LAST WEEK: Seth Baczynski gets disqualified for punting Brad Tavares in the head with a World Cup-quality soccer kick. Tito goes ballistic because he thinks Tavares is faking. And then Chuck gets the bad news: Tito has pulled out of their season-ending fight, which causes Chuck extreme anguish.
We open where we left off last week, with Chuck telling Dana that he knew Tito would pull out of the fight. In fact, Chuck told Dana on the first day of the tapings that Tito was going to pull out of the fight, and now he’s vindicated.
Dana says he got a text from Tito saying that his neck was injured, he needed surgery and he was pulling out of the fight. Chuck tells Dana not to let Tito fight any more, unless Chuck gets to fight him — that’s a different story. Chuck says he only did the show because he would get to punch Tito in the head afterwards, and now that’s been taken away from him. Dana tells Chuck he’s still going to fight at the end of the show.
Chuck breaks the bad news to his team, calling Ortiz all manner of names while Ortiz sits listening in the next room. Ortiz says Chuck doesn’t understand. After the Forrest Griffin fight, he apparently had “tingleness” in his ear and his legs and arms were going numb.
WEIGH-INS
Josh Bryant (186) vs. Jamie Yager (185)
Jamie tells the house that he’s got a fight tomorrow, so he’s going to sleep. Everybody finds this hilarious, of course, and Nick does his imitation of Jamie with an airhorn. Jamie says he feels like his fights are over too quickly for anybody to see what he’s all about. Yeah, that’s a real problem to have right there.
Josh says he’s not looking past anybody. He’s going to try to take advantage of Jamie’s weaknesses.
FIGHT DAY
Jamie says that Josh hasn’t fought anybody with the kind of speed he brings to the table. Josh says that being short is actually an advantage for him because he likes to get inside and throw punches.
JOSH BRYANT VS. JAMIE YAGER
Jamie is easily the most prolific trash talker of this season, and it came back to bite him during this fight. He was able to use his speed during the first round to keep Bryant mostly off-balance, mixing in lightning-quick leg kicks that kept Bryan from coming inside where he felt he would be most effective. He even landed a partial jumping head kick that looked like something pulled straight from a kung fu movie.
In the second round, however, Bryant was able to secure a takedown, and from there he smothered Yager and completely tired him out with short elbows and punches. Bryant was so effective in tiring Yager out, in fact, that Yager quit on his stool and refused to come out for the third round. Tito implored him not to quit, but Yager wouldn’t budge, so Josh Bryant wins the fight.
Winner: Josh Bryant by TKO
The worst part of the above fight? The unnamed clown in the audience who kept yelling “heeeey” whenever Yager scored with an offensive maneuver. I had to mute the television after three minutes of that nonsense.
Dana says he never expected Yager to quit and not answer the bell. Chuck says Yager is just like Tito, which makes Tito sad. Joe says that forcing somebody to stay on their stool between rounds is better than submitting somebody because you know that you really broke them. Chuck has a conversation with Dana where I can’t understand a single thing Chuck says. I need a translator.
Tito is furious with Yager and says he has no heart. Both teams are disappointed in Yager, who is loaded into an ambulance by Nick and Brad. He’s wearing a neck brace for reasons I cannot fathom.
Tito tells the team that they’re in the wrong sport if they don’t have heart.
At the training center, Dana comes into Team Ortiz’ dressing room and asks to speak with Tito in private. Dana tells Tito that he has a doctor’s appointment for Tito in California the next day. He knows Tito likes his doctor, but the California doc is the best in the country with this type of injury and Tito needs a second opinion. Dana says it’s Tito’s body and he has to decide what he’s going to do, but the UFC will take care of him. Tito appreciates the thoughtfulness.
He doesn’t appreciate the next few minutes, though.
Dana says Tito that they’ve never had a coach fall out during the tapings. He says Tito is leaving tomorrow and that he’s through as coach on the show. Tito is dumbfounded. He asks why he’s being fired, and Dana says he’s going to start the process of getting his neck fixed immediately. Tito still doesn’t understand, so Dana tells him that they’ve made another fight for Chuck. Tito says he still has one of his guys in the show, and Dana says he understands but it is what it is.
Tito talks about being fired from the show, getting emotional in the process. Tito shakes Dana’s hand and walks out. He says it’s challenging because he got everything taken away from him in the blink of an eye, but his health is not worth the risk. He says he fights for his family and fights for the fans. Then we have an awkward moment as Tito is walking down the hall towards the training center. He opens the door to the gym and sees Chuck inside, then meekly ducks back outside. It was this moment that caused me to feel bad for Tito Ortiz.
Dana says that even if Tito knew he wasn’t 100%, he shouldn’t have come on the show. Team Ortiz watches Tito leave the training center and they notice how bummed out he is.
Team Ortiz is in the dark about Tito’s predicament. Dana says he gave Tito time to go explain things to his team, but Tito just left without saying anything, so he has to call the team back inside and break the news to them. They’re shocked and a little upset that Tito left before saying goodbye. And Dana stokes the flames, of course. Dana says the new coach is on the way and promises Kris that he’ll have good coaching.
Team Ortiz can’t quite believe that Tito would leave without saying goodbye. They’ve all grown quite attached to the guy, apparently. Seth says Tito was good to them and that he’s still their coach, even though he’s not there any more.
Back at the house, Jamie Yager returns from the hospital. Yager says there are no serious injuries, but he does have some “muscle damage.” That wasn’t vague or anything. Kris tells Yager that everyone is disappointed in him for quitting. He’s the black sheep of the house because he talks a lot of game but didn’t back it up. Yager says he doesn’t care what people think of him.
Tito shows up at the house to talk with his team. They’re relieved because they knew he wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye. Tito tells the team that he’s been fired for the first time in his life. He says his disc is pressing on his spinal cord and he’s not going to risk permanent injury by fighting with it. He’s still pretty emotional about the whole thing and you can tell he cares deeply about coaching these guys.
Ortiz tells McCray that he wants him to win the whole show and bring it back to Team Ortiz.
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dana announces the match-ups for the semifinals. The first bout is Brad Tavares vs. Court McGee. Brad grabs Court’s hand for an extended handshake and won’t let go, which is hilarious to the other fighters.
The second semifinal bout is a rematch between Kris McCray vs. Josh Bryant. Josh already beat Kris once and Chuck is confident that he’ll do it again. Rich calls Josh “Spongebob Squareback.”
The new coach arrives at the training center — it’s former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin. I know, you’re shocked. Team Ortiz arrives at the training center to meet Franklin. Dana says he felt bad about what happened with Ortiz, so he went overboard in hiring Franklin’s assistant coaches. The door opens to reveal the assistant coaches…and the show goes off the air.
NEXT WEEK: Which former UFC champion did Dana pick to be Franklin’s assistant coach? Plus it’s Brad Tavares vs. Court McGee in the first semifinal bout of the tournament.
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