http://www.mmafighting.com/ufc/2012/5/14/3019538/ultimate-fighter-season-9-winner-james-wilks-retires
Posts Tagged ‘The Ultimate Fighter’
UFC flyweight Louis "Goodnight" Gaudinot weighs in for his "Ultimate Fighter" Season 14 fight in Las Vegas last year. (Photo courtesy of ufc.com)
UFC flyweight Louis “Goodnight” Gaudinot’s fighting career is all about standing out from the pack.
For starters, the 5-2 Hoboken, N.J. fighter can claim a stint on the 14th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” for his meteoric rise up the MMA ranks. Not content for mere exposure on the hit TV show, he went on to win “Fight of the Season” accolades in a submission loss to Dustin “The Disciple” Pague. Nearly a year later, Gaudinot (Twitter: @LouGaudinotUFC) credits the show as pivotal boost to his career.
“Being on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ got my name out there instead of coming into the UFC by the usual route,” Gaudinot told MMADiehards on Tuesday’s MMA Beatdown. “Recognition is the biggest thing. You’re on the show for 12 or 13 weeks and people seeing you every week is definitely good for your career.”
It helped that punk rock style stood out in a house of 16 aspiring UFC athletes. When he wasn’t putting on star-making fights, Gaudinot was attracting constant stares with his bright green hair. With his season now over, it’s a look the flyweight said isn’t leaving anytime soon.
“I’ll always have the green hair,” Gaudinot declared. “It’s my trademark. It helps people recognize me. I can’t get rid of it.”
Gaudinot will next try making his mark with a UFC on Fox 3 match against Brazil’s 19-5 John “Mao-de-Pedra” Lineker on Saturday. On paper, it’s a close contest as both men are debuting in the UFC’s flyweight division. Gaudinot, however, maintains he’ll have an advantage given that Lineker doesn’t love fighting at 125 lbs. like he does.
“All my pro fights have been at flyweight,” said Gaudinot, who moved up to bantamweight for his “Ultimate Fighter” exhibition match. “It’s my natural weight class. It feels good to be back where I started. It feels like I’m home.”
Such confidence doesn’t mean Gaudinot is looking past Lineker. On the contrary, he said he sees his opponent as a tough challenge to overcome.
“Lineker’s put together a nice run of 12 wins in a row, 13 wins in a row,” Gaudinot said. “He likes to swing and throw bombs. At the same time, I’m not seeing him dropping anybody with one punch. I’m looking to go in there and trade with him.”
It’s a high risk, high reward strategy in the UFC’s new flyweight division. Launched with a four-person title tournament in March, a champion remains uncrowned as semi-finalist Joseph “Joe B-Wan Kenobi” Benavidez awaits the victor of Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall vs. Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson in June. For division rookies like Gaudinot, it won’t take long entering the rankings and storming the title holder’s gates.
“Right now the flyweight division is up in the air,” said Gaudinot, who estimates the UFC has signed eight flyweights besides himself. “With two or three impressive fights you could be fighting for the title as you’ve beaten two-thirds of the roster for your division. It’s definitely exciting.”
All the same, Gaudinot said he prefers fighting smart rather than speculating on the future. When the cage door closes for his match against Lineker, he said he’ll go after what works rather than people’s predictions.
“The division is young,” Gaudinot said. “I’m looking to move myself up the ladder. I’m not going to go out there and force anything. If I hurt him I’m going to finish him then.”
TUF: Live contestants Chris Saunders and Sam Sicilia (Photo courtesy of mixedmartialarts.com)
As the eighth episode of “The Ultimate Fighter: Live” begins, we watch some highlights from the previous week’s episode, in which Team Cruz’s Vinc Pichel forced Team Faber’s John Cofer to tap via arm-triangle choke early in the sudden death third round.
Heading into tonight’s episode, Team Cruz has evened up the fights at three apiece and recaptured fight control. The seventh live fight selected for tonight’s show is a bout between Sam Sicilia of Team Cruz and representing Team Faber will be Chris Saunders.
Cruz was a lot happier after this fight compared to the previous performance of Chris Tickle, praising Pichel for listening to his advice going in for the third round. He was told to go out there and make it a street fight and that is exactly what he did, securing the win.
Still taking the loss hard, Cofer was short for words about the loss and only promised that he’ll be back.
The Team Cruz training session started and team headmaster, Cruz, brought in a special guest to help with training. Being the first woman invited to be a guest trainer on The Ultimate Fighter, Strikeforce 135-pound woman’s champion, Ronda Rousey, joined the team for the day. Rousey showed the team various judo techniques and they were more than willing to absorb everything that the champ had to throw at them.
Back at the TUF house the entire cast got together to watch UFC 145: Evans vs. Jones, including Rousey. With the woman’s champ also being the first female in the TUF house, it clearly showed by the silence of her entrance. With the fighters being secluded from the outside world, especially women, it led for awkward moments.
At the Team Faber training session, Saunders has all this skills that are necessary, but Faber points out that the self-confidence of his fighter is an area needing work. Realizing that, Saunders felt that with him being the last chosen at team selection this is an opportunity to take out the number two pick and improve his stock. The plan set by Faber for Saunders is to stick and move, getting out of the way of Sicilia’s wild punches.
Fighting 11 times last year alone, Sicilia rededicated himself to the sport and is ready to for his opportunity. Focusing on Sicilia’s speed combined with his power, Team Cruz looked to make it a long night for Saunders by blasting him apart in the center of the ring before establishing the takedown.
Pranks start up again at the house and Team Cruz is accused of the traditional tampering of the kitchen faucet and Mike Rio states the fact that he’ll get crazy if someone tries to touch his hair. In the backyard, Saunders broke down his life coming up to this point, describing how his parents weren’t around while growing up and how that has affected his life today by making him a stronger person.
Deciding to try and get under Cruz’s skin, Faber and the coaching staff removed all the furniture from Team Cruz’s dressing room and replaced it with workout equipment. Getting down to their underwear, team Alpha Male worked up a sweat when Team Cruz members showed up to their room, which caused a bit of a stink.
At the weigh-ins, Sicilia checked in at 155-pounds for Team Cruz, while Saunders matched his opponent Team Faber. As Cruz gave his fighter last minute pointers on ground control, Faber advised Saunders to utilize the push kick to keep Sicilia away.
To start the seventh live fight, Sicilia comes out throwing punches with bad intentions, but didn’t manage to land anything significant. Midway through the round, Saunders finds his comfort zone and lands a head kick that drops Sicilian on his face. Managing to recover, Sicilia got back to his feet and makes it to the second round.
The game plan of Sicilia is apparent well into the second round, he wants to knockout his opponent, but the chin of Saunders says otherwise. The Team Cruz member did manage to drop Saunders with a wild left hook, but that wasn’t enough to make a difference in the eyes of the judge’s. Team Cruz’s Sicilia has felt defeat for the first time, falling short by split decision to Saunders.
Happy with the victory, Saunders puts the equation together that added up to his victory.
“It went exactly as I thought,” Saunders said. “Sam was second pick and a tough individual, but I have a great team behind me to help me out, and I had confidence; that’s all you need.”
Sicilia was also short with words, but realized what he did wrong coming into the decision loss.
“I didn’t believe in my wrestling as much as I could,” Sicilia admits. “Other than that I made it a fight and lost a decision to a tough guy; there’s nothing else.”
Coming into the fight announcements UFC president, Dana White, states that he saw the fight going to a third and final round, as supposed to the judges.
Team Faber takes back control of the fight picks, but it is rendered useless, as there is only one fight left. The eighth live fight to take place next Friday is between, Mike Rio of Team Cruz and Andy Ogle of Team Faber.
Vinc Pichel facing John Cofer at TUF: Live Episode 7 (Photo courtesy of: Sherdog)
As the seventh episode of “The Ultimate Fighter: Live” begins, we watch some highlights from the previous week’s episode, in which Team Faber’s Joe Proctor forced Team Cruz’s Chris Tickle to tap via rear-naked choke submission.
Heading into tonight’s episode, Team Faber has captured three straight wins to lead the show over the two wins of Team Cruz. The sixth live fight selected for tonight’s show is a bout between John Cofer of Team Faber against Team Cruz’ Vinc Pichel.
Cruz starts out the show by giving last week’s loser, Tickle, some tough love. Emphasizing the fact that this was a fight that he should not have lost, Cruz stated that the only reason that Tickle lost was because he wasn’t listening to what the coaches had to say during the fight. Cruz put down a heavy scolding on Tickle that showed his true frustrations about fighters not listening, and losing to his nemesis, Faber.
Faber and members of his team heard what was happening in Team Cruz’ post-fight meeting and extended congratulations to Tickle for a good fight. The resulting argument between the two coaches is intense, with Cruz calling Faber “irrelevant.”
Back at the house, the effects of the solitude start to take a hold of the fighters, especially Andy Ogle. Both mentally and physically, Ogle was struggling and it carries over to the training session where Faber took notice and gave him the rest of the day off to rest and get back to normal.
At Team Cruz’ practice their main focus was on Pichel and preparing him for the next bout. The game plan set forth was to defend all takedown attempts by Cofer and to finish him on the feet with a knockout. Pressure also hits Team Cruz Sam Sicilia, as he is trying to live up to the hype of being the No. 2 pick, but feels like he isn’t. Cruz took Sicilia aside and told him that pick has nothing to do with the fights and he should concentrate on learning.
During the Team Faber training session they had a strict game plan set for Cofer. Knowing that Pichel is weak within the realm of wrestling and has an advantage with striking, Cofer is to use his wrestling pedigree to his full advantage. Faber prepared his fighter for the flashy strikes to come from the bigger Pichel with strategic counters and takedowns.
Once again, the head of Ogle is starting to run wild and the loyalty of Mike Chiesa to his team came into question. Both teams know of “Team Purple” that was developed between Chiesa and Sicilia, but the information they share comes in to question by the British fighter. Ogle approached Chiesa about the situation and was reassured that his loyalty to the team is strong and to not worry.
At the weigh-ins, Pichel steps up first and registers at 154-pounds, while Cofer shows up at 156-pounds. After the weigh-ins are complete UFC president, Dana White, held the fighters back to give some words of encouragement, knowing the show is at the point where it is starting to have an effect on them.
“Whether you win this thing or don’t,” said White. “You’ll be a better fighter, a better man, a better person and it will pay off in the end.”
To start the bout, both fighters come out tentative with Pichel chasing Cofer around the Octagon, missing his attempts with punches and head kicks. Midway through the round, Cofer has yet to attempt a take down, but has become comfortable on his feet and is starting to pick apart Pichel.
Meeting in the middle of the cage, they continue where they left off, but Cofer managed to land a left hand that almost put Pichel to the mat. However, flipping the switch, Pichel went for the takedown and slammed Cofer into the canvas. Team Cruz’ Pichel, remained in a reverse mounted position to end the round, sending the bout to a sudden death third round.
Pichel wastes no time, taking down Cofer early in the round and achieving side control in the process. Setting up the submission, Pichel transitioned to mount, locked on an arm-triangle, took side control once more which forced Cofer to tap 44-seconds into the sudden death round.
“Cofer is a tough ass dude,” Pichel said during the post-fight interview. “I honestly thought I was going to be able to come out here and pick him apart with shots, but look, he got me and that’s all I can really say.
“I came out with a game plan and when a game plan fails, you go for broke. That’s what I did and I came out on top so I’m happy.”
Team Faber’s Cofer took the loss hard and had little to say after the fight.
“It is a tough pill to swallow when you lose,” Cofer explained. “Hats off to Vinc, he’s a good fighter, obviously.”
Showing his excitement for the live fight, White, expressed his feelings about what he saw in the Octagon.
“Those guys never stopped battling,” White said. “It was an absolute war and that is what I love.”
Taking back control of the fight picks, the victory for Team Cruz evens the fights at three apiece. To end the show, coach Cruz selected Sam Sicilia to represent his team against Team Faber’s Chris Saunders in next week’s live fight.
Joe Proctor submitting Chris Tickle during TUF: Live Episode 6 (Photo courtesy of sherdog.com)
As the sixth episode of “The Ultimate Fighter: Live” begins, we watch some highlights from the previous week’s episode, in which Team Faber’s Mike Chiesa defeated Team Cruz’s Jeremy Larsen via unanimous decision.
Heading into tonight’s episode, the two teams are tied 2-2 with the upcoming fifth opening-round fight, which pits Team Cruz’s Chris Tickle vs. Team Faber’s Joe Proctor. Tickle apparently arrived at the Chiesa vs. Larsen fight rather drunk, and his loud mouth was growing tired on head coach Dominick Cruz.
“When he wakes up tomorrow and realizes he has to fight Procter, he’s going to [expletive] himself,” one Team Faber fighter jokes.
Back at the house, both Tickle and Proctor appear confident. Proctor likes his upcoming opponent, but he can simply smirk as he watches a drunken Tickle eat corndogs soon after weighing himself. Teammate Justin Lawrence wonders if Tickle is really ready for the challenge ahead of him and makes mention of his constant distractions during training sessions.
At a Team Cruz training session, the UFC bantamweight champion apologizes to Tickle for being hard on him the night before. The coach realizes he’s just better off letting Tickle do his thing and prepare for the fight as he sees fit. Nonetheless, Cruz calls for an intense workout, and he pits Lawrence against Mike Rio for some sparring. An intense Lawrence riles Rio, who soon resorts to takedowns and submission to combat the kicks coming at him. Things are heated, but the coach likes the intensity.
Both combatants prepared their game plans with Tickle expecting to keep the fight standing and Proctor wanting to pick his opponent apart on the feet and mix in takedowns when he can.
Tickle showed up at the weigh-ins with a slice of pizza and tipped the scales at a trim 153-pounds. Proctor was ready and weighed in at 155-pounds when called.
Starting the fight, Tickle came out aggressive landing clean shots and winning the exchanges. Proctor weathered the early storm and settled into his game plan. Coming in to the closing minute of the first round, Proctor secured a double leg takedown and quickly took Tickle’s back. It wasn’t long before Proctor applied a rear naked choke, forcing Tickle to eventually tap to the submission.
The official time of the victory was at the 4:42 mark of the first round.
Proctor had nothing but praises for the outspoken Tickle following the fight and wasn’t surprised he finished with a submission.
“Tickle is tough,” said Proctor. “He hits like a truck. I know you guys don’t like him out there, but he’s a good guy. He’s tough, so watch out for him.
“That’s my game; Lauzon MMA. I’m a jiu-jitsu guy. I love to bang, I love to take punches off the chin, but I did my job here,” he said.
Tickle was gracious in defeat and Coach Faber made note of it prior to announcing next week’s match up.
“He got in deep on me,” said Tickle. ”He took me down and I hurried to get up and he got my back man. He’s tough as hell.”
Team Faber has strung together a three fight win streak and maintained matchmaking control. Coach Faber called on John Cofer to face Team Cruz’ Vinc Pichel in next week’s live fight
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Louis Gaudinot
TUF Life Radio on MMADieHards.com and the MMADieHards Radio Network airs on MMADieHards.com as Matt Leung and TUF 14 contestant Louis Gaudinot talk about the latest episode with Dustin Pague and TJ Dillashaw.
If you cannot catch the episode live, it is available on demand RIGHT HERE shortly after completion of the live broadcast.
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Jon Anik
From ESPN’s MMA Live to UFC live play-by-play, Jon Anik does not forget how it all started.
Starting his run at ESPN in radio in 2006, Anik’s career last week hit a level most media members strive for but rarely reach. After ascending to what was considered the top of the sports media market, it is now time for Anik to reach new heights.
In 2008, ESPN recognized a unique aspect of his skill set and put him in the driver’s seat as it started MMA Live. Putting aside his work with mainstream sports, Anik left the Worldwide Leader for the UFC.
“After five-and-a-half or six years of being with ESPN I’m moving on to the UFC and actually moving to Vegas on Saturday,” Anik told Rear Naked Choke Radio on the MMADieHards Radio Network. He was headed to the airport for a red-eye flight from Las Vegas to Connecticut to anchor MMA Live for the final time last Friday. His first official day at the UFC was Halloween.
While working with ESPN, Anik broadcast other sports such as college football and boxing, and anchored updates and a popular fantasy football show. Making the move to the UFC will involve Anik narrowing his focus of concentration into the UFC stable.
Helping to guide the direction that MMA Live took over the years gave Anik a parental feeling over the show. The opportunity with the UFC was just about the only thing that could have pried Anik away from ESPN.
“That place has obviously meant a lot to me and my broadcasting career,” Anik said. “I think for a lot of sports broadcasters that is the goal, to get to ESPN. There were really only two options for me and I think that the UFC knew how interested I was in them and thankfully that interest was mutual.”
Anik’s entree into MMA play-by-play came in the inaugural season of Bellator. However, representing the premier league in MMA can be slightly daunting.
“For me, it’s really about doing live events,” Anik confessed. “The opportunity to call 12 to 16 fight cards a year was just exactly what I wanted to do. I know I have a lot to learn though. (I have) 280 fighters to study and that research will begin for me (right away). I also have a lot of gogoplatas, omoplatas and other submissions to learn as well.”
Breaking down his roles, Anik is prepared to do whatever the UFC asks, as long as that does not include competing for Jose Aldo’s belt.
“I know that I’m going to have a roll on The Ultimate Fighter, but I don’t know exactly,” said Anik. “I do know that I’ll be doing at least 12 fight cards a year for the UFC Fight Nights on FX and FuelTV. I will be calling those fights with an analyst to be announced, so that is very exciting for me and I think the first one will be mid-January.”
A fact that may have been overlooked with all the excitement is that Anik already has called over a 100 MMA fights to date. Not forgetting, Anik still gives credit where it is due and believes his achievements at ESPN were the biggest contributor to UFC brass taking notice of the 33-year old Boston native.
As the news broke, Anik felt the overall excitement from the MMA community, friends and family.
“It’s been a crazy day, no doubt about it,” Anik said on RNC Radio on Oct. 27, shortly after Dana White announced his addition. “It’s nice to hear from family members and close friends through text messages. I’ve been doing a lot of interviews and I’m in the process of prepping for this last MMA Live show – go out in a good way.”
While this was Anik’s last time captaining an episode of MMA Live on ESPN, the show is sure to continue developing.
“MMA Live will continue on long after I leave,” Anik confirmed. “This well be my last time on the show, but the show will be in good hands and there are a lot of good people who work on the staff. I feel like the show has been my baby since we started in 2008, but there are a lot of reasons why the show has been a success.”
Anik’s career may have taken off with ESPN and MMA Live, but his journey has just begun.
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