Episode three of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Season 10 is now underway with Kimbo being reflective about his relationship with God and butchering the use of the term “Oxymoron.” He also explains the difference between his “enemy” and “inner me.”
Could we be seeing the softer side of Kimbo?
Roy Nelson doesn’t want to be a “hater” and slam Kimbo for being an overnight sensation. The Evans gang has a head-shaking moment over “Big Country,” who has no manager, no training camp and very few friends. They do however recognize his talent and think he’s got the skill set to finish Slice.
Rampage cracks a smile when Keith Jardine hits the gym for the standard TUF cameo. It of course boils over when Rashad and Rampage start arguing over who hurt Jackson’s jaw, when they were supposed to fight, who really killed Kennedy, etc.
Rampage gets a few laughs when he says Rashad beat Chuck Liddell with his breath. Two points for the readers who immediately pick up on the “Thunderdome” reference.
James McSweeney steps in to back Rashad and Rampage complains that he can’t understand him. Not because of his British accent — because he’s trying to talk with Rashad’s nuts in his mouth.
Over at the gym, Rampage continues his stellar work as coach by deconstructing Kimbo’s beard and chicken bone eating habits. He likes that Slice is humble and has assistant coach Tiki Ghosn work on the brawler’s ground game.
Team Jackson understands the challenge of overcoming Nelson’s big belly but decide instead of cramming for a grappling exam they’ll just let his hands fly and hope for the knockout.
Big Country is already having visions of crucifixes and stoppages from unanswered blows to the face. He explains to some of the guys that they don’t even have to be hard shots — if they’re not defended the fight must be stopped.
Apparently he never heard of Dan Miragliotta.
During the commercial break we get an unintentionally funny promo for UFC 104 featuring Lyoto Machida screaming in broken English and sounding like Corky when he wanted more pie.
Team Jackson is going through their workout and suddenly Marcus Jones is missing in action. They find him in the corner afflicted with a case of the limps. It seems all that size he carries around is causing problems for his knee.
The gang starts to make fun of Jones, who also admits to playing Dungeons and Dragons, collecting comics and picking flowers. He labels himself “the most boring brother around.”
Straight up tedium, dawg.
Later in the house, Jones and Slice connect on a spiritual level and Kimbo gets another fighter to vouch for him as a man. Quote of the season thus far courtesy of Kimbo, who sees some of himself in the ex-NFLer: “Marcus Jones big-ass blew up and I’m one of the pieces.”
Weigh-ins! Slice and Nelson hit the scales and it’s 230 for Kimbo and 264 for Nelly.
The fight inches closer and Roy is not opposed to keeping it standing — if he’s getting the better of the exchanges. Kimbo on the other hand is just looking forward to getting in the cage and finally fighting. I think it’s safe to say that so is everyone else that’s watching, especially after months of spoilers, leaks and Internet speculation.
Finally. It’s time.
Heavyweight elimination fight #3: Roy Nelson (13-4) vs. Kimbo Slice (3-1)
Round 1: Nelson working the jab. Nice leg kick by Slice. Lots of bobbing and weaving. Off to a slow start. Kimbo finally opens up and pushes him to the cage while landing some strikes. Nelson ties him up against the fence. Nelson looking for the takedown but Kimbo not going easy. Action stalls against the fence. Nelson finally pulls him from the cage and trips him down. Nelson flat on top working for the kimura. Slice has the guard of Houston Alexander but gets a rise from the gang when he flips off the fence — unfortunately Nelson and his belly keep him from turning over. Nelson traps the arms and starts whaling away straight down on Kimbo’s noggin. Referee Herb Dean lets the punishment go in a scene eerily reminiscent of the James Thompson fight Slice had in Elite XC back in May 2008. The only thing in Dean’s favor is the fact that he knew only a few seconds remained in the fight and the world would be watching. Time expires with Kimbo getting pummeled.
Round 2: Kimbo clocks him and Roy flops around for a moment until a they tie up and a knee attempt by Slice leads to a Nelson takedown. They hit the ground and it’s right back to the jits for Big Country. Rampage: “Don’t let him do that!” Thanks coach. Nelson moving from mount to side control with no resistance. Crucifix part two. From there it’s academic. Nelson pounds away until Dean is forced to stop it.
Roy Nelson defeats Kimbo Slice via TKO
Fight was a monumental letdown, as it appears nothing has changed since the last few times we saw Kimbo. We just happen to know him a little better. While he’s undoubtedly a nice guy, he has a long way to go before he can be considered a mixed martial artist.
And Nelson might have grappling cred, but his stand-up was nothing to write home about. Dana slammed his performance following the fight, claiming he hit like a little girl and did way too much celebrating after the win.
Kimbo gets real for the cameras and says he feels like crap for losing but won’t quit because he’s a fighter who is still learning. Time will tell.
Stay tuned next week as Marcus Jones pulls a Phillipe Nover and we’re teased with a potential Kimbo comeback. And oh no! There’s a traitor in the Evans camp! Gasp! Who could it be?
Find out in seven!
