I'm really happy. So that's the Colleen event with the ramp hitch Jackson versus Leader Machita pay per view. - That's gonna be a big show. - Great show in November. And yeah, really quickly, just 'cause we try and cover as much WEC as we can, Donald Seroni, the cowboy, he had to interview yesterday. And he'd used a lot of homophobic slurs towards his upcoming opponent, Jamie Varner. And then he wanted to kill this dude and want him to be the first death in MMA. - Oh, here we go again. - And Frank Meer all over again, yeah. - All these guys, WEC got really angry at him. He has since apologized and said to get carried away while trying to hype the fight, but these guys have to stop doing this. - Yeah, really. - It doesn't sell tickets. - I love talking, I love talking. I love Chill Sun and, you know, hyping up his fight. This is just, oh, this is massive. - There's no place for it. There's no place for it. And it just takes away from the fight. You know, and it does nothing for the sport. It does nothing for it. It doesn't sell tickets. - Oh, no, not at all. - 'Cause nobody's gonna believe that, oh, it's just, it's a stupid comment. There's no place for it. - Yeah, I like Donald Seroni, but it's looking for the upcoming fight. But it's like, oh, that didn't help me. That didn't give me any more excited for their fight coming up. - Yeah. - But that is gonna be an awesome fight. Seroni Varner. - As a boxing fan, though, one of the things that really, really did hurt boxing's credibility was when the trash truck got so vile that it's not as appealing to the casual fan. Do you know what I'm saying? And I mean, there's a level where you can be entertaining like Muhammad Ali or Chill Sun and to a point where you get like just vile. And I mean like Muir and Donald Seroni, they're at a point where you either take some clusters and learn how to do it right or don't do it, you know? But don't think that you're the great personality guy, bring your wit and humor when all you have is calling the other guy, you know, homophobic slurs. That's, you're not doing anything for anyone. - That's great. - And it surprised me about Muir because Muir is usually really good on the mic. So he just got carried away that one time. Seroni though, I mean, yeah, Seroni's got a dial back. - Seroni's not gonna pass me with his mic ability. He's always been like, well, I'm coming to whip some ass and also my opponent, he's, you know? - He's, yeah, we won't bother finishing that. Let's move on. - Then he gets to make the gay or ethnic slur. - Before the bleep button gets hit a million times, let's go on to something else. - So we figured out with the, we're recording the show on Wednesday night right before the ultimate fighter finale or premiere. - Premiere, yeah, the premiere. - And so we figured, you know, we'd spend some time talking about the history of the ultimate fighter. - Well, so we're gonna go right after this to go watch the ultimate fighter fight night, which will be Mark Hart versus Paul Harris and that'll be a great fight. However, a question we get asked a lot is, what do you think of the ultimate fighter? And the ultimate fighter is very, very important to the U of C because it's their farm system. And it's also a big source of bringing in fans. - Yeah, yeah, it's the reason that they're as big as they are right now. - And we've discussed previously on the show, things about maybe, maybe things that need to be changed or maybe it doesn't need to be changed. We just figured though this time, we would run down the previous winners. - Some of the guys that's done really, really well. - Does winning this competition really mean something and has this been good for the sport? Not from a popularity perspective, but from a competition. All of the fighters and competition. - So let's begin with who won and, you know. - Where they're at. - Not so much where they're at, but who won and who were the coaches and what the result was. - We'll start with the ultimate fighter one and we'll just go down the list. - So we started with Chuck Liddell versus Randy Couture as the coaches with a lightweight, high light heavyweight division. Diego Sanchez won a middleweight, Forrest Griffin won a light heavyweight. - All right, so Diego Sanchez as a middleweight winner. - As a middleweight winner. - He sits moved down to welterweight and then down to wate, and now back he's flirting with welterweight again. - And flirting back with what with lightweight now. - So who knows what he's going to be doing, but he's going to be right here right now? What do you guys think? - I don't think he'll ever be a champion. - I don't think he'll ever be a champion, but he did have a UFC champion shot. He did win contender status against Penn, BJ Penn, and he looked to be one of the top guys in the lightweight division. If Penn does legitimately move out of that division, I said that Diego Sanchez has a realistic shot against - Absolutely. - against Frankly. - I mean, I am not in agreement with that. I don't think Sanchez could be that girl. - Diego fell. Now he looked, before he got that title shot, people thought he was a world beater. He's since fallen, he's had some bad losses since then, but now he's back training with Greg Jackson's camp before he started, and you know what? With the right motivation, he's still talented. - He is very talented. - I wouldn't count a motive of winning a lightweight championship today. I wouldn't put money on it, but it wouldn't surprise me. - I think that, I mean, he got that title shot against Penn based more on the entertainment value of his fight with Guida than his actual ability. - That made him a lot of fans. - So with that being said, he won fights after the Guida fight that got him into that contention. So I mean, he is a good fighter. He just isn't as good a fighter as BJ Penn. - Yeah, there's not too many people in the world that are. So we go forward. Light Heavyweights, Forrest Griffin was the winner of that. - I think Forrest kind of speaks for himself. - He's the poster boy. - Yeah, Forrest is the poster boy for you to see. He did win a light heavyweight championship. - Yes, he did. - He was a one and done champion, but he actually won it. - Even he doesn't believe he won another one, but you know what? It's crazier things have happened. - And he's also been, he's one of the most prolific spokespers for the company. He's one of their big cross-brained stars, so. - Yeah, Forrest Griffin is what the ultimate fighter was meant to create. - Mm-hmm, so Tough 2 was Matt Hughes versus Rich Franklin. And the winners in Walter Waite were Joe Daddie Stevenson, who sends cut down to lightweight and became a contender with against BJ Penn at the UFC 80. Then we had the winner of Heavyweight was the infamous Rashad Evans, who is now one of the biggest stars in the lightweight division. He cut down a weight class as well. He actually had a really, really entertaining fight for his finale, and since then he's managed to win a lightweight championship against. - Now he's the number one contender again. - And now he's the number one contender again, so he's right back in the hunt. He's definitely in the top four or five of the heavyweights in the world. - He's drawn some serious money for the UFC. He's a huge star. He's just right up there with Forrest. These are guys that-- - He's a head of Forrest. - If the ultimate fighter only created these two guys, it was worth the investment. - Yeah, for sure. - So we have T.O.T's versus Cancion. - First, Joe Daddie Stevenson. As a winner, he had his title shot. Do you guys see a future in the end of now? - He still got a future. - Yeah, that's Soderopolis loss kind of hurt him, but I think that he's got the ability. I don't know if he'll be a champion, but he's definitely got a future. - He's a solid contender. And I don't think he's got in and to become a champion, but he's gonna be a very, very solid fighter. Unfortunately, he's sliding into the role of gatekeeper or journeyman. - Absolutely. - But I mean, he's definitely a good guy. He's definitely a very solid fighter. - That's a solid addition to the roster. - So tough three, T.O.R.T's versus Ken Shamock. The winner of middleweight was Kendall Grove, who has since gone on to do almost nothing. - Yeah. - And the winner of light heavyweight was Michael Bisping. He went on to complete the title shot against Dan Henderson. And he was involved in one of the most devastating knockouts of UFCC history when Dan Henderson knocked him out in such an absolutely crushing fashion. I mean, like the knockout of Dan Henderson versus Michael Bisping, we can't say enough about it. If you found a sleeping enemy in the woods and had eight hours to plan your knockout punch, this would be the punch that you threw. - Yeah. - It was great. - It really was. - I believe. - Michael Bisping was crunched. - This season was definitely a bit of a dud, I think, 'cause Ed Herman came from this season too. And he sort of, and he actually got a contract from this season, even though he was the runner up, but he flubbed out as well. - Yeah. - I'm not gonna be able as I have to get on Bisping, though. Bisping has proven to be a huge thing for the UK market. - That's true. - That is true. - He's definitely, he's gonna be main eventing the upcoming show in England against Akiyama. - Yes. - Yes. - And it's like, you know what? So he, again, he's very important to the company, he's on the way. - He's important to the company, and he's a big thing for cracking over the British market, and I definitely give him all due credit for that. But let's call him Spade a Spade. He is not a contender. He has not beaten anyone at a contender level. He is a best to gatekeeper. - Now he is. - In terms of actual professional fighting skills. - There was a while there where it looked like he was gonna, he was gonna make it. - Yeah, he looked like he was gonna make it until they put him up against the top contender in Dan Henderson, and Dan Henderson knocked him in the next week. - Yeah, he's never put him in the other top contender. - He's not with Wonderly Silva, who's not even a top contender anymore, and Wonderly Silva knocked him in the next week. - It's true. I think Wonderly Silva's a contender in middleweight. - Yeah, but I mean, not in light heavyweight, but in middleweight, I believe he is. - He wasn't looking like a contender when he dropped down, and his debut fight when people were like, is Wonderly over? Does he have anything left? Was he crushed Michael Duspek? - He has to reproof himself, but there's always a chance for him. - Yeah. - But we're not talking about him. - So, Ultimate Fighter IV, Team Ozo versus Team Love, the winner of welterweight was Matt Sarah, who went on to have that immaculate reception shot, where he crushed his B and knocked him out. He since lost his welterweight belt, but he did legitimately have it. He was a champion, so well done, Matt Sarah. As for whether he has a career left, what do you guys think? - He's fighting soon. - He's fighting soon? Do you think he's gonna be kind of a contender again? - I don't have really, really doubtful. I don't think so. - I don't think so, but he's another solid fighter. - Now, this is a season where the winners got a title shot, that was the prize. So, if he got his title shot, he won the title. Amazing, that's better than they could have expected for him to win that belt. And then Travis Luther, he won that season and-- - He had to face Anderson. - And ever since he showed up over weight, it became a non-title fight. And he since bombed out essentially every other fight he has fought since then. - Oh, yeah. - He's one of the guys you forget from who won. - I would have to say, and again, I think this is fairly common knowledge, but he's the biggest bomb as a tough winner that there has been. - I think so. He's allowed him some of the later guys, but of the older guys for sure. - His career is not going to recover. - No. - So, season five was Jen's Pulver versus BJ Penn. The winner of that was Nate Diaz. Now, Diaz is a fairly competent contender. - Oh, yeah. - In lightweight and welterweight. He's definitely moving up the chart. His twin brother is a champion in strike force. As for his Nate himself, though, he is best known for his rival earth, Gray Maynard. And Gray Maynard, there's good money that he'll become a UFC champion. He holds a win over Frankie Edgar. He matches well with Frankie Edgar. He's going to fight Frankie Edgar, and Nate Diaz holds a win over him. - And do you know what? - And Diaz, do you know with another win? I wouldn't have too much of an issue putting Diaz in a title shot with Gray Maynard. - Diaz in Maynard, you have to have that. Because, I mean, if you count the tough match, they're won one. - That's right. - Right? - Well. - And they don't like each other. - They hate each other. - And Maynard does not handle Diaz well. Diaz gets under his skin and Maynard doesn't fight well against him. So if Maynard beats Frank Edgar, which is entirely realistic, he could get Nate Diaz. Diaz could get a title championship within the next year. So he's definitely in the contention, whether he actually manages to pull it off. There's a string of ifs I need to have. - Yeah, but the jury's still in him as a future champion, but he's been a solid addition to the roster. - He's definitely a contender. He is a contender. - People will watch it. - He might be able to pull it off. - People will watch an ADS fight. And he's a fairly recognizable name. - Personally, I'm a fan. I like him, so. - I'm a fan of his fighting. I really am not a big fan of his brother. I think his brother is kind of a, you know, whatever. - I think both of them come from the same path. I don't like you, they were the most fighters. - I think Nate's. - They're always too involved and out of the range. - Yeah. - In nonsense. - Oh, they're kind of in the kind of doors, but I do like him as a fighter. - Yeah. - So Ultimate Fighter Six, Matt Hughes, versus Matt Serif for the rematch against GSP. The winner of this was Matt Danzig. Matt Danzig has gone on to do absolutely nothing. - Yeah, he's had some bad losses there. He was supposed to fight, I believe, last month. And he had to pull up because of an injury. His career seems to have really hit a stage. - Didn't he have a really bloody fight at UFC 100? Was that, was he on that card? I can't, I haven't trouble remembering. 'Cause I know the ring was stained with blood and we were wondering which fight that was. And it was the Danzig fight. - It might have been 100, we may be off in the number, but it was about a year ago. And so, yeah, so future for him, I don't really think there's much more. - I think it's limited to nothing. I think he's on his way out. - He's down to prelims and spike shows. He's not winning or showing, and he's injured. It's, I don't know, it's, he'll need a miracle. - Yeah. So, Quinn Jackson versus Forrest Griffin was season seven. The winner was in Middleweight's Amir Sadhala. Amir Sadhala has since gone on to become the captain of Spike TV specials. So, he's done well for his own career. However, his fighting record is very, very mixed. He hasn't really ever shown us anything. He does well against the right type of fighters, which is to say-- - Not Johnny Hendrix. - Yeah, power strikers that don't have a good ground or wrestling game and also aren't able to catch up with this quick mind-tot. But that's a very, very limited subsection to be specialized in this. - I mean, the amount of that Filboroni fight. - I love it, that was tough to watch. - You know, it was entertaining because it was just why, it was just Filboroni standing there while Sadhala kept on hitting it. - But that was still when people thought that there was a real, real future for a year. And after that fight, I was like, I don't know, it was entertaining in like a weird, brawly sort of way, but I don't know if it-- - If you're getting into a savage brawl with Filboroni, I'd like to ask you if that's a brutal, brutal savage fight for you, you're not taking on Anderson Sala. - Yeah. - Sala will kill you. That's just the truth. - So that's a couple in a row. That's Mack Danzig and Amir Sedala, who likely are going to be middling fighters in their UFC career. - So then we go forward to season eight, which is Antonio Nogara versus Frank Mir. Now here's what we start to get, where it's a little bit, the guys need more time to really become contenders. - More potential, yeah. - These are the guys who are potential. But the winner in lightweight was Ephraim Niskudaro, the very, very tough lightweight Mexican wrestler. - He's gonna fight tonight. - He's gonna fight tonight. And he's definitely an impressive guy. He's got great, great wrestling, solid on the ground, solid top control, and he can strike with you a little bit. He's a wrestler who can finish to a degree. However, he doesn't mind wrestling decision either. He has potential as a contender. - He's gotta stay healthy though. - If he stays healthy and gets some wins. - He's gotta stay healthy, he's gotta get some wins. But with that being said, Ephraim is definitely a guy I see with the future. This is an era of wrestling. He happens to match very, very well with what is winning fights right now. - Yep. - So, I mean, good on him. I definitely think that he's a guy with it who can, if he makes his move in the next year or so, with lightweight becoming, he's starting to get wide open with BJ Penn leaving. If you're gonna make a move, make it now. 'Cause this is the time where if you're a good wrestler and you think you can out wrestle Frank Giger, you might be able to pick up a belt. - Yeah, there's definitely a hope for him to be someday a future champion. - Meanwhile, light heavyweight, the winner was Ryan Bader. Bader is on the top to fight Minnitaro. - Little no. - In the upcoming UFC event. - Which he will win. I'm predicting he is definitely going to be a little better. - Bader is a solid, he has a solid wrestling game, but an incredibly good boxing game. - Yeah. - His boxing is some of the best in the company. I'm predicting him as well to beat him to Bivi and O'Gara. If he does, he's gonna be in contention for light heavyweight. - He's right there with Johnny Bones Jones. That is the future of that, of that light heavyweight. - I agree. - And he doesn't have the fame that Johnny Bones Jones does because he's not as flashy as a fighter, but his striking game in a lot of ways is better. - And his record speaks for itself. - And his wrestling game is enough that, I don't even know if like, there's a lot of guys I don't think it would take him down as easily 'cause there's a lot of other guys in division. - In my opinion-- - She'll become another champion. - In my opinion, in the second half of the Ultimate Fighter, like the most recent half of the season, so in the newer seasons, he is going to be the big star out of the last six seasons. - Yeah. - You know, depending on Shogun's health and with Rashad Winsabell and Leo Domencieta, Jon Bones Jones and Ryan Bader are the future of that division and I think in a lot of ways, Bader's the guy to watch more than Jones is because Jones is so unorthodox that a lot of the best, best guys who are able to handle how unorthodox he is are gonna be able to exploit that. Bader is orthodox, he's meat and potatoes, but he doesn't make mistakes. He becomes right at you, he gets in your face and he beats you up, he's a tough guy to handle. - Title shot within a year? - Maybe not a year, but within two, absolutely. - Well, after you beat up with that-- - I think it's two fights, he's two fights away. - Yeah, after you beat little Nog, and there's not that many guys ahead of you. - You beat little Nog, you need one more, I think. - You beat little Nog, you need one more. I mean, but the one guy you're gonna have to fight is gonna be like-- - That's a real challenge. - It's gonna be Rashad or Rampage, Leodo. - Leodo, so I mean, there's definitely some guys there. - Back in all half within a year, he's got the skill. - So, tough nine, Dan Henderson versus Michael Bisping, and again, I can't, I can't underestimate it. This is, Bisping is the first guy who won an ultimate fighter to go back and coach it. - No force, Griffin. - Yeah, Forrest went back, yep. - So Bisping is one of the first guys. - Rashad went back. Oh, that was out. - Oh, there's lots of guys there. - And that's there, yeah. - Bisping went back to coach after his win. And, you know, as I said, this was a devastating aqua. I've never seen a guy's career get crushed by a single punch. The way his career got crushed by a single punch. - Just keep on going back to that. All right, so who did he coach that season, Dan? - He coached lightweight Ross Pearson. - Yeah. - Who is one of Greg's favorite fighters. - He's fighting tonight as well. - He's fighting tonight as well. - He's gonna win tonight. - Now, Pearson is a tough, tough guy, really, really well-rounded. He definitely has a shot in lightweight because as that division is a very fast division now. Then in welterweight, James Wilkes, who may well have not fought at all. - I think he lost his first fight outside. I think he lost his first fight outside of tough. I mean, I'd have to look that up again, but he's definitely not lived up too. - One and two, one and two, I think. - Is he one and two? - His career is not looking. He's fighting on the upcoming car in England. - Okay. - So not a lot from Mr. Wilkes yet, but he's a British fighter, so whenever they have a card in Britain, he'll be there. - He's good to put on there. - Season 10, Quentin Jackson versus Rashad Evans. The winner was Roy Nelson. - One of the worst selection of fights that I've ever seen in my life, that season was horrendous. That season was awful. - Really boring. - It was boring. The fights were so terrible. I mean, I can't say enough bad things about that season of The Ultimate Fighter, other than Brandon Shaw. - With that being said, Nelson actually did get into contention. - He did. - Weird as it was. He was a former NFL champion. He got to the fight where he fought Junior DeSanto, so he topped it all against Junior. I think if he wins two more fights, he could be back in the hunt. - You know what? He was one of the few guys on there that wasn't a can. I would have to say that season was so packed with cans. I mean, it was like sponsored by Coca-Cola. It was just terrible. - John Madison is terrible. - Again too, against the staff out, Turk. But, you know, he's got Gilbert Avelle, who doesn't match up with all the roster coming up. He could be four and out. Brandon Shaw was beating everyone but Nelson. - Shaw is the one, like, Nelson? I don't see Nelson sticking around for very long, to be perfectly honest. Shaw is the one potential in there. - If Shaw keeps winning, he's going to become a poster board for the heavyweight division. Nelson, I mean, he's in the hunt now, but I don't think he's going to have longevity. And Madison, Madison will have longevity. We'll see what he does. But I mean, his fights are just so painfully boring to watch. I don't think he's ever going to become on the main card. But he's going to forever hold that. He keeps it just out of his. - Yeah, most of everyone talking about John Madison. - Okay. And the latest season has been Chuck Liddell versus Teetor Tees. This one is notable for the fight between the coaches never happened. - Yeah. - Teetor backed out of it and then Chuck retired. - Yeah. (laughs) - After the fight with Rich Franklin, so. - So, well, he was retired. The winner of this was Court McGee. - It's far too early to say what's going to happen. - Far too early to say for court. - Is his first fight coming up soon? - Yeah, you can eat. - On the Brock Lesnar card. - He's a tough guy. - He's a tough guy. He's got good focus. So, as far as notable fighters outside of the guys who won, from season one, Kenny Florian. He has been in the title hunt twice, and he's back in contention now. Joss Koshik is a coach now, and he's going to be in a title shot soon. - Yep. - Got Mike Swick in there too. And Manny Gambirian and Gray Maynard from season five. - Yeah. - Manny Gambirian has got a title shot against Aldo. Gray Maynard has got a title shot against Frankie Angard. - And he's still undefeated, so. - There's definitely a lot of guys from this show who have gone on to have title shots. - I really think it is. - It's not a waste. - The success ratio of the Ultimate Fighter is so much higher than you could even expect it to be. - I agree. - For making stars and future champions, like, who would have-- - Making the company a star. - Yeah. - I mean, for the amount of guys who have gone to have title shots versus the amount of contenders in America's Next Top Model, who have gone to become models. - Yeah. - Which is what's true. I heard this too. Like, none of them have become like a supermodel, right? - Yeah. - And these guys have become champions in real stars. Like, what a great thing. - So, I mean, it's definitely as successful as, you know, America's, well, America's, what's the pop singing show? - American Idol. - American Idol. - Yeah. - Those people go on to get record contracts. These guys go on to become professional fighters, and they generally do pretty well. - Yeah. - Well, with that being said, I think we're about our time. Thank you for listening to us. - Good week. - I'm gonna have Dom Fry's say goodbye, like he did at the shark fight. (laughing) - And all back. That was like two hours of rough art sex, you know? Right? I need a shot to kill him in the cigarette now.
