The Ultimate Fighter Heavyweights: Week 8

Written by Mike Wilkerson   |   Tuesday, November 10 2009

Marcus Jones and Mike Wessel scrap during their episode 8 fight on 'The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights' (Photo: UFC)

Viewing Date: 11-5-2009
Show Title: Ultimate Fighter: HEAVYWEIGHTS Week 8
Network: SpikeHD
Reviewed By: Mike Wilkerson

We've been mostly treated to 7 weeks of great showcases of the development of a variety of fighters that are looking to win it all, to become SPIKE's next "Ultimate Fighter". Are they all potential winners? Not really. This season has offered what I think is easily the most diverse skill set to date that's allowed us to see "it all." From those on the cusp of fighting greatness, to the men where we wonder how they've reached this level in this venue. Episode 8 provides us with even more perspective and gives us a quick glimpse into the realm of this year's semi-finals! It's all included in this episode of The 2GuysTalking Podcast: Savage Science Style on The 2GuysTalking Podcast Network

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This review, like many of my online feature film podcast reviews, will be done in a "stream of consciousness" format, providing you essentially what I think as this episode airs. Read on below and be sure to chime in and tell us what YOU think of this review of The Ultimate Fighter via the 2GuysTalking: Savage Science-style podcast!

-- A lot of people expected a LOT more out of Scott Junk: Good grief, who DIDN'T. Everyone that was interviewed, including Dana White, President of the UFC touted Scott Junk as the second coming and the man who would not only destroy Matt Mitrione, but have a good chance to take the title of this year's show. Not so, Dana. With the sample gas tank displayed this evening, I think it's almost safe to say that Scott Junk WILL NOT BE THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER: Heavyweights 2009. I am eager to see how his next fight will go however. Read more on that below.

-- Third round he'd have won the fight??? Rampage has clearly been sniffing glue in addition to destroying doors. If, as displayed clearly since the 50 second-in mark of Round 1, Scott Junk was running with no gas left in the rank, how on EARTH could a third round have helped him win the fight over Mitrione? The second round has some nice punching from both, but clearly, both had nothing left at the end of the second round and would have just circled themselves into oblivion and us into boredom. Yet another interesting and delusional perspective from a failed coach.

-- Why are you tearing down a door? Rashad asks this and while it's fitting that he asks the question, all he has to do is look at the previous reels of this season and the general actions of Rampage's career to see "why" he did it. When logic, reason and skill set fail Rampage, his savage instinct kicks in and -- well: down goes the door in 6 easy whacks and a head butt.

-- Sims Party goes over like a lead balloon: While the Mythbusters recently proved that a balloon made of lead CAN and will float, Wes Sims' concocted idiot session here is beyond lame. I know that all of us have need for attention, sure, but Wes builds an event of especially idiotic mentaltude here. The only thing worse than seeing it presented in the show, is that I actually took the time to craft a bullet point and podcast showcase for it. Ha!

-- Marcus feels he has a good shot of winning (CARDIO...): Something we've seen since the latter minutes of week 1 this season is that Marcus is huge. True. We've seen that Marcus has incredible zeal for the sport of MMA. Also true. What we've also seen is that Marcus has significant problems with his endurance. Will he be able to find and MAUL his opponent in this upcoming bout before his cardio fails him? Will his opponent know and consider that before going in?

-- Mike's wife has cancer: A very interesting perspective that I'm very surprised we're only hearing about. I really would like to have more background detail on the people and players in the series that provide more perspective on their lives that they've left behind for 8 weeks. The problem is that there's such a fine line of detailing their backgrounds and pandering to an audience. I've only felt that they get it right a few times in this show and maybe that's why they DON'T go into depth in regard to the fighters' backgrounds and lives?

-- Never became a student of the game - a great perspective: Marcus gives some outstanding insight in regard to his NFL career that I think is some of the best information I've garnered inside of The Ultimate Fighter since I started reviewing it. He talks about being "in the NFL" but finally realized that unlike many of the NFL greats, he "never became a student of the game." I wonder how many of us aren't "students of" our current careers and would benefit taking up something different? Something that might be an offshoot of what we're doing that allows us to garner and focus collected skill sets to make a different and better path perhaps? I love it when the show provides something like this that makes us think not only about what we're watching, but gives us the ability to launch some self-review. Great stuff.

-- "I ain't gonna hold back any more. I'm going to rip his arm off": Marcus tells us of the fate that awaits for the man that wrote "SUCKS BALLS" on a recently-drawn cartoon of him and this bloodlust, the want to "rip someone's arm off" is something that's been missing from him in general and it's great to see. It's just strange that it takes something that he thinks is this extreme to get him into that frame of mind.

== General Fight Prediction Vibe:

-- Marcus Jones: Marcus breaks the gloves as they try to stuff his fists into the extra, extra, extra large gloves into gloves that aren't nearly extra large enough to accommodate some serious meat hooks. It's also amazing to see how THICK Marcus is without a shirt. we've only seen him with a shirt on but it's clear to see why he was a defensive tackle at one time. The man is MASSIVE.

-- Mike Wessel: the vibe of the episode has put a lot of responsibility and almost no hope in this fight for Wessel. The bottom line is will Wessel be able to land enough damage to get Jones into a position of trouble before Marcus can literally get his gigantor-hands on him. Mike has heart, he's ready for battle, but he may be the best case sample for why there needs to be an additional class of Heavyweights in MMA. He is NOT massive.

Tonight's fight will follow the same format as previous seasons, with 2 5-minute rounds, and should it be tied at the end of those 2 rounds, there's a "sudden victory" round that will decide the match.

The 2GuysTalking TUF Tally for the Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights on SPIKE

TONITE'S FIGHT BEGINS

== Marcus Jones Vs. Mike Wessel

Round 1

Wessel immediately circles to his left as Jones lumbers straight forward. The Darkness is THICK and it's clear to see how he was a defensive tackle in another previous athletic life. Wessel winds up and swings for Jones' chin and connects on Jones shoulder with a hard right and they go immediately to a quick clinch. They trade a couple of swipes but Jones is clearly looking to clinch and use his size to overwhelm the smaller 6' fighter Wessel.

Wessel attempts to take a high clinch and trip Jones backwards, but as they fall, Jones is able to reverse their roles and lands DEAD on top of Wessel. Jones deadweights on top of Wessel and it's AMAZING to see the difference in the hand size and the general shoulder girth of both fighters in comparison and ohh it looks like Jones is immediately going for an arm lock as he is on top - but Wessel wiggles free of the hold and gives up back while trying to take wrist control.

Jones lays in the hooks and rolls Wessel onto this back and peppers in some blows to soften up the arms in what looks to be an eventual rear naked choke attempt. Wessel is able to turn toward Jones who has taken apparent control of Wessel's right wrist with both hands and - just as quickly as we were all awed by Marcus Jones' size comparison in the ring, he armbars Mike Wessel who screams out TAP TAP TAP! because he is physically unable to do so with both arms pinned and the fight - the first and only in the winning category for team Rampage out of 8 total is now over!

Winner by armbar, gigantic Marcus Jones.

-- We team rampage for life: An offer of support and continued activity went out for all of the members of "team" Rampage from Rashad and I have to tell you - after the general shoulder-shrugging-style performance of Rampage as a coach, I was AMAZED to see that none of the fighters on Rampage's losing team had interest in participating in training activity with Team Rashad. At this point, Rampage's "sample" of coaching this season was less than even remotely par and they have nothing to lose now SURELY that Jackson has left the fight game. They had the chance for more action and perhaps a hand up in the future and I think, watched it be extended and fade.

-- Who they wanna fight and why they wanna fight 'em: I LOVE this portion of each season because we get to see some of the gameplan of the fight game and mentality. Is this something YOU like to see and would like to see more of? Be sure to let us know what YOU think and please do let us know that you'd like to see more of this as we do. There's way more to the fight game that should be shown and we're eager to lend your opinions to our perspective. Access our website at 2GuysTalking.Com, click on the contact button on the top right hand side of the page and let us know what you think!

-- Dana's Proclivity to hate Roy: As the fighters are ushered in to ask them who they'd like to fight, we see Roy Nelson come in and offer up his thoughts. I guess it's just an internal thing that Dana actually says he can't articulate, but wow. If you're going to crap all over an eager (even if he thought he was only semi) talented fighter, than why let him on the show in general? Is this the reason we haven't seen Roy since week.

The Quarter Final Listings for SPIKE's The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights

Roy Nelson Vs Justin Wren

Brendan Schaub Vs John

James Vs Matt Mitrione

Marcus Jones Vs. Darrill Schoonover

-- We gotta throw Rampage a bone? Dana insists that the general play of the season needs to be bent so that Rampage can be "thrown a bone." How about we DON'T twist the rules to give a clearly ungrateful, unessential part of this season of The Ultimate Fighter any concessions at all? How about we encourage future inserted coaches to perform up to the par or to wave-off because they'll understand the level of embarrassment and damage to their career if they want to emulate/be like Rampage? I don't understand that. For all the complaining he does about "performance" and "excitement" to Roy in this episode, Dana completely misses the boat here during the last Rampage >GASP<.

-- "I don't give up on my team, homie": Apparently someone needs to invite Rampage over to watch the previous episode of this season of The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights. There are at least 6 times this season where clearly, Rampage has given up on his team and when you consider each time he acts out or embarrasses himself, you have to remember - he's embarrassing all of the people that "serve" on his team at the same time. That fact and thought not only passes over Rampage, it never entered his mind and he's clearly delusional here at the end of this episode, drunk clearly with the first and only win he'll see this season on SPIKE.

-- The Savage Science Moral: The best showcase that this episode provides is the influence of peer pressure. The best way I can share this viewpoint with you is to ask you if YOU would have taken up the offer to go and get in some training with Rashad's team after the fight selection. Other than "losing out on Rampage's potential future respect" inside of the show where he offers you almost nothing in the way of coaching, what does anyone have to lose going to work out some more while staying at the TUF House, on their dime, for the next less than a week (as the show finishes out). When it's all said and done, it's about who wants to work who wants to learn and who wants to learn more than the other guy and none of Team Rampage's participants could be hurt by "more work" since almost all of their stays at The Ultimate Fighter are now done.

-- The Savage Science Quote: "I never became a student of the game..." -- Marcus Jones I would really like to have the opportunity to interview Marcus, mostly because of the people on site this season, he seems to have the most insight and is influenced by different kinds of currents in his mindset. That he's "emotional" but almost overtly mechanical when he fights in the ring and while being instructed is incredibly mystifying to me.

-- Overall Show Rating: This episodes receives an 8 of 10 Savage Skullies. Yet another very solid offering here as we crescendo to the end of the season and into mid-November 2009. I've always been plain about my like of being able to see the "process" of how the show works and this episode gives us a lot of that and a good solid, no BS fight on top of it. We're in for a real treat as the semi-finals unfold over the next couple of weeks and I'm engaged and eager to see what awaits.

I'm still wondering what YOU thought of this episode and hope that you'll take just a moment to fill out the comment section below to tell us what YOU think, or send me your details to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Look for more here as THE SAVAGE SCIENCE continues to review this season of The Ultimate Fighter: HEAVYWEIGHTS!

Don't miss the Savage Science Style podcast review/recap of THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER Episode 8!

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