Fantasy TUF 8: The Finale

Here are the results of The Ultimate Fighter 8: Live Finale.

-(Team Steve's) Efrain Escudero def. (Team CJ's) Phillipe Nover via unanimous decision.
-(Team Jen's) Ryan Bader def. (Team Roxanne's) Vinny Magalhaes via TKO (strikes) in Round 1.
-(Team Maria) Junie Browning def. (Team Jon's) Dave Kaplan via submission (armbar) in Round 2.
-(Team Roxanne's) Krzysztof Soszynski def. (Team CJ's) Shane Primm via submission (kimura) in Round 2.
-(Team Brandon's) Eliot Marshall def. (Team Maria's) Jules Bruchez via submission (rear-naked choke) in Round 1.
-(Team Brandon's) Tom Lawlor def. (team Jen's) Kyle Kingsbury via unanimous decision.
-(Team Jon's) Shane Nelson def. (Undrafted) George Roop via split decision.
-(Undrafted) Roli Delgado def. (Team Steve's) John Polakowski via submission (guillotine choke) in Round 2.

Here are the final Fantasy TUF 8 scores:

Roxanne:50
Jen:48
Steve:43
Brandon:38
CJ:31
Maria:27
Undrafted:27
Jon:18

Grats to Roxanne for winning this season of Fantasy TUF! Enjoy the $140 and the very prestigious Wookie Cup.

TUF9 will premiere Wednesday April 1st, 2009. This season's format will feature USA fighters vs UK fighters. The US coach will be the winner of Rich Franklin vs Dan Henderson fight at UFC 93. The UK coach will be TUF3 winner Michael Bisping. Let me know if you are interested in fantasy TUF9.
Jon

Fantasy TUF 8: The Live Finale Card

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has released its full fight card for the Dec. 13 live finale of "The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir," and a total of 16 cast members have been slotted for the event. The event takes place at The Palms Las Vegas, and the main card airs live on Spike TV at 9pm EST.The finals for the show's lightweight and light-heavyweight tournaments were determined during Wednesday's back-to-back new episodes of the reality show. The two lightweight finalists are Phillipe Nover and Efrain Escudero. The light-heavyweight finalists include Vinny Magalhaes and Ryan Bader. Previously announced non-"TUF" bouts of Jason MacDonald vs. Wilson Gouveia and Kevin Burns vs. Anthony Johnson are also set for the main card. The final televised bout, perhaps non-surprisingly, goes to controversial cast member and semifinalist Junie Browning, who's been pitted against Dave Kaplan, in the live finale.

The full card includes:
Efrain Escudero vs. Phillipe Nover ("TUF8" lightweight finals)
Ryan Bader vs. Vinicius Magalhaes ("TUF8" light heavyweights finals)
Wilson Gouveia vs. Jason MacDonald
Kevin Burns vs. Anthony Johnson
Junie Browning vs. Dave Kaplan
Shane Primm vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
Jules Bruchez vs. Eliot Marshall
Kyle Kingsbury vs. Tom Lawlor
Shane Nelson vs. George Roop
John Polakowski vs. Rolando Delgado

I have attached a spreadsheet that shows who has each fighter in the match up. Remember all fighters and coaches still earn points for the Finale (even the unaired fights), the the two tournament finals earn double points for the fighters and coaches.

Next week I will send out the fight odds for picks, and we will use those picks as a tie-breaker in case there is a tie.

I hope to see you next week, and good luck to everyone.
Jon

Fantasy TUF 8: Episodes 11 and 12

Last nights episodes saw the Semi-Finals play out. Here are the episode recaps:

http://mmajunkie.com/news/13390/episode-no-11-recap-the-ultimate-fighter-team-nogueira-vs-team-mir.mma

http://mmajunkie.com/news/13392/episode-no-12-recap-the-ultimate-fighter-team-nogueira-vs-team-mir.mma

Here are the updated scores:

Roxanne:36
CJ:26
Steve:24
Jen:23
Brandon:16
Maria:13
Undrafted:13
Jon:6

I'll send out the Finale Fight Card later.
Jon

Fantasy TUF 8: Episode 10

Last night (Undrafted) George Roop defeated (Team Steve's) John Polakowski to advance to the Semi-Finals.

Here is the recap:
http://mmajunkie.com/news/13290/episode-no-10-recap-the-ultimate-fighter-team-nogueira-vs-team-mir.mma

Here are the updated scores:

Roxanne:25
Brandon:15
Jen:13
CJ:13
Steve:12
Maria:12
Undrafted:10
Jon:5

And here are the Semi-Final match ups:

Lightweight:
(Team Steve) Efrain Escudero vs (Team Maria) Junie Browning
(Team CJ) Phillipe Nover vs (Undrafted) George Roop

Light Heavyweight:
(Team Roxanne) Vinny Magalhaes vs (Team Roxanne) Krzysztof Soszynski
(Team Jen) Ryan Bader vs (Team Brandon) Eliot Marshall

The Semi-Final Episode will air on Spike Wednesday December 3rd at 10pm, and the Finals will air on Spike Saturday December 13th at 9pm.

Rule Clarification: The Vinny vs Krzysztof fight will be two Team Mir fighters even if they let Nogueira corner one of the fighters.

I think that's everything.
Jon.

Fantasy TUF 8: Episode 9

Last night (Team Roxanne's) Krzysztof Soszynski defeated (Team Jen's) Kyle Kingsbury in the 1st round to advance to the Semi-Finals. Grats to Roxanne for getting two fighters in the Semi-Finals.
Next week (Team Steve's) John Polakowski fights George Roop for the final spot in the Lightweight Semi-Finals.

Here is the recap: http://mmajunkie.com/news/13226/episode-no-9-recap-the-ultimate-fighter-team-nogueira-vs-team-mir.mma

Here are the updated rankings:

Roxanne:24
Brandon:14
Jen:13
CJ:13
Steve:12
Maria:11
Jon:4
Undrafted:3

Fantasy TUF 8: Episode 8

These pranks have gone too far. Can't they go back to the panty raids? Last night was just gross.

Anyway, Grats to CJ as his fighter Phillipe defeated my fighter Dave. And Grats to me for being the first to have both fighters eliminated. That is going to make it really hard for me to win this.

Here is the episode recap:

http://mmajunkie.com/news/13171/episode-no-8-recap-the-ultimate-fighter-team-nogueira-vs-team-mir.mma

And here are the updated scores:

Brandon:13
Roxanne:13
Jen:13
CJ:13
Steve:12
Maria:10
Jon:3
Undrafted:3

Next week will feature (Team Jen's) Kyle Kingsbury vs (Team Roxanne's) Krzysztof Soszynski, and the following week will feature (Team Steve's) John Polakowski vs (Undrafted) George Roop in the last Quarterfinal matchup.

Fantasy TUF 8: Episode 7

Team Roxanne had a great night last night. First, Krzysztof pulled off a prank that didn't involve another man's underpants! Then Vinny defeated (Team Maria's) Jules to advance to the Semi-Finals. Grats Roxanne! Also, Team Mir is now on a 3 fight winning streak.

Here is a full episode recap:
http://mmajunkie.com/news/13124/episode-no-7-recap-the-ultimate-fighter-team-nogueira-vs-team-mir.mma

And the updated scores:

Brandon:13
Roxanne:13
Jen:12
Steve:11
Maria:10
Jon:3
CJ:2
Undrafted:2

Fantasy TUF 8: Episode 6

Grats to Maria.

Here is the recap:
http://mmajunkie.com/news/13071/episode-no-6-recap-the-ultimate-fighter-team-nogueira-vs-team-mir.mma

Here is the updared score:
Jen:12
Brandon:12
Steve:11
Maria:9
CJ:2
Undrafted:2
Jon:2
Roxanne:2

Fantasy TUF 8: Episode 5

Grats to Brandon. Here is a link to the episode recap for anyone that missed it:

http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/sherdogcoms-guide-to-tuf-8-14799

And here are the updated scores:

Jen:12
Steve:11
Brandon:11
CJ:2
Undrafted:2
Jon:1
Maria:1
Roxanne:1

By the way, the man panty raids have to stop. It's embarrassing.
Jon

Fantasy TUF 8: Episdoe 4

Jen's take on Episode 4
Maria--I think your boy Junie needs some Zanex. You could definitely teach him how to hold his liquor. WTF????? Rules broken?!?!?!?!? WTF????? He could have injured several fighters--including my man Bader. WTF???? So just WHAT does Junie have to do to get kicked off of the show? Maybe Frank Mir will kick him out. I bet if he sucked he woulda been kicked off by now---or if he wasn't so exciting to watch. Jon--you could REALLY teach your guy Nelson how to drink!!!! Wasted on wine and talking trash that no one can understand because of his accent. Did anyone else hear Jon's guy Nelson say GILOTINE???????? And that was when he was sober! Roxanne--your guy--the Krys is definitely Canadian. My definition of Canadian--the accent, and talks a lot (like Gene) WOW!! Nelson lost double!!! Crotch to the face plus a submission! Go Steve! Jon-the Forrest vs Rampage TUF is now on DVD. ~~hint> hint~~That's all I've got. Love to hear what you think! Jen

Steve's take on Jen's take on TUF Episode 4:
wtf?????? I enjoyed your commentary, but how is it that you are always too busy to do anything? but you somehow find the time to write a novel at 11:00 on a wednesday night after spending an hour watching the Ultimate fighter. WTF????????? Efrain, Efrain....How can anybody eat at a time like this. Efrain is gagged in the trunk of somebodys car. Smith search party of three!!!!

Jon's take on Episode 4:
Well, I guess they were not kidding when they said that Junnie is like Chris Leben x 10. Wow. I should have know better than to pick a Lightweight.
Anyway grats to (Team Steve's) Efrain Escudero for defeating (Team Jon's) Shane Nelson in the 2nd round to advance to the Quarterfinals. Here is the adjusted point totals:

Jen:12
Steve:11
CJ:2
Undrafted:2
Brandon:0
Jon:0
Maria:0
Roxanne:0

Fantasy TUF 8: Episode 3

Well that was a crazy night. First we find out that (Team Maria's) Karen Grigoryan and (Team Jen's) Brian McLaughlin have fractured noses and can not continue. I did not plan for this. So, if no one has a problem with this, Maria and Jen can each pick one of the undrafted fighters that are available if they want to drop their injured fighter. Just let me know which one you want. Here are the undrafted fighters that are available:

LW George Roop
LW Rolando Delgado
LHW Jules Bruchez
LHW Kyle Kingsbury

Once the injuries were dealt with the coaches made their pics. The first fight of the quarterfinals was Team Nogueira's (Team Jen's) Ryan Bader vs Team Mir's (Team Brandon's) Tom Lawlor.
Both fighters exchange a few punches and knees, but an over-aggrressive Tom gets taken down when Ryan ducks under a combination. Ryan relaxes while in half-guard, and again scores with right hands and short elbows. Ryan briefly stands, and a lunging guard pass brings a heavy right hand with it, knocking Tom unconscious with a little over a minute left in the first round. So Ryan Bader moves on to the Semi-Finals and Tom Lawlor is eliminated. Here are the TUF8 Fantasy Scores after Episode 3:

Brandon: 0
CJ: 1
Jen: 11
Jon: 0
Maria: 0
Roxanne: 0
Steve: 1
Undrafted: 1

Maria and Jen, Let me know if you want to swap your injured fighter with one of the undrafted fighters.
Jon

Fantasy TUF 8: The Rules

Hey gang,
To make this season of the Ultimate Fighter a little more interested I am setting up Fantasy TUF. It is like fantasy football but with fights. I am looking for up to 8 players. It will cost just $20 per player, and the person with the most points at the end of the season will win the prize pot. Let me know if you are interested.

The Ultimate Fighter 8: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir is the eighth installment of the The Ultimate Fighter, which premieres on September 17 at 10pm on Spike TV. This season features light heavyweight fighters (186-205 lb) and lightweight fighters (146-155 lb).
UFC interim Heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and the #1 heavyweight contender and former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir will star as coaches for the two teams. Both fighters are scheduled to fight for the UFC Interim Heavyweight title in December, after the completion of the series.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will coach the red team and Frank Mir will coach the blue team.
The 32 fighters that will feature at the start the series are:
Lightweights:Jose Aguilar, Fernando Bernstein, Junie Allen Browning, Rolando Delgado, Joseph Duarte, Charles Diaz, Efrain Escudero, Brandon Garner, David Kaplan, Brian McLaughlin, Wesley Murch, Shane Nelson, Phillipe Nover, Ido Pariente, John Polakowski, George Roop.
Light Heavyweights:Ryan Bader, Antwain Britt, Jules Bruchez, Lance Evans(Rashad’s brother), Karn Grigoryan, Jason Guida(Clay’s Brother), Ryan Jimmo, Kyle Kingsbury, Tom Lawlor, Ryan Lopez, Vinicius Magalhaes, Eric Magee, Eliot Marshall, Sean O'Connell, Shane Primm, Krzysztof Soszynski.

Elimination Prelim Round: Once again, this season will start with a preliminary elimination round. All 32 fighters will fight and the 16 winners will make it into the house. This should take up the first two episodes on this Wednesday September 17th and next Wednesday September 24th. This will gives both coaches and Fantasy Players an opportunity to scout fighters. Fighters will not earn any Fantasy Points in this round.

Draft: After the elimination round we will hold a draft to pick the fighters that make in into the house. The draft will need to take place before the October 1st episode. It will depend on how many players we get to determine how many fighters each player can pick. (Example: for 4 players each would get 4 of the 16 fighters).

Points: Here is how the scoring will work. Each player will receive points if there fighter does the following on the show or in the Live Finale:
10pts Victory in the 1st Round
9pts Victory in the 2nd Round
8pts Victory in the 3rd Round
7pts Victory by Judge’s decision
These points will be doubled for the two tournament championship fights on the Live Finale.
Also, each player gets to pick a coach in either Frank Mir or Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Each time one of your coach’s fighters wins a fight you will receive 1pt.
If one of your fighters is kicked off the show (non-injury related) you will lose 1pt. And if your fighter quits the show (non-injury related) you will lose 5pts.
The winner will be whoever has the most points at the end of the Live Finale on Saturday December 13th.