Well Episode 5 of TUF 17 did not disappoint. Jon Jones training partner Bubba McDaniel was going up against Kelvin Gastelum. McDaniels who is probably the most experienced fighter and talker in the house, had in many people’s minds the easy task of taking on the far less experienced Gastelum. Gastelum had a little extra motivation when Ronda Rousey told him that she would come out to Vegas to teach a lesson if he defeated McDaniel, and that’s exactly what he did. In a back and forth match, McDaniels snagged a rear naked choke and submitted McDaniels for the upset. This episode showed that this seasons TUF is full of entertaining twists, and also is appealing to the mainstream eye by including Ronda Rousey, and Mickey Rourke who showed up to chat with the fighters.
In other MMA News, several fighters were cut from the UFC this week, including Jon Fitch and Vladimir Matyushenko.
In addition, almost every fighter that was a loser at UFC on Fuel TV 7 was let go. Guess they need to make way for the lighter weight classes, and female fighters that will soon be a part of the crop. Anderson Silva has stated that he would be willing to drop to 170 lbs to have a superfight with GSP, and he said making the weight would be no problem. I’m sure Georges St-Pierre is happier than shit about this, yeah right.
Remember Josh Barnett rejected the offer the UFC made him. Well he’s finally come out and said why he rejected the contract, and why he will no longer be facing JDS at UFC 160. Barnett said it had to do with the legal battle between Bellator (Alvarez’ former employer) and the UFC over Eddie Alvarez services, which became public record. The UFC was offering a $250,000 signing bonus and a percentage of pay-per-view earnings if Alvarez fought for the UFC title or captured the belt.
Barnett, speaking via MMAJunkie, said:
“I was excited to fight Junior. I thought he was a favorable match up for me, but Zuffa was unwilling to give me something that they gave Eddie Alvarez. No disrespect to Eddie, but I felt it was fair to give it to me as well. Although things seem to be working out well for me, I feel bad for the fans. They wanted me to fight certain guys in the UFC and I really wanted to give them those fights. Once we get the deal we are working on done, the fight the fans scream for will be lost forever.”