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Recap: Fight Master Ep. 2

Bellator’s new reality TV show, Fight Master, had tonight on Spike TV. Taking 32 welterweight fighters and giving them the chance to go to one of four camps, the show is hoping to match, if not improve upon, the success of the UFC’s Ultimate Fighter franchise. With fighters intially competing for a chance to be part of a four fighter team coached by Greg Jackson, Randy Couture, Frank Shamrock, or Joe Warren. In the first episodes for the Round of 32, fighters will be competing in 2-round bouts, with elbows disallowed. The grand prize for the show is $100,000 and a spot in a Bellator welterweight tournament.

Fight #1

The first fight was Mike “The Zombie” Dubois  vs. Rob “Counter Terrorism Unit” Mills. Dubois talked about growing up and living in a secluded area, and talked about fighting in streets and fields while wrestling in high school. Mills talked about working in law enforcement in the UK, and proclaimed himself as having “the heaviest hands in the UK.” The fight began with both men feeling eachother out, trading jabs and kicks, until Dubois caught a body kick from Mills and went for the takedown. Mills went right into the guillotine, but “The Zombie” was able to block one side of his neck to avoid getting finished before escaping and laying down some ground and pound. “CTU” was able to turn to his knees and attempt a takedown, only to have Dubois sprawl out and go into the front headlock position before transitioning into a standing guillotine and getting the UK cop to tap. All the coaches started in on the hard sell, with Frank Shamrock reminding Dubois that Greg Jackson has never stepped in the cage. In the end, Shamrock was able to convince “The Zombie” to join his team.

Mike Dubois def. Rob Mills by submission (Guillotine Choke), R1

Fight #2

Bout #2 brings Tom “Da Tank” Gallichio vs. “Sideshow” Eric Bradley. Gallichio says he marches to the beat of a different drum, saying that fighting brings out the best in him in the pre-fight interview. Bradley talked about his amateur athletic credentials, mentioning that he both wrestled and boxed in college, and had begun training at Xtreme Couture, only to be arrested and jailed for a couple of years for an extreme prank on some fraternities at his alma matter. The fight started with both men throwing jabs and feints, but eventually escalated to Gallichio throwing with bad intentions and allowing Bradley to duck down, catch his leg and bring him ass over teakettle for the takedown, and took the round from there with good positional control and submission defense with just enough ground and pound sprinkled in. Between rounds, Randy Couture compared Bradley’s appearance to that of Animal from the Muppets. At the start of the second round “Sideshow” Eric shot, and achieved, the takedown again, repeating the process any time “Da Tank” could get to his feet en route to a unanimous decision. Couture, despite having trained Bradley early in his career, recommended he go to Jackson’s or Shamrock’s team to work on his submissions, with both men claiming to be able to help him improve. Warren tried to use the fact that both he and Bradley were Big 10 wrestlers, but in the end, “Sideshow” Eric chose Jackson’s MMA.

Eric Bradley def. Tom Gallichio by Majority Decision, R2

Fight #3

Fight #3 saw Brett “Rambo” Nakamura do battle with Evan “The Butcher” Cutts. Nakamura’s a Hawaiian, and told the usual tale of growing up fighting and how he’s representing all of Hawaii. Cutts, however, talked about growing up as a nerd, talking about playing in his school band to playing Dungeons & Dragons. Nakamura came out swinging, with most of his shots being evaded or blocked by Cutts. The Hawaiian’s defense was also shoddy at points, as he ran headfirst into a knee from the self-identified nerd. Eventually, Nakamura whiffed on a spinning kick, allowing “The Butcher” to jump on his back, catch a body triangle, and start working for the finish. “Rambo” stood up as “The Butcher” cinched in the choke, only to fall back down and tap out. In the post-fight discussion, Warren praised Cutts for his intensity and instincts, while Shamrock pulled out his bag of mental tricks and recommended Jackson’s MMA for “The Butcher.” In a cut-away, Frank noted holes in Evan’s striking style as to why he foisted him upon Jackson. Greg Jackson praised Cutts’ positive energy and vibe, with Randy Couture agreeing with him. Ultimately, “The Butcher” decided to go with Joe Warren, having been won over by his pitch.

Evan Cutts def. Brett Nakamura by Submission (RNC), R1

Fight #4

In a fight designed to confuse recappers and readers everywhere, the fourth fight saw Cole “The Spartan” Williams paired up with Joe “Mongo” Williams. “The Spartan” talked about living in a trailer with his “awesome girlfriend,” who works full time so he can take care of his stepchildren and him to train for the show. “Mongo” talks about his relationship with God, how he prays for God to give him the strength to do his best, and how he wants to beat everyone while glorifying God. The fight starts tentatively, with both Williams boys throwing out a jab, until we have our “Oh shit! Here comes Mongo” moment, with Joe tenaciously working for single leg takedowns and winning the round thanks to his wrestling prowess. The second round saw Cole take it to Joe with a stiff jab, and better defense against the takedowns, using whizzers to keep on his feet and take the second round. A third round saw Joe and Cole going balls out, in an effort to win, with “The Spartan” rocking “Mongo,” but not being able to put him away. Ultimately, the judges saw fit to award the fight to “The Spartan.” Cole asked about the training styles of each coaches. Joe Warren answered first, talking about teaching solid punching fundamentals, body work, and both the technical and psychological aspects of good top control. Randy Couture talked about understanding fighters coming from a wrestling background and being able to refine them. Frank Shamrock felt that Jackson would be able to better help Cole with his strategies, and Greg worked off that and said he will work with him to get him to the winner’s circle. “The Spartan” decided to go with Randy and Xtreme Couture.

Cole Williams def. Joe Williams, Unanimous Decision, R3

Fight #5

Fight 5 puts Jacob “Kobe the Stunna” Ortiz in the cage with Jason “G.I. Jason” Norwood. Ortiz talked about having a regular job, not being able to handle it and going into full-time MMA, even losing his house so he could pay for training. Norwood talks about how he graduated from Westpoint, and how he wants to be a good father. Before the fight, with both men in the cage, Shamrock takes a moment to point out that Norwood has an “extraordinary chest,” leading to some discomfort from Greg Jackson. The first round saw Norwood doing damage both with hard, tenacious takedowns and with solid striking. The fight should have been finished at one point, with Ortiz falling over from strikes as he tried to run away from the military officer, but the ref allowed the punishment to continue until the end of the round. The second round saw “Kobe the Stunna” put up a tougher fight, but he was still no match for “G.I. Jason,” and the judges saw it the same way. Norwood asked simply, “Who wants me?” and got Joe Warren into hard-sale mode. Both Randy Couture and Greg Jackson pushed for Norwood to go with Warren, while Frank said he could turn Jason into a real killer. When Norwood asked a follow-up question about the importance of faith to each coach, Couture discussed everyone being blessed with certain gifts, and Warren stating that it wasn’t very important to him. Despite Joe’s answer about religion, Norwood still decided to go with Joe Warren.

Jason Norwood def. Jacob Ortiz by Unanimous Decision, R2

Fight #6

The final fight of the evening saw Cristiano “Soldier Boy” Souza take on Steve “The Creepy Weasel” Montgomery. Souza talked about his wife and family in Brazil, as he does MMA for them, and discusses his capoeria background. He also expressed shock at fighting his teammate from American Top Team in Montgomery. “The Creepy Weasel” echoed Souza’s sentiments, expressing apprehension, but knowing that if they have to fight, they have to go for it. The fight started out slow, with Montgomery pumping a range-finding jab and Souza evading. Eventually Souza throwing as well, starting with an overhand right and powerful kick to the body of his teammate. Eventually, Souza got his timing, and caught Montgomery with a counter hook as “The Creepy Weasel” danced in with a jab, and swarmed on his fellow ATT member, beating him to the ground and eventually finishing him with vicious punches to the head. Souza wept after the stoppage, sorrowful for having to do so much damage to his teammate in order to advance, and embracing him once Montgomery was back to his feet. All the coaches were impressed, and all told Souza they can make him a better fighter. Randy Couture was most convincing though, as “Soldier Boy” chose to join his camp.

Cristiana Souza def. Steve Montgomery by TKO (Punches), R1

The second episode wasn’t too terribly different from the first. The coaches were all a little more aggressive in their maneuvering, and the fights were not bad. The pacing needs to improve though, as they have too many of those “dramatic pause” commercial breaks. It’s rather annoying. Hopefully Bellator and Spike can tighten this up, because better pacing would go along way towards improving ratings and enjoyment.

The Teams So Far

Randy Couture (Xtreme Couture)

1. AJ “The Pinoy Punisher” Matthews
2. Cole “The Spartan” Williams.
3. Cristianao “Soldier Boy” Souza
4. (TBD)

Greg Jackson (Jackson’s MMA)

1. Tim “The Ginja Ninja” Welch
2. “Sideshow” Eric Bradley
3. (TBD)
4. (TBD)

Frank Shamrock (Team Shamrock)

1. Nick “The Phoenix” Barnes
2. Chris “The Cleveland Assassin” Lozano
3. Mike “The Zombie” Dubois
4. (TBD)

Joe Warren (RINo Sports Galleri)

1. Eric “Easy E” Scallan
2. Evan “The Butcher” Cutts
3. Jason “G.I. Jason” Norwood
4. (TBD