This week's episode covered several issues. It looks like Josh Berkman paid a heavy price in his surprise victory over Melvin Guillard last week. Despite having a broken arm, Berkman had to go home. He seemed to be kinda hoping to play the role of Nate Quarry for this season by staying on and serving as a figure of inspiration for his team. That won't be the case here. Oh well, he leaves the show undefeated. Let's hope Dana White gives him a second chance at an upcoming UFC event, perhaps a shot at the winner of this season's Welterweight competition.
With Berkman's departure comes a replacement, Jason Von Flue, a fighter from Chuck Liddell's camp. Matt Hughes, feeling that Jason has yet to pay his dues, decides to drill the newcomer in a workout regimen not uncommon to the 2-day trip to hell endured by the other fighters in the first episode. While I give Hughes credit for his sense of fairness and equality, I felt that he was basically wasting a fresh fighter and placing him on the same level as his overtly fatigued and banged up team.
On the other hand, Jason came off like a bit of a drama queen. Flicking off the treadmill was just plain lame but his theatrics afterwards were classic! Now lets see how well he can handle himself in a fight.
As for Rob McDonald bitching about his shoulder, lets give him the benefit of the doubt. We have to remember that the show is edited for television, Rob may not have come off as much of a whiner in reality as he did on the show. Anyways, hurt or not, you have to respect Rob for his decision to fight.
Rob's fight against Team Franklin Heavyweight Brad Imes was rather lackluster. The pace was slow and plodding and Imes lack of experience showed heavily. Rob came off a bit more aggressive but slowed down immensely The finish was very much a "What the Hell? " moment but I am unable to feel the pain that Rob was in. His arm was badly damaged and he could've faced permanent injury. Tapping may have been the right thing to do.
Now, before I go on, I want to point out that Matt Hughes is an amazing fighter. His abilities and his work ethic are practically unmatched. However, claiming his fighter, a guy who went in to fight severely injured and put everything on the line, has no heart is completely unfair. Judging by this episode and the next episode where Matt supposedly is going to get under Jorge's ski, Matt Hughes is making the big heel turn for the show. That may not be the case but its how the editing of the show is making it look. But that's entertainment for ya. What can I say?
Next week: Another Welterweight fight!
The first thing that comes to mind when looking at these two are Olson twin clones. Well, yeah...but there is one major difference. The Gaede twins, Lynx and Lamb, are fucking racist little twits who preach their messages of hate through sugar-coated pop music. Take this stirring little number for example.