TUF 4.8

Tonight, the last of the preliminary rounds, with Canadian Patrick Cote facing Jorge Rivera. Of course, this deprives us of the drama that ensues when a fight is announced.

Major Points

• Shonie decides he doesn't want to play with Team Mojo any longer, and goes to train with Team No Love. This angers TNL, and TM. What is even more odd is that Team No Love wasn't able to figure out how to close the van door to prevent Shonie from getting in the van.
• As a result of Shonie's new training schedule, TNL stays to watch TM train. Serra has to explain to Shonie that the universe doesn't revolve around Shonie, and, in civilized society, people have to make concessions to one another to prevent anarchy and chaos. Actually, he tells Shonie that he should keep training with TM. Shonie acquiesces. Methinks a producer got in Shonie's ear and told him to get in the TNL van.
• Back at the house, Jorge tells Serra of Shonie's lack of team spirit. This angers Serra (Serra SMASH!), who now wants to fight Shonie.
• Odd. The week of the final preliminary fight and the team dynamic starts to break down. Especially when you consider TM pretty much ran the table on TNL, with the exception of Lutter, and of course, the as of yet undetermined final victor.
• GSP is training with Cote. GSP discusses being Cote's training partner outside the simulacratastic world of TUF.
• Jorge trains with Mark Dellagrotte, who is Jorge's trainer in reality. Curiouser and curiouser.
• Dana makes subtle snide comments about the guys not training with Rich 'One-Knee' Franklin. He also mentions how people thought Franklin was a doodyhead.
• Dana then introduces this week's special guest trainer, Chuck Liddell. Man-hugs all around. Chuck tears down gender constructions by showing off his painted toenails. Go ahead, YOU tell him only girls do it.
• We get Cote's UFC background. 0-3. But his first fight he was fed to Tito with four days notice. His second was a loss to Joe Doerkson. And his third was a split decision loss to Chris Leben, who was fresh off of being the drunken, destructive crybabyface of TUF1, and UFC was trying to build him up a bit. So I put Cote at 0-1.*
• Then we get Jorge's record. He's 2-3. Notables include a victory over David 'The Crow' Loiseau, and a loss to the 'Fatherless Bastard' himself, Chris Leben.
• The fight goes the full two rounds. Jorge was on top as the first round began, but Cote connected with a kick to the head that turned things around. From there, Cote was in half guard, but unable to knock Jorge out. The second round is more of the same, with Jorge getting Cote's back and going for a guillotine, only to see Cote escape. The judges give Cote the fight.
• Next week, Matt Hughes shows up. Serra isn't happy. And the implosion of Team Mojo begins as the second round of fights are announced.

The Good

• Team Mojo's 'Cote, Cote' chant is hilarious. It embraces my love of Samoa Joe, my academic curiousity regarding ritualistic chants, and my ambivalence towards soccer.
• I liked seeing Chuck doing some training with Serra. That punch is ugly, but could probably do some damage if it connected.

The Bad

• Shonie's decision to train with Team No Love seemed really random. And his acquiescence to Serra seemed even more random. But hey, it provided some drama for the first ten minutes of the show.
• Do you ever get the feeling Dana enjoys being on TV a little too much? He reminds me more and more of Vince McMahon everyday.
• Okay, these guys have Randy Couture and GSP at the gym with them. Why do they feel the need to bring in special guest trainers? Could it be because of the two trainers they assigned to this season, one has the personality of oatmeal, and the other makes you wish you were listening to Jean Chretien?

The Ugly
Seriously Cote, those ears are nasty.

Fighters Advancing to the Next Round
Matt Serra - 170
Shonie Carter - 170
Din Thomas - 170
Chris Lytle - 170
Edwin Dewees - 185
Patrick Cote - 185
Travis Lutter - 185
Pete Sell - 185

My predictions for who will be fighting in the next round, and who will win those matchups:
185 lbs.

• Edwin Dewees v Patrick Cote - Cote
• Travis Lutter v Pete Sell - Sell

170 lbs.

• Matt Serra v Shonie Carter - Serra
• Din Thomas v Chris Lytle - Thomas

I figure they will go with the fights that will deliver the best possible fights on the finale, rather than the most dramatic. I'm sure they want to guarantee a Shonie vs Serra fight, and while I know they would love to have it on the finale, I doubt they'll count on Shonie making it past anyone else, particularly without the help of Team Mojo.

I'm torn on the 185 pounders, with my nationalist streak cheering for Cote, the closest thing to a Canadian on the show. But Dewees impressed me with his shower of blood, and Drago was also impressive. And Lutter doesn't suck. But I think the above fights give them the best chances of a good fight on the finale.

Either way, next week should be a good week.
Monday: Thanksgiving
Tuesday: Ortiz v Shamrock III
Wednesday: Lost
Thursday: TUF 4.9, The Next Round
Friday: I dunno, but its Friday. Maybe a third good ECW show in a row?
Saturday: UFC 64 - Franklin loses his belt to Anderson Silva in the second round







*Note, the records recorded by Stephen Swain are not official, and in no way reflect anything resembling objectivity or scientific method. They are purely arbitrary and designed to reflect Swain's desire to right injustices.