TUF S8:E10 Rewind: These are my two favorite fighters

One of the ways to evaluate athletes and coaches is what those that are closest to them say about them. Sometimes is it is what they do, not say, and other times it is what they directly say, and Team Tate had a lot to say this week. Apparently the coaches were playing favorites during the season. It is one thing to focus on the fighters that are still fighting. That only makes sense but to only focus on two of them when the team still has four fighters left in the competition is unfair to the other two fighters.

On the men’s side Chris is the favorite at this point of the season and the only male competitor left for Team Tate. It is understandable that he was getting the attention especially with his fight being first. It is also natural that he should be focusing on himself and not getting caught up in the extracurricular activity in the house. They are there to win the competition and he should being doing what is best for him. He should be getting himself prepared to win his next fight. He should also expect help from his teammates in preparing him for the fight. It is on the coaches that they had created an atmosphere that he was not getting that help.

The coaches set the tone for the team. They are the leaders and they create the environment for their athletes and on Team Tate there ended up being a lot of resentment. This is not the show portraying Miesha in a bad light through editing, but her own athletes voicing their displeasure in her favoritism towards Juliana and Chris.

Again, with Chris being the only guy left fighting he should get the attention but it is really unfair to Sarah and Raquel. They are both still in the competition and would be just as big as favorites as Juliana at this point. In fact neither is really a good matchup for Juliana but I am sure Miesha will have her come out and punch Sarah in the face because she will not like that. Honestly I would have more respect for Miesha if she sent Sarah over to Ronda’s team and admitted that she can not be professional and coach her and Juliana fairly.

Based on what I have seen of Raquel and Sarah is they will not go off and cry about not getting attention. They will use it as motivation and work that much harder. I also think that Sarah will be even more determined to kick Juliana’s ass, again. She seems like a very strong person mentally and emotionally. We have already seen Juliana’s insecurity come out when Dana praised Raquel so Miesha has to pay all the attention to her and ignore Sarah. It is good that Sarah and Raquel have each other and it was nice of Raquel to acknowledge what Sarah is going through.

You cannot say that Miesha cannot not see the obvious. After Cody got kicked off, Louis refused to spar with Chris, no one except Raquel took anytime to celebrate Sarah’s win, and most of her team was sick of being ignored. She had the perfect remedy to ease the tension. SILLY STRING FIGHT! This tension that was created by Miesha and her coaches but do not worry they will apologize if people make a big deal out of it, and that will make everything okay.

As the season unfolds more and more Miesha seems to find away to make it about herself. When Dana tells the teams to chill and stop starting shit it is Miesha and Team Tate that goes back on their word and start more shit. They are also the ones that start shit then act all indignant when people are offended or do not accept their insincere apologies that they make only after they have been pressured by others. Here is a little advice: don’t do stupid shit you have to apologize for in the first place.

Also, the Ronda criticism has gotten ridiculous. For all of the female fighters that are currently in the UFC that have taken the time to criticize her for not being a ” true champion,” I hope you understand that without Ronda you would not be in the UFC. Dana has been very clear that she was the one the kicked the door open. She also did it by being exactly who she is and not trying to make people happy. So all of that behavior that offends you is also responsible for you being in the UFC. I know your skills got you there but without Ronda you are fighting somewhere else. So instead of criticizing her maybe take a lesson from her, because it is working out pretty well for her so far.

She got where she is by being herself, flaws and all. She is real and sometimes crude, sometimes silly and we have seen many sides of her on the show but only a fraction of what is there. Also, for all of the people who do not think she is a “real champion,” I checked and the UFC still has her listed as the women’s bantamweight champ so she has the title and the belt. Also I checked and no one in MMA besides Ronda currently has roles in three major Hollywood movie franchises. With the Expendables 3, The Hunger Games and The Fast and Furious 7, she is on her way to being her generations six degrees of separation game. She is successful inside of the octagon and outside of it. Until someone beats her like it or nor folks she is the champ so deal with it.

The other thing is that you do not see, is her team falling apart like Team Tate. They are still bonding and working together. That says a lot about the atmosphere that Ronda and her coaches created. It is also telling how quickly her team is to defend her. Their team is still a team at this point in the season and that says a lot about the two coaches.

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Before the fights got under way we got to see Ronda bring in TUF seasn 5 champion Nate Diaz to talk to the fighters and train some BJJ. Many members of the team were like little kids getting to work with Nate. Davey has a son named after him so he was very excited. Nate and his brother Nick are the kind of fighters that elicit an emotional response from other fighters. Nate is also a Gracie black belt and it was a little touch of TUF history seeing him and Manny rolling again.

Miesha brought in a motivational speaker after her silly string fight. She really knows how to set a tone for a talk. Her speaker, Kenny Salvini, was really good and an amazing example of overcoming a tragic accident. Raquel in particular really connected with the talk and she could identify with it.

The fight between Chris and Michael did not go well for Michael. It showed why Chris has emerged as the favorite on the men’s side. He has very good, crisp standup to go with his insanely good BJJ. Thirty seconds into the fight they clinched up and Chris put Michael against the cage. He got the takedown and methodically went to work. He mixed in strikes to the head and body then he would pass. First into side control. They grappled and Michael got back to half-guard for a moment. From there he went to escape and Chris went for a front choke. He used it to pull Michael back down to the ground and for a moment looked like he was going to choke him out. Instead Chris quickly spider monkey’ed onto Michael’s back. He locked in a body triangle, worked for the rear-naked-choke and after a little over thirty seconds Michael made one mistake and had to tap. It was a clean, slick technical win for Chris. He moved on and took almost no damage. He will be the favorite going into the finale.

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Some have been carrying on that weight is too much for them this season. Chris will have no problem with that. He has been very disciplined and focused all season. He is on Team Alpha Male, one of the best in MMA today, and they will have him prepared for the finals.

Next we get Juliana versus Sarah. Dana is very clear that he has been impressed with Juliana but he is just not sure about Sarah. He does not think she is as good as some of the other girls in the house. He is not sure why he feels that way and as he put she now has the opportunity to “shut him up.” Part of the reason she has not impressed him is that she is understated. She is very dry and sarcastic in a quiet casual kind of way. Her skills inside of the cage are similar. She is more sublime than flashy and she just goes out fights hard and wins. Going into this fight she has the advantage over Juliana with her previous win over her. It will be very interesting to see how they are coached next week. I suspect that if Miesha ignores Sarah and favors Juliana it will motivate Sarah even more.

It has been a fun ride so far on this season of TUF and it should be another entertaining and exciting episode next week.