The Ultimate Fighter Episode 4 Recap

Last night's episode of The Ultimate Fighter was enjoyable, if only because we finally got to see a fight that didn't put us to sleep. During the opening recap of last week's fight, Beth says she doesn't even recognize some of the guys, and this is week 4. I have to agree, and its because the show has been so Kimbocentric that they've basically ignored everyone else. Even this episode, which doesn't include a Kimbo fight, manages to throw in quite a bit of Kimbo camera time by teasing us with the possibility that he'll get back in the Octagon to replace an injured fighter.

Anyone who watched Monday's The Aftermath knows that Roy Nelson is pissing some people off, and he continued his Alienation Tour 2009 by pissing off Rampage. Though, to be honest, at this point I'm so over Jackson that I actually kind of enjoyed watch Roy give him a big sweaty hug.

Evans and his coaching staff mapped out the rest of the fights, and I think they have a pretty good grasp of what match-ups will be in their favor, but Matt Mitrone blew it by sharing the picks with Team Rampage. I didn't really buy his, "I'm stupid and sorry." He obviously didn't want to fight Marcus Jones, and I think he spilled the beans hoping Evans would be forced to change things around. In the end, Evans picks Brendan Shaub to fight Demico Rogers.

The fight itself was actually enjoyable to watch, something the previous 3 fights were unable to deliver. Demico and Brendan showed some aggressive grappling, and Demico took Brendan to the ground. Unfortunately, Demico didn't really do too much once he had the dominant position, and Brendan was able to pass his mount and win with an Anaconda choke.

However, it was after the fight that really cemented my dislike for Jackson and my respect for Evans. Rampage and his coaching staff couldn't be bothered to get into the Octagon to offer any words of encouragement to Demico, and it was actually Evans and his guys who sat down with him at the end of the fight. Such a classy move on Evans part, and I can't imagine after that that there was one guy on Jackson's team that wouldn't jump over to Team Evans in a heartbeat.