TUF Episode 6: The Ben Saunders Bloodfest and why God likes to infect peoples hands

[GoldenJonas]

Awesome fight last night.

SHAMELESS PLUG - Ben Saunders fights out of ATT-Orlando and is one of our instructors. Can't wait for his next fight. Win or Lose (although he is currently undefeated) he always comes to bang and puts on a good showing. His ground game is insane and his hands just fly with reckless abandon....great fighter, great guy.

that fight definitely should have gone to a third round although God boy would probably have gotten destroyed in a 3rd round it was definitely the best fight of the season thus far.

[El Neko]

It was the devil playing with the score cards

[Gypsy Jazz]

Maybe it was bias, but I thought Ben won the 1st also. Both got knockdowns and Ben dictated the pace and landed more shots. Ben was on his back a bit, but Dan did absolutely nothing with it except try to punch his feet (WTF?). I wouldn't even call it a superior position, because not a damn thing happened.

Dan is a strange character, and will definitely have a future in the UFC. I don't care for his use of "God" as a punctuation mark in his dialect, but I'd bet it's a big draw in some parts of the country.

[Ming Loyalist]

Maybe it was bias, but I thought Ben won the 1st also. Both got knockdowns and Ben dictated the pace and landed more shots. Ben was on his back a bit, but Dan did absolutely nothing with it except try to punch his feet (WTF?). I wouldn't even call it a superior position, because not a damn thing happened.

i agree 100%, i didn't see what all the controversy was about. ben dominated both rounds. dan was afraid to move in, and also was ineffective except for that one knockdown, which he didn't follow up on.

it was obvious that the pressure of being on tv was getting to both fighters, and it certainly looks like dan could have fought a better fight, which is also true of ben, who could have finished dan off at a couple of points.

[Carpe Noctem]

My wife usually watches TUF with me, as she likes the fights. Good thing she wasn't last night, what with Dan's wife having panic attacks over him being gone for six weeks. I was gone in Iraq the first year of our marriage; I can just see my wife yelling "Cowboy up, bitch!"

[Kung-Fu Joe]

I'll also register my surprise at Dana White's reaction to the judges' scoring. I honestly didn't think it was anywhere near as close as the show made it out to be.

The first round, obviously, was much closer than the second, but even then Ben landed a lot more strikes and was always exactly where he wanted to be. Even after the knockdown hit, Ben recovered into a strong defense quickly. And what was with Serra, Hughes, and Dana all neglecting the fact that Ben also scored a knockdown against Dan in the first round?

I have a feeling that the reactions were worked up both to make for better TV and to help Dan feel better about an otherwise shitty week. He had pretty much everything going against him, this fight-- the injured right hand, his wife's panic attacks, the pressure of not having a job to go back to, and a huge reach disadvantage. He survived on heart and chin, and that earns him an assload of respect in my book, but it wasn't anywhere near as close a fight as they tried to pretend.

Honestly, it's probably a good thing for Dan that it didn't go to a third-- if he'd gotten KO'ed at that point, it would have been a lot harder for Dana to justify giving him a $5K bonus, as well.

--Joe

[Goju - Joe]

I was reading Hughes and Mac's Blogs

Dan has a 1-0 MMA reccord with the 1 being a pankration fight with no head striking. As well as Amateur boxing and wrestling in his back ground.

This was basically his first MMA fight.

Considering that he did pretty good.

[HongKongFukYu]

Not that this matters, but I cannot think of anyone else on any season that I despise more than Barerra.

1) His Jesus Freakery Shit combined with his complete disdain for his training partners is hyocritical and disgusting (ie, him drilling Jared in the groin). I can't stand Hughes but watching Hughes tool him was great.

2) His drama-queen wife...back when I was much younger and much dumber, I dated two girls who had "panic attacks". Someone please tell me why is it that only the smoking hot DRAMA QUEENS get these? If you date/fuck/marry on looks alone you're a retard, and like the good book says, you reap what you sow. His wife wasn't having a "seizure"...she's just a headcase.

3) His ADHD and general retardation...WTF is up with him in the bathroom posing and shadow boxing instead of I dunno...actually TRAINING?!

4) Speedos. Christ.

5) After his LOSS and yes he lost both rounds he blurts out to Ben that the first round was 10-8...was he actually saying it was 10-8 in HIS favor? IMO First round was 10-9 Saunders, second was definitely a 10-8 round Saunders.

6) He's just fucking DUMB. Nice job listening to your coach retard. I guess he thought having a staring contest and burning precious time off the clock was more important than actually fighting?

IMO, he may have heart and the physical tools, but he doesn't have what it takes upstairs (and I don't mean the good Lord) to actually know how to use them.

[HongKongFukYu]

Awesome fight last night.

SHAMELESS PLUG - Ben Saunders fights out of ATT-Orlando and is one of our instructors. Can't wait for his next fight. Win or Lose (although he is currently undefeated) he always comes to bang and puts on a good showing. His ground game is insane and his hands just fly with reckless abandon....great fighter, great guy.

that fight definitely should have gone to a third round although God boy would probably have gotten destroyed in a 3rd round it was definitely the best fight of the season thus far.

I actually started *almost* feeling bad for Hughes and I *almost* wanted them to get a win. Then again there was no way in hell I could have wanted Ben to lose. He clearly wants to be there, has a great attitude, seems like a cool dude, and isn't mentally challenged and malicious like Barerra. I was really happy to see him win which he deserved despite Hughes whining after the fact.

EDIT: You're saying he's undefeated? Is that a TUF season 6 spoiler? :icon_eek:

[GoldenJonas]

EDIT: You're saying he's undefeated? Is that a TUF season 6 spoiler? :icon_eek:

OH SHIT NO!!!! No spoiler here. Ben is 4-0-2 now 5-0-2 after last night.

Ben has been mercilessly grilled by all of us and he is stoically tight lipped about the season. Shit, he wouldn't even tell us he was fighting last night.

So I have no "inside" info about the season because Ben has kept his mouth shut despite constant teasing and poking from all of us.

For example, while rolling or drilling with him I'd say "hey, that triangle escape is pretty damn smooth, is that what you used to make the finals?".......to which he would ignore, pass my guard, and choke or arm bar me.

[HongKongFukYu]

OH SHIT NO!!!! No spoiler here. Ben is 4-0-2 now 5-0-2 after last night.

Ben has been mercilessly grilled by all of us and he is stoically tight lipped about the season. Shit, he wouldn't even tell us he was fighting last night.

So I have no "inside" info about the season because Ben has kept his mouth shut despite constant teasing and poking from all of us.

For example, while rolling or drilling with him I'd say "hey, that triangle escape is pretty damn smooth, is that what you used to make the finals?".......to which he would ignore, pass my guard, and choke or arm bar me.

Hey can't blame a guy for trying! :D

Regardless I have a feeling he really did well, although I feel that Mac won it (though I hope that's not the case).

I didn't know Ben was a BJJ guy until I saw the tattoo on his shoulder that looked like the Gracie logo? What rank is he in BJJ?

[GoldenJonas]

I didn't know Ben was a BJJ guy until I saw the tattoo on his shoulder that looked like the Gracie logo? What rank is he in BJJ?

Purple. I believe it was awarded by Marcio Simas but I am not positive.

[Goju - Joe]

Hey can't blame a guy for trying! :D

Regardless I have a feeling he really did well, although I feel that Mac won it (though I hope that's not the case).

I didn't know Ben was a BJJ guy until I saw the tattoo on his shoulder that looked like the Gracie logo? What rank is he in BJJ?

Mac and Ben are on different teams so they could have both won it and face each other in the finals

[Vince Tortelli]

I would have liked to see Round 3 also, but I can see where the people giving Ben both rounds are coming from. (Apparently Barrera skipped the session where Hughes taught people how to kick at the legs of someone laying on their back in guard to shadowbox/spank the monkey) Holy toledo, Ben likes his high kicks. Does he do those in class all the time too?

[HongKongFukYu]

Mac and Ben are on different teams so they could have both won it and face each other in the finals

D'oh! Didn't even think about that.

Your avatar rules BTW.