The Ultimate Fighter 17 – Episode 5 Recap
By Chris Leslie on February 19, 2013
The Ultimate Fighter 17 returned to action tonight on FX. This week featured the fourth bout in The Ultimate Fighter house as Team Sonnen’s Kelvin Gastelum took on Team Jones’ Bubba McDaniel. Be sure to stay tuned to MMAFrenzy as we track fourteen middleweights, coached by UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen, vying to become The Ultimate Fighter. [Spoilers Below]
This week’s episode begins with UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey calling Coach Chael Sonnen to tell this week’s fighter, Kelvin Gastelum, that if he won she would come out and run a training session. Outside of the room, Sonnen and Coach Jon Jones talk over the upcoming matchup. A side confessional has Jones admitting that the situation with Sonnen is a bit strange since he usually likes to keep his distance from guys prior to fighting them.
Back at the house, Sonnen and some of his staff show up to bond with the fighters by playing charades. Team Sonnen’s Uriah Hall gives Team Jones’ Gilbert Smith a deservedly hard time for being undressed. Meanwhile, Team Jones’ Bubba McDaniel is in a less than friendly mood, as the fighter recounts the struggles he faced along the way.
The episode cuts to the gym, and Gastelum is talking about his background. The youngest fighter in the history of this tournament is a bail bondsman from Arizona and is looking to improve his life by winning. Kelvin talks about his wrestling and his evolving boxing game being the thing that helps him. Sonnen then pulls the team together and gives the team a pep talk about not worrying about fights, insisting the only thing different on fight day is the environment.
Cut to Team Jones’ training session and Jones talks over how he believes in letting the fighters be themselves but to control the fight picks. Fighter Josh Samman tries to lobby the coaches to let him fight later rather than sooner due to injuries. Jones’ staff, coaches Bubba Jenkins and Jon Wood, is less than understanding and feels the fighter is simply trying to get his way. Jones says he feels a few guys are trying to do this and he talks with his coaches about setting up some form of boundaries and leadership.
Jones talks with McDaniel about keeping his confidence going and believes McDaniel wants this fight to be anything but a wrestling matchup. The seasoned fighter says he usually feels pressure when his coaches talk like this but he feels this time it is true.
Prior to weigh-ins, Sonnen brings in actor and former boxer Mickey Rourke to talk to both teams about the struggles all fighters will face and his own personal struggles. Both fighters are on weight, and the fight is set.
Bubba McDaniel vs. Kelvin Gastelum
- BM starts off the action with an exchange and gets himself taken down in the process. BM quickly works up but then finds himself stuck on the ground again in a front headlock situation. After a brief struggle BM reverses and lands some nice punches before taking KG’s back. More punches and a choke attempt by BM but KG keeps his composure and works his way back to his feet. KG hits a standing Peterson roll but BM uses an armbar attempt to sweep and take mount. KG gives up his back and takes some shots but escapes. BM with a bad takedown attempt and gets reversed but then reverses KG. KG then scrambles and reverses BM as the round ends. KG tries a jumping punch as the round ends. Close round, but MMAFrenzy scores it 10-9 McDaniel.
- Legkick by KG to start the round. Spinning back kick by BM lands.Fighters clinch and BM tries an ugly attempt at a hip toss but ends up stuck in side control. KG tries a guillotine bit quickly loses it and BM takes his back. BM gets high on the back and misses an armbar and KG reverses him and lands some good punches. Fighters go north-south and then KG reestablishes position in back mount and takes McDaniels back and chokes him out.
Kelvin Gastelum def. Robert “Bubba” McDaniel via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2
The Ultimate Fighter 17 Results:
Team Sonnen
Luke Barnatt def. Gilbert Smith via knockout (flying knee) – Round 2
Uriah Hall def. Adam Cella via KO (spinning hook kick) – Round 1
Zak Cummings
Tor Troeng
Jimmy Quinlan
Kevin Casey (lost to Colin Hart)
Kelvin Gastelum def. Robert “Bubba” McDaniel via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2
Team Jones
Clint Hester
Josh Samman
Robert “Bubba” McDaniel (lost to Kelvin Gastelum)
Gilbert Smith (lost to Luke Barnatt)
Colin Hart def. Kevin Casey via unanimous decision (20-18,20-18,20-18)
Adam Cella (lost to Uriah Hall)
Dylan Andrews
Fight Selection:
Rousey calls after the fight again and congratulates Gastelum. Sonnen has the next pick and decides to pit Josh Samman vs. Tor Troéng.
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What a deeply satisfying episode. After McDaniel had been calling out Team Sonnen’s big guns earlier in the season and then ended up fighting an opponent he thought he would walk through and that after he’d expressed concens about Gilbert not being up to the seasons first fight and then getting choked out with a wimper and balling his eyes out, I just love it, absolutely love it.
I couldn’t have put it better myself.
Thought it was interesting to see Jones address (with two of his coaches) the obvious chemistry issues his team has right now. Guys like Samman and McDaniel are problematic for a team if there’s not someone who can control them.It’ll be interesting to see how things shake out after a big upset loss like this.
I was wholly satisfied, as well. Never thought much of Bubba. It was a punk move to put the most experienced vs the least experienced. Smart, yes (in theory), but punkish. Especially if you’re going to insult other fighters and talk all that big boy shiit, it just makes it that much better for him to lose, to be choked out, to be finished by the youngest guy there.
Also, and I know itmight not count for much since I’m already a Sonnen fan, but he really does seem to be the most caring and personally invested coach we’ve seen for a long time, if no ever. I thought Tito was good his first time around, but I think he’s doing exactly what these fighters need at this stage in their careers. Hopefully some of the Sonnen detractors will see this and form their opinions based on more than his pre-fight, ritualistic, trash-talking persona. Jones just seems indifferent. I don’t know, hate him or love him, I have to respect what Sonnen’s doing… much like I respect what the Diaz brothers do in regards to the kids classes they teach, sometimes for free if the kid’s family can’t afford it (depsite me not liking the Diaz bros).
@advent wouldn’t say Jones is indifferent, just that he’s more an equal with his team than a real head coach. I think part of that is his age, guy is only older than two of the guys on his team. Whereas with Chael he’s older and more experienced, he certainly has more of an edge in that department and knows how to address his team. Jones knows how to run a practice and be a teammate, but I think he’s having to learn how to be a coach on the fly.
Well I just mean he’s seems to care more about them winning for the sake of the competition rather than the actual development of the fighters. I mean, he’s the champ and young, rich and famous, and is his own first priority, with good reason. Please don’t get me wrong, I think the guys will definitely learn from being around humans training with him, I just don’t think he seems like he cares that much.
But I also agree with you about his age. Plus it just might notbbevhis thing. Who knows.
@advent I hear what you’re saying for sure. Just think it’s important to remember how young he is at times. There was an episode (I believe it was the Cella-Hall fight) where Jones was sitting around the fire with his guys and they were all bonding, and I thought he came across very much as “one of the guys” with his team.
Also found it interesting how he broke down his elbow techniques for the guys on camera as well, while that seems simple, it’s a different and personal approach to the attack, Colin Hart specifically did the technique as Jon showed when Jon called for it. So he is clearly trying to help them be better fighters, but I don’t think he’s found the right balance of coach/friend/competitor right now. As a wrestling coach myself, that’s hard to find even when you have done it for awhile.
I think it’s interesting to see the dynamic between the two coaches, though (in my opinion) it lessens the fight effect of the buildup for their fight when you see moments like we did last night. A large part of Chael’s allure is his trash talk, and while it appears at times this season – i.e. his little poetry jam, the less bombastic version of Chael is what we see here in the show most often and that’s a good thing in non-promotional respects.
I know several people who rolled their eyes when they first saw him announced as a coach on the show because of his persona that you see on UFC Tonight and when he’s hyping a fight, but I’ve tried to convince them they’ll be pleasantly surprised if they check it out.
@ChrisL Yea, it does seem like maybe he’s looking for a balance there. I don’t know, like I said, they can’t help but to get better, so they will benefit regardless. I guess more than anything, both coaches should get props for even doing the show. Most guys don’t and probably wouldn’t.
And Chael, I was watching the show with my wife, and she asked why was he being so nice to Jones and all that, and I honestly didn’t have an answer other than, “That’s probably the real Chael.” I mean, you could say maybe Jones knew what to expect and Chael is purposely being nice to throw him off, and then right before the fight he’ll turn into the Chael that everyone was expecting; but I think people are getting surprised by Chael and his approach to the show and as a coach.