Ok, finally after 20 seasons, a new concept: GYM vs. GYM!
I know what you’re thinking… What’s gym?
Airdate: April 22 – July 8, 2015 on Fox Sports 1
For the first time ever, the UFC reality series featured a format pitting two of the sport’s top gyms – American Top Team and the Blackzilians – against one another. The season was filmed in South Florida, where the two camps sit just miles apart, and the competitors were welterweights from each facility. An amount of $500,000 was earned throughout the season based on wins and losses for the winning gym.
I’m pretty sure a lot of people gave this season a shot but most lost interest midway through when it was realized that it was even MORE BORING having these guys living and training separately. Yes, there were some shenanigans, but not much. I watched some of this season and it actually pissed me off because we kept hearing from the old men who owned the gyms as if they were the coaches. These old white men were merely the investors, yet they got a shit load of airtime.
Also, if you just happened to be 170 lbs and trained at one of these gyms, you had a pretty good chance of getting on the show. As a fighter, I’ve tried out for the show, repeatedly, and have never been given a shot. I’m confident I could have waxed most of these clowns.
I also like to hear from people who know what the fuck is going on. I recall hearing both “team leaders” babbling nonsense about training and thinking, “Who the fuck is mark? I want to hear from the people who know what’s really going on.” I try and steal training techniques from these shows and I didn’t get much from it.
Finally, the rivalry was very heated, which I found to be retarded. I’m sure it was very real, but come on. “I hate you because you train at a different place closer to your home!” is akin to “You live on a different street than me, so I hate you!” It’s childish, and in my opinion, made these guys look like assholes.
The Teams
American Top Team: Marcelo Alfaya, Steve Carl, Nathan Coy, Michael Graves, Hayder Hassan, Sabah Homasi, Uros Jurisic, Steve Montgomery. (Montgomery was removed from the competition on episode 4 due to medical reasons. He was replaced by Cristiano Souza on episode 7. )
Blackzilians: Valdir Araújo, Carrington Banks, Luiz Firmino, Jason Jackson, Vicente Luque, Andrews Nakahara, Felipe Portela, Kamaru Usman. (Nakahara was forced out of the competition on episode 7 due to a medical suspension. He was replaced by Alexandre Pimentel.)
Highlights (There weren’t many…)
- For the first time ever The Ultimate Fighter will be contested outside of Las Vegas, this time at South Florida.
- Dana White comments on the fact that each owner will choose one fighter but their opponents will not be revealed until the weigh ins. There will be 12 fights in the first round and a fighter can fight up to three times or not at all. He also explains the format of the team competition this season: the first 4 fights will be worth 25 points each, the next 4 fights 50 points each and the final 4 fights will be worth 100 points each. The team with the most points at the end of the 12 fights will earn $200,000. After that, they move to the finale. For a fighter to be eligible, he must have fought two times during the regular season (12 fights). The winning fighter gets $300,000 for their gym.
- Conan Silveira tries to instigate motivation in the fighters and Steve Montgomery links his motivation and fighting spirit to that, citing that he is unafraid of losing, and that it all adds up to his own “fire.” The coaches believe that is the right attitude for the team. Later, Montgomery is picked to fight next.
- Meanwhile in the Blackzilians’ locker room, Glenn Robinson says he is proud of Araújo, but he rants on the fact that his team has no right to celebrate until it’s all over and they win the show. Some of the fighters, like Usman and Jackson, believe that some of their teammates have lost the hunger. They felt some of those fighters took the tournament for granted and that’s what led to the heated discussion.
- In order to win the $200,000 team prize, ATT must win three straight fights to end the season.
- Both teams gather at ATT’s gym, while Dana White participates via video conference. Before the selections, Lambert announces that the whole team decided to donate the $200,000 prize to the Wounded Warrior Project, a charity and veterans service organization that offers a variety of programs, service and events for wounded veterans of the military actions following the events of September 11, 2001. That’s probably the most noble thing anyone has done on this show.
The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale
Welterweight Main Event: Stephen Thompson def. Jake Ellenberger KO (spinning hook kick) at 4:29 of round 1
Welterweight Tournament Finals: Kamaru Usman def. Hayder Hassan Submission (arm-triangle choke) at 1:19 of round 2
Where are they now?
Kamaru Usman
The Blackzillian representative and tournament winner has a great nickname: MARTY or THE NIGERIAN NIGHTMARE! We’ll call him Marty. He’s currently 28 with a 7-1 record and most recently defeated Leon Edwards UFC on Fox 17 – Dos Anjos vs. Cerrone 2, which was on December 19, 2015 by unanimous decision. He’s slated to face Alexander Yakovlev on UFC on Fox 20, July 23rd, 2016. He’s looked good in his two UFC fights, but it’s still very early in his career.
Hayder Hassan
The American Top Team representative, Hassan, has had one fight since the tournament. He lost to Vicente Luque on UFC on Fox 17 – Dos Anjos vs. Cerrone 2, by Technical Submission (Anaconda Choke) at 2:13 of round 1. He has not fought since.
Stephen Thompson
The “Wonderboy” is 33 years old and has a 13-1 record, and will be the next UFC Welterweight champion. He’s been on a roll winning 7 in a row. He most recently defeated Rory MacDonald by five round decision where he basically dominated. He’s also beaten Johny Hendricks and Jake Ellenberger by KO. He does not have a fight scheduled but it’s rumored that he will fight the winner of Lawler vs. Woodley, later this year.
Summary
This season was interesting, but obviously since the UFC has not gone back to this format, it must have been unsuccessful. I remember talking to people while it was airing and hearing things like, “They’re going to get a lot of good guys from this season.” Wrong.
Luv ya biotches…
@PeachMachine
