What you need to know from this week on "The Ultimate Fighter"

This week's episode of "The Ultimate Fighter" has two fights, a coaching legend and an incredibly kind compliment just for you. Read on for spoilers and a recap of this week's episode.

Stupid prank of the week: Sevak Magakian rigged the kitchen faucets so that they would spray on Michael Johnson, who promptly blamed it on on Alex "Bruce LeRoy" Caceres. Seriously, guys, these pranks are getting weaker by the episode.

Fight One of the Week: Kyle Watson (Team GSP) vs. Aaron Wilkinson (Team Koscheck) 

Round 1: Watson started with a quick takedown and instantly moved to side control. He continued to work to control Wilkinson on the ground, and despite a few bursts of movement, Watson owned the Team Koscheck fighter. With more than a minute left in the round, Watson methodically took Wilkinson's back and sunk in a rear naked choke. As his coaches yelled, "Don't tap!" Wilkinson was forced to tap, making Watson a semi-finalist.

"Rear naked choke! Another one. How many rear naked chokes has my team ... I mean, I can't believe it!" Koscheck said after the bout.

Legendary coach cameo of the week: Freddie Roach stopped by Team GSP's training -- the same Freddie Roach who trains Manny Pacquaio. The fighters are all blown away just to be able to talk to Roach, much less train with him. Roach dropped an astounding compliment about Johnson:

"Michael Johnson has great speed. Reminds me of Pacquaio, a little bit," Roach said.

Neutral corners of the week: Roach worked with both Johnson and Caceres to get them ready to fight each other. GSP decided to not corner either fighter, so we're due for another eerily quiet bout.

Not-so-neutral coach of the week: Though GSP is not cornering either fighter, Koscheck is clearly behind Alex Caceres. He cheers on "Bruce LeRoy" throughout the weigh-ins, and claims that GSP fought for this match-up to get rid of the fighter he thinks is the weaker link. GSP stays silent and smiles as Kos jabbers on. Kos even offers to help out Caceres, but stops short at wearing a red jersey.

Watson corners Johnson, while Jeff Lentz corners Caceres.

Fight Two of the Week: Michael Johnson (Team GSP) vs. Alex Caceres (Team GSP) 

Round 1: Johnson starts with a quick takedown, but doesn't keep Caceres down for long. When the two pop back up, Johnson controls the stand-up and knocks Caceres' mouthguard out. When he reaches down to pick it up, Johnson appears annoyed, and Caceres responds with, "C'mon, dog." The action restarts, and Johnson continues to control, Caceres has great movement throughout the bout. Still, in-between rounds, Koscheck yells, "You won that round, Alex." Jonathan Brookins tells Caceres the same thing.

Round 2: Caceres starts the round smiling and then promptly gets taken down. Johnson works side control and then ground and pound until Caceres works to his base and then stands up. Caceres briefly gains control on the ground, but doesn't do much with it, and after a short time standing, Johnson takes top position again. Caceres regains standing position for a bit, until Johnson takes him down one more time to end the bout.

The judges scored it 20-18, 20-18 and 20-18 for Michael Johnson, earning him a spot in the semifinals.

Koscheck and GSP head into White's office to talk about semifinal match-ups, and much to Dana's surprise, they come to a consensus quickly, picking these semifinals:

Jonathan Brookins vs. Kyle Watson and Michael Johnson vs. Nam Phan

These first of these fights will air next week. Tune in.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/What-you-need-to-know-from-this-week-on-The-Ult?urn=mma-285961

Tyson Griffin Karn Grigorian Karen Grigoryan Kendall Grove

UFC NEWS: Gerald Harris released from UFC following UFC 123 loss to Maiquel Falcao

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Gerald Harris has been cut from the UFC following his loss to Maiquel Falcao at UFC 123 last Saturday, according to multiple published reports.

Harris, who was 3-0 in the UFC heading into Saturday's event in Auburn Hills, Mich., drew the ire of the crowd, and clearly the UFC, with his performance in the third round. Heading into the round behind on the scorecards, Harris showed no desperation, and both he and Falcao failed to do much of anything in the round. The crowd booed heavily, and Falcao took the unanimous decision victory.

But things could have turned out differently had the Michigan commission appointed timekeeper done their job. With the first round ending near seven seconds early, while Falcao had a rear naked choke locked in, the fight may have not gotten to the second round, let alone the third.

Penick's Analysis: There's a part of me that understands the move, and the UFC's reasoning for sending a message with this cut, but at the same time I think it was premature. He won his three previous fights by TKO, and had come off a huge slam over Dave Branch that was plastered all over ESPN in July. He didn't do himself any favors with that third round, and that's why he was cut. It has to sting more with the fact that, had he just tapped or been choked out by that submission in the first round - which could have happened had it gone the full five minutes - he'd still have a job in the UFC.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_7620.shtml

Joe Stevenson Luke Stewart Denis Stojnic Curtis Stout

ROUNDTABLE: After UFC 122 victory, will Yushin Okami become UFC Middleweight Champion in 2011? Hansen, Lee, Hyden, Hobaugh, Perez, Marsh, Bacior, Williams, Shelby and Penick

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After defeating Nate Marquardt last week at UFC 122, will Yushin Okami capture the UFC Middleweight Championship in 2011?

RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

I have no clue as to whether or not Okami will defeat Vitor Belfort or Anderson Silva in 2011.  Not only is it too early to to say for sure, not only don't we know who he's going to be facing for the title, but we also don't know how Belfort or Silva are going to look after their own title fight in February.  And let's not forget that Okami might be looking at a nine or ten month long layoff before he gets his shot.  I'm still just trying to wrap my head around the fact that Okami is the guy we're talking about for this shot.  I knew Okami was really good, and I had the utmost respect for the guy, but I thought Marquardt was great.  Clearly, I got those two backwards.  Okami is great. 

ERIC LEE, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Yushin Okami has a very slim chance of getting the title from Anderson Silva. His passive and cautious fighting style is only going to create a boring five round fight. There is even some talk that he may not even get the title shot right away. Could be just rumors but I wouldn't be surprised. Nor would I be disappointed.

FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

No. The only way Okami will win the title is if he totally reinvents himself and ups his game considerably. At his current level he has maybe a 10% chance of beating either Anderson Silva or Vitor Belfort. He's just not well-rounded enough, and the things he does well aren't at a high enough level to compensate for that.

ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH SPECIALIST

First, I am going with the fact that Anderson will defeat Vitor Belfort when they fight in February. Second, even though Okami is a legit number one contender, he will have his hands full with Anderson anywhere this fight can go. He does not have the skills to beat Anderson Silva, even though he beat him in Pride in 2006 due to a DQ because of an illegal up kick.  The Anderson Silvia of today is a far better martial artist than he was in 2006.  Okami only has a punchers chance against Anderson in 2011.

ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

No, Yushin Okami will not capture the belt.  He'll A.) Lose to Anderson Silva, B.) Get leap frogged by another fighter, or C.) Get cut because the UFC can't do anything with him.  

GRIFFIN MARSH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Yushin Okami did well in his victory over Nate the Great.  Though he didn't overly impress, he did well enough to secure a unanimous decision.  I just do not see him being able to defeat Anderson Silva.  I feel Silva will hand Belfort a solid, quick defeat and avenge his fluke loss to Okami by TKO sometime in mid 2011.   Okami is without a doubt the number one contender In the middleweight division that is not currently suspended for PED use, and there's no questioning Okami's skills and toughness as he is, in my opinion, the best Japanese fighter in all MMA.  The problem is everyone is competing for second place to Silva.

MIKE BACIOR, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Yes, he will. I feel he is highly underrated and has the ability to bully both Vitor and Anderson. I also feel that he would not be tapped out by either man. He will clinch, score takedowns, and hold top position. His strength, submission defense, and wrestling will be key. Training at Team Quest (with Sonnen) will not hurt.

ALEX WILLIAMS, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

No. Anderson Silva will defeat Yushin Okami.  It's a very tough style match-up for Silva, though.

TOBEN SHELBY, MMATORCH AUDIO CO-HOST

I think Yushin Okami actually has a decent shot at capturing gold in the UFC's middleweight division - and a more than decent chance if Vitor Belfort is somehow the champion. Okami has some of the tools to maybe find success against Anderson Silva: good wrestling, he doesn't take many risks, and is hard to finish. That could mean he'd provide a bigger challenge to Silva than Chael Sonnen did - Okami's less suspectible to getting caught and he's even been been training with Sonnen since Okami lost to him. However, Silva's pretty good at finding weaknesses in his opponents and exploiting them, so Okami's still a big underdog. If Okami faces Belfort though, I think he'll likely end up being champ. Belfort doesn't hold up over the course of a long fight as well as Silva does and Okami has the tools to negate Belfort's bursts of offense. 

JAMIE PENICK, MMATORCH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

I think it depends on which fighter Okami has to face in his title shot. I think his style may match up better against Belfort than Silva, and I'd give him a better chance against "The Phenom" than "The Spider." With that said, I do believe that Okami will be a significant underdog against either fighter when he gets his shot in 2011, and ultimately I do not think he will be the division's champion when all is said and done.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/roundtables/article_7606.shtml

Xavier Foupa Pokam Hermes Franca Rich Franklin Ian Freeman

The Grudge Training Center Gives Back

Members of the Grudge Training Center distribute turkeys to those less fortunate in the area. Happy Thanksgiving! The Grudge Training Center Gives Back is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

The Grudge Training Center Gives Back is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

Source: http://www.mmainterplay.com/mma/the-grudge-training-center-gives-back-52164/

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Igor Pokrajac discusses upcoming fight with Stephan Bonnar at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale

Igor Pokrajac takes about his training in preparation for his headlining fight with Stephan Bonnar. The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale takes place on December 4th from the The Pearl in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pokrajac (22-7) is coming off a submission win of James Irvin at the UFC on Versus 2 event. Bonnar had been on [...]

Igor Pokrajac discusses upcoming fight with Stephan Bonnar at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

Source: http://www.mmainterplay.com/ufc-news/igor-pokrajac-discusses-upcoming-fight-with-stephan-bonnar-at-the-ultimate-fighter-12-finale-52167/

Wallid Ismail Darren M Jackson Jeremy Jackson Quinton Rampage Jackson

ESPN?s MMA Live reviews UFC 123, discusses the state of the light heavyweight division

The ESPN MMA Live team of Jon Anik, Franklin McNeil and Kenny Florian review UFC 123, discuss the judging of the main event between Rampage Jackson and Lyoto Machida, and discuss the state of the UFC light heavyweights. They are also joined by the undefeated Phil Davis who improved to 8-0 with a submission win [...]

ESPN’s MMA Live reviews UFC 123, discusses the state of the light heavyweight division is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

Source: http://www.mmainterplay.com/ufc-news/espns-mma-live-reviews-ufc-123-discusses-the-state-of-the-light-heavyweight-division-52169/

Ed Herman Heath Herring Branden Lee Hinkle Sam Hoger

UFC NEWS: "Rampage" Jackson says UFC 123 main event with Lyoto Machida was almost canceled the week of the fight

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Quinton Jackson almost didn't make it to UFC 123.

"Rampage" said after his split decision victory over Lyoto Machida on Saturday night that he was nearly forced to withdraw from the fight.

"None of you guys know this, but this fight was almost canceled a few days ago because I caught a fever from my son and was throwing up and everything and had to cut weight," he said at the post fight press conference. "I was like, 'I almost didn't make it to the fight.' But I didn't want to let my fans down. I really wanted to come in and do everything I had and give it my all since Detroit was so pumped for this fight."

"Rampage" pulled off the split decision victory in the fight, winning the first two rounds on two of the judge's scorecards. He entered the arena to classic Pride music, and the theme of the night for him was trying to return to the fighter he was during his days fighting in the Japanese organization.

"Everyone knew me and loved me [in Pride]," Jackson said. "I used to fight for honor and respect. Now I come to the UFC, and I make way more money than I did in Pride, so I got a little greedy and fighting for the dollars and stuff. So I wanted to come out to Pride [music] and get that old Pride spirit. I felt like some of it kind of came back. I even tried to slam Machida."

Heading into the event, Jackson spent a lot of time in interviews talking about how much he was bored by Machida's style of fighting. After spending 15 minutes in the cage with "The Dragon," Jackson came away with a newfound respect for Machida, even if he still doesn't like his style.

"It's different fighting Machida than watching Machida," he said. "I have more respect for his style. I wish I could move like that. I have more respect for his style, but I still don't want to watch it."

Penick's Analysis: Rampage didn't quite succeed in reverting to Pride mode, but he did do a better job of dealing with Machida than most, and it allowed him to win that fight. He obviously had his excuse ready to go for if he had lost with the illness, but he didn't need to pull it out with the win. Perhaps he wanted to explain away any questions on his performance in the fight. But it was a good enough fight for him overall, and he keeps himself relevant in the light heavyweight division.

[Rampage Jackson art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_7596.shtml

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