Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale: Marlon Sims and Noah Thomas to face off
Posted by Caleb Newby on 05.29.2007
Contestants from last week's house fight to open the June 23 telecast...
Spike TV just sent out a press release announcing Marlon Sims and Noah Thomas would settle their grudge match on The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale taking place June 23 on Spike TV. The two were kicked off the show by UFC President Dana White following their bloody battle.
The event will be headlined by TUF 5 coaches BJ Penn and Jens Pulver squaring off in the octagon in the next chapter of yet another high profile MMA rivalry.
Below are the biography's provided by Spike TV for both Sims and Thomas:
"Mr. Indestructible" Marlon Sims
Age: 33
MMA Record: 3– 1
Hometown: Sonoma, CA
Trains in: Miami, FL – Freestyle Fighting Academy
Since the age of four, Marlon Sims has wanted to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Growing up, Marlon was constantly training. He took up Kempo and Sambo, achieving black belts in both. Before graduating from Sonoma Valley High in 1992, he was a two-time state champion in Greco Roman wrestling, and was regularly scouted by Stanford's tennis coaches during the spring athletic season. He opted to train in mixed martial arts, instead, dabbling in jiu jitsu briefly before injuries caused him to focus on muy thai.
Living in the Bay Area, Marlon trained during the day and worked as a waiter captain at the famous Le Colonial night. He worked out with Frank Shamrock in the Napa chapter of The Lion's Den, but relocated to Miami where he lives with his girlfriend, a future anesthesiologist, and trains with the Freestyle Fighting Academy.
When not training, Marlon is a huge fan of martial arts films starring Tony Jai, Bruce Lee, and Jet Li. Musically, Marlon's tastes range from classical music to Johnny Cash to Lyrics Born to Pantera. Despite moving to Miami, Marlon still follows the 49ers and Oakland A's closely, and says Roger Federer and Mirko Cro Cop are heroes of his because of the dominance they display in their fields.
Marlon earned his nickname for his renowned fighting prowess on the streets of San Francisco, breaking up many brawls with nary a scratch to show for it. Sims says the title is apt, but for different reasons – he once was hit by a car and thrown through its windshield, and walked out of the hospital four hours later with only a tooth missing.
While on The Ultimate Fighter 5, "Mr. Indestructible" hopes to live up to his namesake while working on his jiu jitsu and striking ability with the coaches and other competitors.
Noah "The Red" Thomas
Age: 25
MMA Record: 10 – 4
Hometown: Colorado Springs, CO
Trains in: Loveland, CO – Infinity Martial Arts
A 1999 graduate of Wasson High School where he was a standout wrestler, Noah attended Colorado State University at Ft. Collins, majoring in history. He left to join the United States Marines Corp, earning the rank of Sergeant after serving for six years in their sniper division and doing tours in Japan and Korea. When he returned to the U.S., Thomas was looking for a hobby and entered a No Holds Barred tournament.
Winning eight fights in one night, Noah decided to plug himself into the mixed martial arts scene. About a year ago he began training with Ryan Schulz, working on his wrestling and striking, and six months ago he linked up with a Gracie gym in Colorado, training under Adam Martinez. He has since received a blue belt in Brazliain jiu-jitsu from Royce Gracie, and began dating Michelle Mills, one of the top female fighters in the world. Nicknamed after a dog he knew that would often "see red," Thomas says it is an appropriate moniker – he is very laid back until the Octagon door closes behind him. He is eager to hone his Brazilian jiu jitsu skills in his quest to become The Ultimate Fighter.
Noah hopes to keep the house loose during the six weeks with his spot on impressions, including imitations of Matt Serra and Ross Pointon. He'll also be quoting movies a fair amount, listing Rounders, Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers among his favorites. When his MMA career is over, Noah would like to become a firefighter.
