The Ultimate Fighter Season 10, Episode 5 "Rude Awakening"

As a TV show, Episode 5 "Rude Awakening" was not so much a great episode as much as a smattering of highlight with average reality banter in between.


Among those highlights were:

Wes Sims accusing Zach Jensen of masturbating in the shower:
Wes calls Zach out for leaving his "Jensens" for Wes to step in. The joke spreads, building up to
Rampage's imput that he wouldn't be embarrassed and would insist that Wes "bring them up right."

Zach passing out during training

The look on Marcus Jones' face when he finds out that he is not fighting, earning his nickname "Big Baby." To top it all off, he takes of his whiny pants, puts on some cliche hat and says "I'm not sensitive... I'm pissed off!"

The weigh-in:
Justin Wren disrobes to show off purple leopard-print tightie wighties (purplies?). Wes one-ups him by weighing in in a banana hammock. What troubles me is not that these guys chose this wardrobe for the weigh-ins, more that they brought them along in the first place. I don't know many people who would think, when heading into a house with 16 jacked up athletes, "Man, I can't forget my thong." It's happened on previous seasons as well, and I still don't understand it.

Rashad calling Rampage out for not supporting his guys after fights:
This is an issue that has bothered a lot of people, including Dana White. When Rashad decides to say somethign to Rampage, it, naturally, escalates. Rashad, however, gets the last word when, as Rampage is walking away, he says "What're you gonna do, just go in there and text? You're not going to teach 'em nothing." It's better to see than to read, but either way, it was pretty delicious to see someone put Rampage in his place, even if it all bounces right off.

Justin Wren:
This is a guy who I had been looking forward to seeing fight after hearing Rashad talk about him last week. He is a humble guy, who, according to his coach, is a force to be reckoned with. He showed that, insanely quickly, by forcing Wes Sims to submit within the first minute of the fight. What really impressed me (as a guy who has no real idea about how to fight) is how far away Justin was able to keep his body when applying the choke. He kept himself at an almost 90 degree angle from Sims, offering no opportunity for his opponent to reverse or even defend the submission. Despite the huge size disadvantage, giving up seven inches to Sims, Justin blew everyone away.


The more boring parts that, I suppose, are worth mentioning include:

Matt nursing a sore shoulder and everyone complaining about it. He tries to self-diagnose, requesting a Cortizone shot. Watching him suggest his own treatment reminded me of Gabe Ruediger from Season 5, who insisted that the best way for him to drop weight would be a colonic.

Zach sucking at nearly everything. Rampage listed his abilities as "big and good at wrestling... I can't think of anything else."

Kimbo saying that he wants to fight again. (Just as a thought, maybe he shouldn't have lost in the first place if he wants to keep fighting so badly?)


Naturally, the preview for next week (again) heavily implies that someone will be hurt and the Kimbo will come back. I think we are at a point that people aren't just watching the show for Kimbo anymore. I may be wrong, but I think it's okay to have a preview that doesn't involve this regurgitated formula.

What has suprised me this season is how little screen time Wes Sims is getting. Before the show started, he was one of the big names in the competition, second only to Kimbo Slice, if not just for his ability (this is a guy who has had two wars with Frank Mir) but for his over the top personality. This is a guy who I expected to be this season's Chris Leben. After seeing the performance he put on, (ie. he looked like a bitch) it's hardly difficult to see why the UFC has cut his importance on the show. It puts them in a bit of a bind, though, as he surely is an interesting character, which would bump up the fun of the episodes, but they would much rather devote the airtime to someone with a future in their company. And, unless, Dana and the Fertittas start feeling charitable, that won't be Wes Sims.