411's The Ultimate Fighter: Season 5 - Episode 1 Report 04.05.07
Posted by Caleb Newby on 04.05.2007
The Ultimate Fighter is back, this time featuring all lightweight fighters as well as coaches Jens "Little Evil" Pulver and "The Prodigy" BJ Penn!
Hey fellas (and ladies?). This is my first go at recapping an event like this, so comments and suggestions are appreciated. Particularly those that say "good job" over those saying "you suck", but I'll take either.
Season 5 of The Ultimate Fighter starts RIGHT NOW!
Opening preview, hyping the lightweights. We are treated to Nate Diaz stripping down in the house for a fight, one of the guys barking like an angry pit-bull at another contestant, an outdoor fight, and someone getting their head shaved while sleeping. Looks like we're back to the pre-TUF 4 days, thank God.
For the first time ever, the coaches (B.J. Penn and Jens Pulver) will fight on the season finale with the finalists on Spike TV. And believe it or not, there's bad blood between them! It worked so well with Shamrock and Ortiz, why not do it again. Sadly their fight is expected to be as competitive as Ortiz and Shamrock's was, with Penn channeling Ortiz and Pulver summoning the spirit of Shamrock. Or maybe we'll be proven wrong *cough*
We see the fighters arrive and hear it is a new house they are going into. Which is good, since last season the house was destroyed by the fighters.
Corey Hill is a 6'4", attractive guy that makes everyone nervous. Or so he tells me.
Gabe Ruediger then informs us that everyone from Maine is gay, which is an interesting fact that I'll file away for future use. I hope they bring in Tim Sylvia to spar with him later on in the show. Perhaps he'll have something to say on that. Gabe tells us his goal is to play mind games with everyone in the house. One wonders if he's hoping for an immunity challenge too.
Part of Gabe's strategy now seems to incorporate cuddling and playful wrestling. I'm not saying I'm just saying.
Dana informs us that the 155 lb guys are crazy and nuts. Though one wouldn't expect anything less.
We are treated to a compilation on Penn and Pulver's history. For those that don't know, Penn is considered by pretty much everyone as one of the most naturally talented and gifted fighters out there and expected as the strong favorite to take Pulver's title. That didn't happen, and Pulver won a decision victory in a huge upset. This doesn't change the fact that Pulver is one strange looking dude.
As we come back, Pulver and Penn are waiting together for Dana White's dramatic entrance, no doubt to tell them how important this season is and how it's about the fighters, not them.
Pulver reveals that he's quite the fan of chess. Granted, his strategy sounds to consist solely of using his pawns to swarm the enemy. He tells B.J. as much.
Nate Diaz is revealed as one of the favorites among the fighters themselves. Corey Hill due to his size and energy also impresses.
Pulver and his team find it hilarious that the fighters have another workout for Penn after their first workout with the guys.
Sure enough, the guys are worn out and Penn can't get a strong read on them and calls practice early. But he's on to Pulver's scheme, nothing slips past the Hawaiian sleuth. Penn says he wants to coach guys to improve, where Pulver is looking for the best guy out of the gate and ride his coattails to a victory.
After their last workout, the fighters talk about whose team they want to be on, and it's overwhelmingly Penn. Gabe admits to sandbagging his performance with Pulver in hopes to get picked by Penn. Cole Miller also wants to be picked by Penn, who is one of his favorite fighters. In a shocking twist, Allen Berube says he also wants to be coached by Penn. "In ten years from now no one is going to remember Jens Pulver. In 30 years from now, people will definitely remember B.J. Penn."
The fighters arrive for team selections. Pulver wins the coin flip and decides he wants to pick the first fight matchup, thereby letting Penn pick his fighter first.
Penn surveys the field of fighters in front of him before making his announcement. "If any of you here know for a complete fact you want to be on my team and give me 100% and don't want anything to do with Jens Pulver's team, raise your hand." WOW! Maybe Dana White wasn't lying when he said this was the best season yet.
Ten of the 16 guys shoot their hands into the air. Jens looks pissed, and B.J. is no doubt extremely proud of himself. Interesting to note that Joe Lauzon's hand was up with an intent "Don't make me be coached by a guy I've knocked out" sort of look on his face.
Pulver thinks that Penn because he needs all the attention, when the attention is supposed to be on the fighters. Which is an interesting shift from calling the fighters your pawns in your personal feud against the other coach.
Penn: "I knew Jens was going to get butt hurt about it." Is this a common saying?
In what is one of the more interesting exchanges in TUF history, Penn and Pulver try to split up the fighters based on who raised their hand to go on Penn's team, while Dana White keeps telling them to shut up and make their pick one at a time. Penn and Pulver keep ignoring him trying to do it their own way, and White is noticeably pissed off. This is absolutely hilarious. Neither of the coaches is intimidated by White, which is a riot in and of itself.
We finally get the teams selected and Penn takes Gray Maynard. Interesting to note, Gray was mentioned by Kenny Florian as one of the guys on the show he's heard a lot about before TUF 5 started taping. Gray expresses his enthusiasm for being on Penn's team, as is tonight's common theme. Gray regarding Penn: "That dude does not give a sh#%. I like it."
Pulver then selects the 6'4" lightweight Corey Hill. I have no idea if this guy can fight, but his is an absolute monster of a lightweight.
Nate Diaz nicely sums up the feeling of the fighters during the entire team selection fiasco in not caring where he's selected by the end of it all. Sounds like it was a huge mess for the contestants, but that means good TV for us.
The teams are as follow, in the order they were selected:
B.J. Penn's team: Gray Maynard, Matt Winman, Gabe Ruediger, Joe Lauzon, Robert Emerson, Andy Wang, Allen Berube, Noah Thomas
Jens Pulver's team: Corey Hill, Nate Diaz, Brandon Melendez, Marlon Sims, Manny Gamburyan, Cole Miller, Brian Geraghty, Wayne Weems
Team Pulver's team has turned into a mob on the way back. I guess wearing the same colored jersey as someone else brings instant friendships and connections. The irony isn't lost on Brian Geraghty.
Corey Hill talks trash to Gabe and says he wants to fight him first. Gabe tries to talk to Corey, and Gabe responds with barking DMX style. Corey's not exactly coming across as the smartest fella in the world, while Gabe seems to be trying too hard to convince the viewers that he's not scared of Corey.
Team Penn starts practice at 6am, which is hard for a partier like Andy Wang who usually doesn't get home until that time.
Gabe tells us that everyone really wanted to be on BJ's team. "If you want to be one dimensional, I think Jens' team is a great place."
While at the gym, Gabe finds out he is 20lbs overweight which is a potential disaster for him.
We switch over to Pulver's coaching session. Pulver basically raided the Miletech camp for his assistant trainers. The rest of the time is spent now telling us how good of a guy Pulver is and that he'll be a great coach.
Team Pulver debates who they should have fight first. Diaz, Hill, and Miller's names all are thrown out there to fight. It sounds like the Pulver's team is on to Gabe's weight issues.
Team Penn is back in the gym the next day, and Gabe's gained more weight, up to 22lbs. overweight. Penn says that Gabe wasn't prepared for the show coming in this much over.
Gabe has a mental breakdown, and starts crying in the van outside the gym. The guys get to the van to console him. Thank God for teammates!
Robert Emerson to the camera: "You don't really see grown guys cry too much. Especially fighters. Especially about losing weight. It seems to me more of a girl problem. I dunno, Gabe's just a pussy. I thought was a lot cooler than that.
Penn to the guys in the van: "Does anyone see Gabe giving ninety nine percent? You're giving one hundred."
Allen from the back of the van to Gabe: "You just gotta stop giving a hundred percent in the kitchen."
Scratch that about teammates understanding your emotional issues. Gabe leaves the van in a huff to get some air and away from the mean jokes about his weight.
We cut ahead to the fight selection. Pulver gives a somewhat silly dramatic display before announcing the fight. Cole Miller from team Pulver will be fighting Allen Berube of team Penn. They stare down intently and we go to commercial.
Cole Miller gives us his history, he's only been in the sport for three and a half years. Cole says he wants to be here with the best and wants to send home the guys who aren't taking this seriously, thus his wanting to eliminate Allen.
Cut to Allen in training. Penn says Cole was one of the top prospects going into the competition, but Allen can punch hard. Allen says he's been training for a year or so which "probably isn't as much as a lot of these guys." No probably about that. One year of BJJ training? My spider senses tell me this won't go food for Allen on the ground. He better keep this thing standing.
Allen gives more details that he used to wrestle in high school and did some boxing as a kid and that he started fighting just to get some advertisement for his business back home. Allen better punch like Ivan Drago
Cole says he's never been KOed before so Allen has his work cut out for him.
Both the fighters enter the cage, Cole looks laid back and confidant while Allen seems nervous.
Tale of the Tape: Allen Berube is 32 years old, stands at 5'8", has a 70" reach and a 2-1 record. Cole Miller is 22 years old, stands at 6'1", has a 74.5" reach and an 11-2 record.
And the fight begins. Penn yells at Allen to keep his hands up. The circle each other and throw some jabs trying to key in their range. Allen has been much more active to this point with jabs granted none of them have connected yet, while Cole seems content to pick his spot. Cole tries for two right high kicks in a row, followed by a right body kick, to which Allen shoots in for a takedown. Allen finds himself in a guillotine choke, but it's not sunk in and he escapes. Penn screams advice to Allen "Monsta" as the Cole has Allen in his guard near the fence. Cole sits up and works on isolating an arm on Allen as Penn gives Allen advice to stay out of danger. This looks to be a bad spot for Allen, as Cole is switching from one sub attempt to another. Cole throws on a triangle choke on Allen as Allen gets some clean punches to Cole's face, but the triangle is in too tight and Allen taps within a few more seconds.
Penn says what we were all thinking, that Allen didn't have much to work with and gave all he had, but was basically doomed from the start. Ok, Penn didn't say that last part, but he might as well have.
Cole tells the viewers at home that he just told us how it was and didn't say and more or any less about what he was gonna do out there.
Allen is in the locker room, saying he didn't picture it like that. No kidding. Allen's understandably disappointed, says that he was just beat by a better technique, it wasn't a better person, a better man, more will, it was just a technique. He assures us he isn't done with his career in fighting and he doesn't feel beaten. It looks like the guys after losing this season are sent out of the house like in seasons one, two, and three, which makes me happy.
The hype over this season being the best yet seems to have some merit early on. Lightweights are naturally exciting fighters so we're sure to be in for a treat with the fights themselves, but there are also a number of interesting personalities. Gabe and Corey were really allowed the spotlight here, but we've yet to see the craziness that is the Diaz family (I actually heard a great first hand account of how crazy Nate Diaz is. I'll try to remember the details and share the story down the road when we see more from Mr. Diaz this season.), or explore the wonderful drama of Joe Lauzon knocking out Jens Pulver in a UFC PPV fight prior to taping.
I hope this momentum continues, as last season's TUF 4 was easily the most boring version we've seen yet. Having two well known clear cut coaches who dislike each other is sure to heat things up too. If you have friends that you're trying to get into the world of MMA, you might want to give them a taste of this season and see how they like it.
