TUF 13 Diary: Episode 5 Recap and Analysis

It’s been nearly a month since I started this diary and followed season thirteen of The Ultimate Fighter. From the four episodes I’ve seen so far, I just haven’t been personally entertained or impressed. We already knew prior to the airing of this series that coaches Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos have had little to no animosity towards each other. From conference calls to interviews, both men seem to have a mutual respect for each other.

Which is a refreshing change from previous TUF seasons, however the drama between the fighters on the show has become extremely predictable and in a way it’s becoming a cliché for people to act this way when appearing on the reality show. Just like in almost every single season we have had the usual cast of characters.

The family man, the clown, the instigator, the rebel, and the traitor are some common faces we expect. This was cool from season one to season four, but in this day and age we need something fresh. Being optimistic and going further into the show I hope we get to see the next great MMA superstar and just all-around better TV. 

Notes from episode TUF 13 – Episode 5:

-Len Bentley was the most upset guy on his team for Brock’s pep talk after Charlie Rader’s loss to Ramsey Nijem from Team dos Santos. He was tired of being called a chicken sh*t and made it no secret to Brock and his teammates that he was not happy.

-With the victory from last episode, Junior dos Santos’ team earned the right to pick another fight. He chose Mick Bowman to face Clay Harvison.

-As JDS was working on boxing drills with his team, Lew Polley decided to takeover the session leaving coach dos Santos unhappy with Lew’s methods.

-The fight between Mick Bowman and Clay Harvison should be interesting, both men use striking as a primary base and have been working on their techniques with their respective coaches.

-While Harvison was training for his upcoming bout, he was annoyed that Chris Cope was “studying” his moves. He doesn’t trust Chris Cope and views him as a “shady” person. Seems like there are quite a few internal story lines within Team Lesnar.

-Inside the TUF house there is a giant Zen Garden for the fighters. Someone thought it would be funny to write in the sand “Chris Cope Double Agent”. While enjoying s’mores on an open fire, Chris Cope wanted to find out within his team who wrote those words. No one admitted anything to him, but most of the members on Team Lesnar don’t trust Chris Cope. He later interrupted a conversation between his teammates and accused Tony Ferguson of writing in the sand. Mick Bowman from team JDS admitted to the cameras that he was the one to write the message in the sand.

-Both Mick Bowman and Clay Harvison displayed some solid striking ability with Harvison controlling the fight with his pressure and aggression. There were some parts of the first round were the two fighters were on the ground and push up against the fence for parts of the second, but the story of this fight is mainly told on the feet. Clay earned the decision victory for Team Lesnar.

-Junior dos Santos cares very much about his team and encouraged Mick Bowman to “keep his head up”.

-Clay Harvison broke his pinky finger during his fight and is forced out of the show due to his injury.

What to expect in the next episode:

-More injuries on Team Lesnar.

-More problems between Junior dos Santos and assistant coach Lew Polley.

-The last two preliminary fights.

-The wild card announcement.

Be sure to check out Lowkick.com next week for my episode six recap.