Rampage went on a mini-Rampage and Forrest responded in kind after his foe for the upcoming July 5th battle between the coaches declared he would bet his entire purse that their fight will not go to decision. Forrest then took it upon himself to "Leben" the brown team's locker-room door and when the cameras showed up to assess the damage, the loveable season one ginger kid described his tantrum as a "man period."
Coach Griffin happened upon a launcher designed to shoot a net similar to Spiderman. His "Spidey-senses" alerted him that Rampage was doing drills inside the Octagon so Forrest wasted no time in tracking his prey and firing upon the unsuspecting current UFC light-heavyweight champion with complete accuracy.
I had no doubt Rampage knew how to take a joke after watching a recent video of him doing an impression of former UFC champ Chuck Liddell leaning back, arms spread, bellowing his signature "Ahhhhhh" scream, complete with protruding mid-section. I was correct, of course, and in a lighthearted effort to even the score, Rampage simply blasted Forrest with a pretty mean water gun inside the training center a little later in the episode, restoring peace and tranquility to the environment famous for making or breaking up-and-coming talent in the sport of MMA.
Forrest also made good on his word to Amir last week and allowed the 0-0 middleweight to shave his head for having defeated Gerald Harris (7-2). I was hoping to see a creative mullet or a removal of only half of Forrest's tresses but Amir elected for a simple and clean buzz cut.
The eighth match of the season pitted the blue teams CB Dollaway (6-0) against Nick Klein (4-0) from the brown team headed by Coach Griffin. Both fighters made weight the previous day and it was time for them to step inside the Octagon and determine which fighter would fill the eighth remaining spot and advance in the tournament as well as which would suffer his first professional loss.
Round 1: Klein came out and took the fight to the ground after having been informed wrestlers do not like being on their backs just prior to the gate closing. Dollaway capitalized on the vantage point by rolling and began working on a new choke (coined the "Peruvian necktie") he had introduced and tapped out Rampage to during training, but was unable to seal the deal. Klein managed to escape it but sustained some damage in the process before transitioning and securing a nice kneebar on Dollaway that seemed to hyperextend the joint, but no cigar. Dollaway worked his way out and immediately started dropping bombs to the head of Klein (some clearly striking the back of the head but not deemed to be fouls). Klein then got busy and attempted a kimura but was unable to get the submission. Several more transitions and submission attempts followed, none of which Klein was able to score points with. He did, however, sustain a much higher agree of damage including a cut. Round one was definitely Dollaway's.
Steve Mazzagatti was the third man inside the Octagon and he issued a verbal warning to Dollaway for the strikes to the back of Klein's head but there was no point deduction.
Round 2: Dollaway opened by throwing several leg kicks before Klein threw a few jabs. Dollaway then tied up with Klein before intentionally taking the fight to the ground again. Klein did a decent job trying to stay busy and strike from the bottom as well as attempt a few submissions but it was clear the sheer strength of Dollaway was proving to be too much to handle. In the end, Dollaway submitted Klein via guillotine giving Team Rampage its second win.
The quarterfinal picks were revealed this episode and as with previous seasons, UFC president Dana White met with both coaches and solicited input from the eight fighters making the cut. In the end, these are the match ups:
Jesse Taylor (6-2) vs. Dante Rivera (10-2)
Amir Sadollah (0-0) vs. Matt Brown (9-6)
Daniel Cramer (3-0) vs. Tim Credeur (9-2)
CB Dollaway (6-0) vs. Cale Yarbrough (0-0)
Six of the eight remaining competitors are from Team Forrest therefore a realignment will go down next week via a toss of the infamous TUF coin in the possession of Dana White, who is referred to more and more these days as "The Baldfather." The two fights on the horizon will be Jesse Taylor vs. Dante Rivera and Matt Brown vs. Amir Sadollah. See you next week.
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