Well, the teams have been chosen and it seems as if Team Liddell is the underdog according to both Tito Ortiz (what else is he supposed to say?) and Dana White, the main criticism being Team Liddell's average height.
Granted I'm a bigger fan of Liddell than Ortiz, I would still have to say that I don't think height really has a great impact in MMA. Sure it has some impact, but as we saw in this weeks episode, it really didn't matter.
Chuck sent out his number one pick, Aussie Kyle Noke (above), up against an injured Clayton McKinney, which was obviously a smart decision - get the injured while they're still hurting.
I do have to mention that before the fight, I was really hoping it wouldn't start out the way a lot of them did last season, where the fighters essentially circled around each other for the first few minutes of their fights and basically nothing happened. This fight was no exception and once again, I was let down for the first few minutes and yelling at my TV, "Somebody do something!"
Now, I understand some guys like to take a few seconds and feel out an unfamiliar opponent in order to find out what their tendencies are, but I don't think it should take a few minutes. Get to fighting already.
Anyways, after the first few uneventful moments, Noke and McKinney finally went at it and got to the ground. Noke didn't waste any time in trying to put McKinney in some sort of submission move, and eventually gets the triangle choke on him, forcing the Florida native to tap. Looks like being a former body guard for Steve Irwin and wrestling crocodiles paid off for now.
As for McKinney, he had spent the entire few days leading up to the fight complaining about how much his shoulder hurt and possibly having a torn rotator cuff, but he wasn't going to let it bother or defeat him. Turns out it was only a bone bruise and must've bothered him because he sure didn't look confident in the ring, pretty much only throwing kicks Noke's way.
This episode also opened up the possible rivalries within the house as fighters Chris McCray, Jamie Yager, and Brad Tavares pulled of the season's first prank and blew air horns in the middle of the night, waking everyone previously asleep. Obviously it made some of the fighters very angry, notably McKinney and Kyacey Uscola, and it looks as if it only gets more intense from here according to the previews for later on in the season.
Either way, this season looks to be like it could be a good one and I can't wait for next week to see what will unfold.
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