TUF 12: Episode Four Recap

LAST WEEK: Bruce Leeroy goes from one of the most lovable cats in the house to one of the most hated, but also debuts the word “underrestimated.” Michael Johnson and Aaron Wilkinson are selected as the next fight pairing. Mike Tyson shows up in the TUF house. Josh Koscheck pranks Georges St. Pierre by parking his car too close to St. Pierre’s, but GSP manages to squeeze in the car anyway. In the end, Johnson beats Wilkinson to advance in the TUF 12 tournament.

We see a highlight package from last week’s fight. Sevak takes great exception to Bruce Leeroy’s mannerisms during the fight.

GSP tells his team that he’s going to have a heart attack if they keep having close fights. Mike Tyson has a heart to heart with Team GSP, telling them that confidence is the most important part of the fight game. “Confidence applied properly supplies genius,” he says. I knew there was something terrifying about Mike Tyson, but couldn’t quite place it. Now I know. He’s smarter than me. Also, he could kill me with a single punch.

Koscheck says they’re down 2-0 to St. Pierre’s team. He doesn’t want to lose to a Frenchie, so it’s time to get busy living or get busy dying. He urges his team to kill the punching bags during a training session. He tells the team that the harder they work now, the more it will pay off in the end.

Back at the house, Sevak tells Michael Johnson that he wasn’t happy with Bruce’s behavior during his fight. Jeff calls Bruce a stupid ignorant kid. Bruce takes exception to Sevak’s comments and starts yelling at him. Jeff tells him he didn’t act like a professional. And then Sevak absolutely loses his mind, throwing a napkin at Bruce’s head and then running after him. Wow. I mean, Sevak absolutely went into Incredible Hulk mode here. Luckily, he’s cut off before he can rip Bruce’s head from his shoulders and punt it into the backyard.

Bruce does a celebratory dance with a stupid smirk on his face. And just like that, Bruce Leeroy enters the Ultimate Fighter heel hall of fame.

GSP recaps Koscheck’s prank on him. He says he tries to avoid confrontation with Josh because he’s here to coach his guys and not get engaged in a war of words with the opposing coach. Koscheck and St. Pierre have a heart to heart at the training center. Kos asks St. Pierre why he doesn’t do much talking. GSP says he’s going to do his talking in the cage.

Koscheck does his best GSP imitation and says he doesn’t want to lose to a nerd that talks like a robot.

It’s time to pick the next fight. GSP picks Kyle Watson from his own team to take on Andy Main. Watson is Matt Hughes‘ jiu-jitsu coach, but he’s the oldest guy in the house and he’s taking on the youngest guy in the house. Koscheck is filled with glee, believing that the matchup favors his team heavily.

We take a look at Kyle Watson, but more importantly, we get to hear John Danaher talk about his feelings on the fight. I could listen to Danaher talk about any subject in the world and feel smarter when he’s done, no matter what it is. He needs a podcast, and pronto.

Back at the gym, Koscheck has a pair of GSP spandex on. He asks if St. Pierre thinks he looks cute in them, and GSP says he’s not into looking at other dudes. Koscheck then asks GSP why he wears them for his fights, because he’s making all the dudes in the arena look at him. Koscheck says he may wear white ones when he fights GSP. He’s really trying to get under St. Pierre’s skin, but just can’t do it. I’m really hoping St. Pierre will just flip and go berserk at some point this season, but it’s not looking like it.

WEIGH-IN

Kyle Watson (155) vs. Andy Main (155)

Koscheck tells his team that this is the most important fight of the season. He doesn’t like GSP and doesn’t want to lose to him, especially since he’s French. Koscheck is doing his best to sell this fight, but St. Pierre isn’t playing the game.

Danaher says this is the first fight where psychological pressures are going to play a big part in the outcome of the fight. He says the fighter who manages his anxieties and doesn’t get exhausted through those anxieties will be the winner. See what I mean? This guy is something else.

Team GSP rehearses the entire entrance and first round so that Watson can visualize how things will go. This is a much different strategy than the one employed by Team Koscheck. It just goes to show you how smart St. Pierre is in surrounding himself with brilliant coaches.

KYLE WATSON VS. ANDY MAIN

Round 1: Touch of gloves to start. They quickly trade with both guys landing. Watson lands a nice left hook that rocks Main, but Main fires back with shots of his own. Watson seemed stunned briefly there, and quickly moves in with a clinch against the cage. Main reverses and leaps on Watson’s back to begin working for a choke. Watson stays on his feet and maintains good wrist control, so Main lands a bunch of short lefts that appear to annoy Watson. Watson is doing a good job of avoiding the chokes. They finally go to the ground and Main switches to an armbar, but can’t pull Watson’s arm out to complete it. Watson gets out of the submission and postures up, but Main lands a few glancing upkicks. Watson closes the distance and drops bombs. Watson transitions into half guard. He keeps the same position for much of the rest of the round, alternating between elbows and punches. It was a close round, but Main didn’t do much damage from the back. We’ll score this one for Watson, but barely.

Round 2: Another touch of gloves. Head kick from Main misses. Main rushes in with a flying knee that misses, and both guys exchange a bunch of punches that land. Watson takes Main down into the butterfly guard. Koscheck is imploring Andy to get up, but he’s either not listening or unable to do so. Watson moves into side control and starts using elbows. Andy tries to stand, but Watson stifles it and moves back into half guard. Main hits Watson with an upkick while he’s down, drawing a warning from ref Josh Rosenthal. Andy moves to his stomach, giving up his back to Watson. Kyle immediately secures the body triangle and starts working for the rear naked choke, which he eventually gets. Andy taps out.

Kyle Watson d. Andy Main via submission (rear naked choke, 2nd round)

As expected, Koscheck goes ballistic. He says Andy wasn’t listening to him, wasn’t following the game plan, and lost because he wasn’t listening. Koscheck really wants to throw a chair but decides against it. He does leave cageside immediately, however.

So Team Koscheck is down 3-0, which can’t make the coach happy. He says he’s frustrated and heartbroken. He wants to cuss and throw things, but says it won’t accomplish anything. At least he’s a realist.