TUF 4.4

This post is late, as I was at my live fantasy football draft on Thursday night. More on that later. I got home in time to watch the "fight" and I taped the rest to watch today.

I guess this episode explains why we got the Jeremy Jackson recap last week, as this week the Test lookalike got the boot for being led around by his hormones. In addition to Jackson's rampaging lust, the episode featured the outbreak of another disease, this time a staph infection running wild like Hulkamania over the fighters.

What's really interesting is the way that the staph infection helped to cause Jackson's eviction. GSP took Team No Love to the YMCA. He claimed it was because he wanted to give the team a change of pace, but I suspect it was because the gym mats, and everything else in the gym was being disinfected because, well, let's face it, they were nasty. While there, Jackson caught the eye of a pretty young lifeguard, who he invited to the house. He then snuck over the wall to meet her, all of which was caught by the cameras. The next day, the house got a phone call that morning workout was cancelled, and Dana was coming for a visit. Dana gave a mini-speech about respect and responsibility, then kicked Jackson out. Idiot.

We then got the fight announcement, which would be No Love's Travis Lutter versus Mojo's Scott Smith. This wasn't part of Mojo's original gameplan, but the staph breakout forced them to change things up. Smith's background is interesting, because he has an 0-1 UFC record, but that loss is pretty controversial. Essentially, he and David Terrell were locked up against the cage, and the ref called for a break. Smith broke, and Terrell didn't, taking Smith down and choking him out. Which makes no sense. Hopefully the referee, who I couldn't identify has been banned from ever refereeing another fight, of any kind, ever again. The fight also took place only a few weeks before the show started shooting, so it looks like Smith was offered a spot in the house as a kind of peace offering by Dana.

But once the action took to the octagon, it was like watching a replay of Smith's other fight. Lutter took him down quickly, and choked him out. The only thing missing was an incompetent ref. Lutter just outclassed Smith and won easily. I think Smith should consider dropping down a weight class, as Lutter looked much larger than him.

Anyway, enough recapping, on to my uninformed opinions.

The Good:

• Lutter looked really strong. His fight was quick, and he should be fresh and ready when it comes time for him to fight again.
  
• In a sick sort of way, the staph infection was a good thing for the show. It forced Team Mojo to change up their plans, and gave No Love the Coin of Doom (TM). That only adds to the drama of the show, and made things more interesting.
  
• I liked Dana's explanation of staph infections, and what they mean for fighters.
  
• I also liked the Travis Lutter/Pete Sell smack talk. It wasn't overly insulting, didn't degrade into a hissy fit, and set the stage for a fight later. Those two minutes did a better job of building a fight than an entire episode of Raw.

The Bad:

• Okay, I like women's butts. I'm really more of a breast and leg man, but I like a nice butt. However, there is no reason why the butts of the ring girls should feature so prominently in the show's opening credits. The ring girls are not part of the show, and they should not be featured in the opening credits. Particularly not their posteriors.
  
• I didn't like Dana's damage control over the staph infection. Dana, don't blame everybody else. Obviously you need to avoid any admissions of guilt for legal purposes, but don't play lawyerball either.
  
• I was torn as to whether to put this here or in ugly, but I'll put it here. Jeremy Jackson. No pity. Absolutely none. You talked about all your problems, most of which seem to stem from, or at least involve, bad relationships with women. I'm not saying I take pleasure in Jackson's suffering, but I can't feel bad for the guy. You can't go for six weeks without some action? This isn't Big Brother man. I'm pretty sure they'll leave you alone in the bathroom for five minutes. Or less. Mikey Burnett made the best point about no piece of ass being worth $50,000.

The Ugly

• Those staph infections do not look pretty. Hopefully they aren't going to cause further problems or evictions.
  
• Did you know the Blade: The Series finale is next week? Did you care? Dear God, can you please stake this thing before we get stuck with another Ultimate Fight Night built around a Blade premiere?

Randy & GSP Sightings
Randy: 3, one talking
GSP: 3, one talking, one in which he looked like that guy who wore a robosuit to hang out with bears. I think he's dead now.