Episodes 11 and 12

First, let me start by apologizing for the late blog post. I received the DVD the day of the episode and I’ve been so busy.

Episodes 11 and 12.

Bader vs. Marshall -

I thought Bader did his thing. He is a great wrestler with unbelievable power! It wasn’t the most exiting fight but he pulled out the win! I personally thought Elliot should have thrown less high kicks and stay in ow stances and focus on the punching. All the credit to Bader. I wasn’t happy how Mir said Bader wasn’t a good fighter and that he was just a wrestler. That was plain wrong — Bader is a great fighter!

Myself vs. Roop -

Going into the fight I had so much respect for Roop. He was a great person to hang around with. It’s so much easier fighting someone who you don’t like. But I liked the guy. We shared food and chatted all the time. I had to put that aside. The other obstacle in my mind before the fight was how tough Roop was mentally. His thumb was really bad and lot of fighters would have backed out. He had a war with Polakowski a week before he had to throw down with me and has no hesitation in doing so. He is one tough dude. In fact, after the win, I went over to him and called him “The toughest dude in the house” but that wasn’t shown. He really was the toughest.

The strategy I had was to go out there and overwhelm him with big shots — and sub him. I wanted to cut the distance fast and stay out of his kicking range. I was swept and stayed cool. As soon as I locked that Kimura I stayed relaxed and slowly adjusted my hips and legs. Right after the fight I felt so free. It was the last day living in the house and a few hours later I was able to call my family and friends.

Side note: The actual fights occurred as follows: Wednesday: Bader vs. Marshall then Efrain vs. Junie. Thursday: Myself vs. Roop and then Krzysztof vs. Vinny. This also meant I didn’t sleep much on Wednesday night before the semi’s. There were only four fighters left in the house who needed to fight and I was one of them. Everyone else was in crazy party drinking mode. Wednesday was nuts! I had to put in ear plugs and cover my head with a pillow. Then I moved my mattress into the closet to stay away from the singing.

After the fight, Dana had some more great words about me. He really thinks I’m a great fighter. He even said “I think this guy is one of the best fighters ever to get on this show.” This really blew my mind. I was silent for a minute just thinking it over. It’s a lot of pressure but I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing. Training everyday like my life depends on it.

Vinny vs. Krzysztof -

Again I can add that Vinny is a beast on the ground! His guard is nuts. Once in his guard the trouble begins. Props to both fighters.

Efrain vs. Junie -

I like the way Dana handled Junie this season. He knew Junie wanted an out and if would have gotten thrown out he would have left with all his pride. Dana didn’t let that happen.

As for the fight itself, Efrain played it smart. I knew Junie wasn’t going to take Efrain down. When I saw Junie shoot in and Efrain stuff it, I knew it was going to end soon. The elbow strikes when Junie shot in were genius. Junie said some things after the fight that made him look even worse. I know he didn’t mean he was going to give up fighting. He’s on the card against Kaplan!

The finals -

Efrain and I are good friends. We slept in the same room. We cooked together. We chatted all day. We know a lot about each other. I respect him as a fighter and as a man. It’s all business when the cage door shuts. He knows it and I know it. I am honored to fight him.