Cagewriter - UFC

Zak Jensen is Cagewriter's guest blogger during TUF 10

Let's start off with the obvious, the coaches rallying around Kimbo after he lost. This is the first time any of Team Rampage's coaches and even Quinton "Rampage" Jackson showed any concern for someone who lost. Rampage has Kimbo Slice's [expletive] in his mouth and so does Tiki Ghosn. When Rampage told Tiki they would still focus on Kimbo just in case someone got hurt, it was clear to me that it was all about Kimbo and no one else on our team.  

Marcus Jones then broke into a sweat and got the shakes. He sweats more than anyone I've ever known. He'd have to change shirts at least twice a practice. He'd have a hydration kit during practice which consisted of two 32-ounce Pedialytes and about six 20-ounce bottles of water. Marcus would consume all that and still lose five-to-eight pounds of water each practice. In the house, he was just overheated and dehydrated. He drank some pedialyte and was fine.

Kimbo gets all excited and says, "Tag me in."  Really? You want to get taken down again and pounded out again? Roy planned to crucifix him and he did exactly what he wanted  If Kimbo thinks that he's ready for another fight when Rashad Evans still has a really good wrestler left to fight, he needs to think again. And if they give Kimbo another shot, it's all about ratings. Out of the three people eliminated to that point, Wes Shivers, who got screwed out of a third round, should get put back in.

Rashad had his team and coaches come into their locker room to discuss the best matchup for his guys. Justin Wren was told he was going to fight Scott Junk. He left  the room and then Matt Mitrione came in. He was told he's going to fight Marcus. Justin returned and said he didn't want to fight Scott in the first round and that they're best friends and roommates. That's understandable, just like Rashad said about his teammate Keith Jardine.

With Justin, that was from the heart, not because he was scared to fight Scott. Matt on the other hand, went and told Scott about the whole fight plan of Team Rashad. Matt is a meat-head and an idiot. He said he wasn't thinking but I think he didn't want to fight Marcus. For once, James McSweeney was right in saying that Matt was afraid. Matt screwed over his whole team and he didn't understand that.

Rampage and Co. had a nice lunch before Rogers' fight

Before the fight picks, Rampage, Tiki and Tom went for a walk to discuss their strategy. Demico Rogers wanted to fight since we had our teams picked. He thought he could take Brendan standing or on the ground. The fight started with Demico taking a horrible shot and Brendan stuffing it. Demico finally got a double and took Brendan down. Demico didn't look like he knew what to do while in Brendan's guard. He did some ground and pound then finally advanced position to side mount and when he went for full mount, Brendan swept him. Somehow Demico bellied out and basically gave Brendan a choke.

The fight was over and we were down 0-4. Now that I have talked about another dismal and boring fight, let's talk about Team Rampage's coaches' behavior before and after this fight.

The coaches decided to go to lunch after we had our practice. Okay, it was two hours before the fight. I mean, go grab a sub or some fast food but don't go to a sitdown restaurant. It showed that they weren't thinking about Demico or his fight. They didn't get there until about a half hour before the fight started. We were all sitting in the locker room waiting with Demico and listening to Brandon get ready. It was extremely disheartening that our coaches were nowhere in sight. They finally get there and say sorry, the Thai place was packed, and that they should've left someone at the gym. It just showed where Rampage's head was.

Then after the fight, they just left Demico in the cage by himself. Rashad and Trevor Wittman went over to see if he was okay, to tell him that it was a good fight and he just got caught. Those were all things that Rampage and his coaching staff should've done. Team Rampage's coaches spoke to Brandon before they talked to Demico. It was ridiculous and showed Rampage has basically given up on his team. The coaches went to have a meeting and came back to the locker room.

That's when Rampage told Demico he gave up in the cage. You never say that to a fighter when his dream at being The Ultimate Fighter was just taken away. What kind of coaching style is that? Also the last thing Rampage said was that he had to go and read a part of the book he was carrying around for his acting class. I have an idea, why don't you start acting like a [expletive] coach!

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  1. Biggn
    1. Posted by Biggn Thu Oct 08, 2009 4:36 pm EDT

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    Rampage is a douche, I've lost major respect for him after watching some of this show. What a dumbass.
  2. Steven F
    2. Posted by Steven F Thu Oct 08, 2009 4:37 pm EDT

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    I like cookies
  3. Allen
    3. Posted by Allen Thu Oct 08, 2009 4:37 pm EDT

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    Rampage is proving to be quite the tool this season.
    Why should Rampage be any different then any self centered athlete in America, or the world for that matter.
    All his Real World camera exposes.
    All his comments, jokes, and facial expressions.
    WTH?
    Try coaching these guys who came onto this show and thought they had a chance to win.
    Try encouraging the fighters who have yet to fight instead of beating the dead Kimbo horse even more.
    Enough with the stupid ass cocked hat too.
    We get it.
    You are looking to build street cred and love to jabber jaw with Evans to get it.
    Take a note from Rashad.
    As much as I never liked his attitude (or him) from his days on TUF all the way through his UFC career, last night he proved something in that way of class and sportsmanship.
    All you did was call coaches meeting and call your fighter green and say that we cannot teach them too much
    I think his loss to Machida showed Rashad that the cocky meter was registering a little high and he got humbled by it.
    For you Rampage, all your loss of the title did was make you even more cocky.
    .
  4. Cracker
    4. Posted by Cracker Thu Oct 08, 2009 4:37 pm EDT

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    Wow, tell us what you really think Zak! I love this and can't wait to read the next one.
    I really went into this season a big fan of Rampage and disliked Rashaad... now I'm the complete opposite.
  5. Bryce
    5. Posted by Bryce Thu Oct 08, 2009 4:40 pm EDT

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    i was a Rampage fan up until this last episode...real lack of class on his part
  6. Bryce
    6. Posted by Bryce Thu Oct 08, 2009 4:41 pm EDT

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    and im sick of Kimbo the guy is a hack
  7. thuginme31
    7. Posted by thuginme31 Thu Oct 08, 2009 4:44 pm EDT

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    real messed up how he did demico... but allen what do rampage wearing his hat cocked got to do with trying to be street... he aint got to try he from memphis that aint no nice place.. you probably wouldn't know that tho
  8. jfourg
    8. Posted by jfourg Thu Oct 08, 2009 4:55 pm EDT

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    i want to fight kimbo. I think he is overated. I have seen Kimbo get beat with one punch, beat up bad by a cop (off duty) and they kept stopping that fight because Kimbo was getting beat so bad. I know it was a few years ago but come on with all the hype. Sure he is big black and muscular, but if you aint scared he is just a man. Yes an angry man and a tough man, however, still just a man. I would fight Kimbo for as little as 10 grand. I am not a fighter. I was a Marine and am 6'1 230, but not a trained "fighter" like Kimbo. My point is watching Kimbo fight is no big deal. I would fight him, just to show that fighting him isnt as big as you think. Anyway, waste of time talking about it. Kimbo call me 941 661 2181 I live near Sarasota, I know you know where that is. My bet is he wont do it. why? because if I win he looks real real bad, if I lose, well he is a "trained" fighter now right.
    --JG
  9. thuginme31
    9. Posted by thuginme31 Thu Oct 08, 2009 4:56 pm EDT

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    demico should be the dude to replace somebody... if yalll want to blame somebody about hype and trying to get big ratings... blame that on spike and dana, kimbo didn't tell them to put him on all the previews like that..
  10. thuginme31
    10. Posted by thuginme31 Thu Oct 08, 2009 5:10 pm EDT

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    yeah kimbo really gone see that jfourg
  11. TheTruth
    11. Posted by TheTruth Thu Oct 08, 2009 5:17 pm EDT

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    Rampage obviously has no interest in MMA anymore. He just wants to be an actor and be famous. He couldn't care less about this show. Too bad all his contenders are gonna suffer because of it. All they're left to do is post poorly written blog rants.
  12. BNG
    12. Posted by BNG Thu Oct 08, 2009 5:18 pm EDT

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    Allen, Rampage isn't trying to be street. He's just never been coached on how to wear a hat. I know you're in no way trying to defend Rampage's complete lack of competence as a coach on this show. He is putting his fighters through a workout regimen that he may or may not use himself, I don't know. But he and his staff are not addressing the needs of any of the fighters, save Slice. They are not working strategy. They are not working to fill gaps in their game. And as cornermen they are embarrassing. This is the worst coaching since Ken Shamrock took his team out to play golf and his rotund strength coach told them all to eat steak the night before a fight.
    I so want TUF to be must-see TV. But right now, I feel embarrassed for the UFC every time it is on. Dana White, if you're listening, go back to the formula that worked in the beginning. Hungry fighters. Good coaches. Coaches that can actually train fighters. How about having the heads of two of the most prominent camps in MMA coach each team. The rule being no fighter on the show can train with their own camp on the show. So you have one team coached by Team Quest and the other by Xtreme Couture (for example). For each win a gym gets $5k or something (I'm just throwing out a number). The gym winning the finale gets a $25k purse and the winning fighter gets a UFC contract. We would see good coaching, good fights, and the winner would have an idea about the top-level training required for the UFC. Heck, maybe even Big Country would move out of his basement and join a gym.
  13. wave f
    13. Posted by wave f Thu Oct 08, 2009 5:19 pm EDT

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    I cant believe DW allowed Rampage to look like such an ass on TUF. I thought that was one of his top meal tickets. I guess when you save somebody in a bad situation as DW did for Ramapge you dont need to pay them back any respect. Hence the reason Rampage is falling in the popularity category. Im glad that some of his fans are finally seeing him for what he has always been.
  14. BNG
    14. Posted by BNG Thu Oct 08, 2009 5:21 pm EDT

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    Is there a thug in you 31? Isn't that uncomfortable?
  15. Robert C
    15. Posted by Robert C Thu Oct 08, 2009 5:31 pm EDT

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    Good stuff. Of course this piece alludes to Kimbo coming back also.
    Wes did get screwed, but he was tired about 2 minutes into the fight and nobody wants to see that again.
  16. thuginme31
    16. Posted by thuginme31 Thu Oct 08, 2009 5:35 pm EDT

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    it mean the inner thug in somebody.. its a song by spice 1... but im not trying to act all hard and be gangsta on here... and alot of ppl wear they hat cocked
  17. BNG
    17. Posted by BNG Thu Oct 08, 2009 5:42 pm EDT

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    Agree Robert C. I think most agree we don't want to see any of these guys fight again. I include Nelson in that. I'm not saying he's bad. I'm saying I don't want to see him fight again. Wes may have deserved a third round, but that whole fight was tedious.
  18. BNG
    18. Posted by BNG Thu Oct 08, 2009 5:58 pm EDT

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    Here's my question about the cocked hat: why? Is it more comfortable? Does it keep the sun out of one eye? Is it a counter-culture thing? Is it just a look the wearer is going for? If so, what message or impression does the wearer think that look transmits? I have similar questions about men coloring their hair, wearing multiple piercings and tatooing most of their body like a Yakuza enforcer or a Maori warrior. If its cultural, got it. When it's not, why?
  19. thuginme31
    19. Posted by thuginme31 Thu Oct 08, 2009 6:07 pm EDT

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    its a style thats it.. it aint nothing else to it, just like ppl wear their hats turned back
  20. The Unsilent Majority
    20. Posted by The Unsilent Majority Thu Oct 08, 2009 6:10 pm EDT

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    Great blog by Zak. Rampage is really showing his true colors, and you have to wonder how badly his coaches' camps will suffer on account of their poor effort on the show.
  21. scott t
    21. Posted by scott t Thu Oct 08, 2009 6:55 pm EDT

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    This is UFC s great answer to new heavyweights? It is laughable how untalented alot of these guys are. TUF s ratings are up no doubt, but the show is not entertaining, and the fights are even worse. Maybe DW will invite Hershel Walker to the next show to get ratings! And the article written about Brock paints him in a light he is not. Stating he owns old cars and lives on a farm is a far cry from the way he lived for ten years in the wwf, murciellagos and 25000 square foot home. Guess you make anyone into anything on here if no one is informed.
  22. B
    22. Posted by B Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:17 pm EDT

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    I'm glad Rampage is done with MMA. What a piece of self centered crap.
  23. Collin C
    23. Posted by Collin C Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:50 pm EDT

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    Is anyone surprised that Page is a bad coach? Did anyone see him coach against forrest in season 7
  24. Brandon
    24. Posted by Brandon Thu Oct 08, 2009 8:22 pm EDT

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    CaliNiner, Rampage deserves the verbal bashing. I used to be a huge Rampage fan because he was funny and from my hometown and was a good fighter, but his recent behavor and actions has really changed my opinion on the guy. He's been backing out of fights for movies, been making poor moral decisions, and has been acting like a jackass on TUF. Not to mention his horrible coaching skills. I used to hate Rashad like no other, but I kind of like and respect him now and I pretty much can't stand Rampage anymore. What a turn around!
  25. Allen
    25. Posted by Allen Thu Oct 08, 2009 9:05 pm EDT

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    Maybe Rampage is bi-polar??
    He might have not recovered from losing to Forest, or losing his title for that matter.
    He and Junie can get a group rate on Prozac.

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