This week’s episode was the best one yet. There was plenty of house drama and even some drama from within the coaches.
The episode starts with a recount of the previous week's fight of Patrick Cote and Jorge Rivera. I forgot that there was a huge upkick delivered by Patrick to Jorge in the first round and would definitely explain a lot of Jorge's sluggishness. Regardless, Patrick Cote had won.
Matt Hughes showed up unexpectedly while the teams were training. Everybody was quite surprised that he didn't arrive with fanfare like the rest of the champions and they even made him go out of the door so they could toot their horns from him. GSP was a like a deer in the headlights and immediately exited the building. I don't blame him. You are going to have to fight him in the ring in a month for a title and I personally would be a tad uncomfortable.
Serra as usual opens his big mouth and starts bad mouthing Hughes calling him a penis and a stuck-up jock farmboy on their trip back to the house after their training session. I think Serra is one of those types that just says whatever immediately comes into his brain which tends to put people.
The next stage has all the coaches, Dana White, and the two champions (Hughes and Liddell) going into a room to call in the fighters one by one so that they can tell them what their matchup picks are. Serra calls them the "Jedi Council" because there are all these powerful men sitting around this one table discussing the fighters futures.
Pete Sell surprises everybody and asks to fight Travis Luter because he has become good friends with Patrick Cote. Definitely the harder matchup but the coaches seem to listen although they don't agree with his decision. I don't expect them to understand friendship over money but I respect Pete even more for his choice. Matt Serra goes in and requests Shonie's head on a platter. Shonie goes spouting pontifications about how he wants to fight Din Thomas because he "doesn't want to beat up on the peasants".
They then come out and announce the matchups and a surprise. Not only will the fighters be getting a $100,000 prize and a title shot, but they will also be getting a $100,000 year sponsorship contract with Xyience. Quite a score IMHO.
They announce the fights. Here are the matchups:
Pete Sell vs. Travis Luter
Patrick Cote vs. Edwin Dewees
Din Thomas vs. Chris Lytle
Shonie Carter vs. Matt Serra
Matt Hughes then takes all the fighters out for Sushi and while they are waiting for their meals, he then starts to dig at GSP who is on the opposite side of the room from Matt. I personally think it's in jest because he's talking about schedules and how he has put himself on opposite schedules from GSP but GSP doesn't take it very well. Din Thomas then under his breath tells GSP that he hopes GSP kicks Matt's butt. Matt then says "I can hear you, you know...". Quite funny actually to see the look on Din's face.
They then showcase the fight. One thing I noticed, they don't do the retrospective this week because there was A LOT more quality content and no need for fillers.
Round one starts off slow. They each throw punches feeling each other out. After a good combination from Chris with him throwing heavy right hands, Din shoots in and misses with Chris landing in guard. This is where it gets frustrating. Every time they go to the ground, Chris gets guard and then just sits there holding Din down. Granted, Din can't reverse but Chris isn't trying to advance either. This goes the whole match this way. Eventually the referee stands them up and Chris lands another couple of good rights. One thing I noticed is that every time Chris jabs, he immediately drops it rather than returning it to position. Din shoots and misses again with Chris landing in guard. Chris holds him down. Din tries for a half-hearted guillotine but the time expires on the round. Chris wins this round
Round two starts with another good flurry from Chris. This time he is mixing good kick and punch combo's to break Din down. Din clinches then throws a scissor take-down but Chris still gets guard. More of Chris holding down Din and not much action. Chris is throwing some short punches but not much power. He gets a good elbow in and a couple hooks. Referee then stands them back up. Chris continues to dominate up top and even throws some great body shots that seem to take the wind out of Din's sails. Din is fighting back and does get a couple shots off but there seems to be more coming from Chris in response. At this point, they both seem to be gassing and their guards are dropping. Another exchange happens after a clinch and Din comes away bloody from the nose right when the round ends. Chris wins again.
Round three starts with Din getting desperate. He knows he lost the last two rounds and comes out swinging. He takes it to Chris and gets some really good combo's in but Chris weathers the storm and ties him up against the cage. Din gets a single leg and takes it to the ground. Chris tries for a guillotine and then reverses with him landing back in his favorite place, the guard. He then ratchets up the speed of his GNP and gets a little bit looser. Referee stands them back up and Din gets another good flurry in, this time dinging Chris good. They bang up against the cage clinched and Din comes away bloody again. Chris clinches and drives Din to the cage and they are both exhausted. Chris secures a full lower bearhug and slams Din to the ground but he still doesn't advance in the guard. The referee stands them up one more time and Din brings it strong, finally securing a take-down that lands him on top of Chris. Chris rotates out of the brutal straights that Din is throwing in flurries over his legs and tries for a leg lock right when the match ends. Din might have won that last round.
After all that, Chris is announced the winner by unanimous decision.
This was by far the most entertaining episode of the season with everybody feeling the attention and finally a fight of parity to look forward to. Stay tuned next week as the most anticipated fight of the series comes to a head with Matt Serra looking to avenge his loss against Shonie Carter.