Soooooo Manny came back from the doctor and has a fracture in his leg, I wasn't sure if it come from the leg kick that dropped him in the fight or from hobbling around on it after the fight.  This was a huge shock for the team and a very sad moment.  It was hard to come to terms with at first and made me personally realize that this opportunity could be taken away at ay given time.

After our goodbyes we all went back to the house and the team was a little bit down and it would be the first night that there would be an empty bed in the Aussie room.  Around midnight I thought I heard the voice of the replacement but when he came in to give me a hug it turned out to be RUSEEL BAN-DINGO and man what I sight to see in the middle of the night.  I didn't get long to spend with him and as I woke the next morning I wondered if I’d ever see him again.

Young Pat Iodice was next in the LW’s and he was up again Brendan from Manchester.  Didn't know too much about him as he was a replacement they brought in after one of the original LW’s was sent home form the UK with the bicep tear.  Patty seemed to have a frustrating time at training while preparing for this fight and even broke down in tears part way through the practice session.  The Kid is good and apart from being the youngest ever to be on TUF has some serious skills and every chance of winning this fight.

After starting the fight strongly with a great double leg and landing some good ground and pound Brendan managed to get top position at the end of the round and in my eyes Pat edged out the first round.  Second round Brendan cam out real strong and basically had Patty fighting off his back.  After the second round concluded we were waiting for the third round when the ref called the two fighters to the middle and awarded a decision win the team UK with Brendan being victorious.  Another huge shock for team OZ, as we couldn't work out how the judges had scored the fight two round to none in favor of UK.  

I guess it just wasn't our day losing Manny and then Patty going out in that way.   A massive waste of food and some late night noise await the house soon!

Saturdays have turned into a fun session down at PUMMA and today I had invited Legend Fighting Championship fighter  Damien  ‘down town’ Brown down to the gold coast for some MMA sparring.  For those who don’t know this kid from IMA he is one of the most  talented and modest light weights making his mark in Australia and now has a steady gig on Legend FC.  Today was the first time we have actually worked out together and as his official record of 8-3 suggests he is a very solid and impressive mixed martial artist.  Shane Gregory also worked out with us today and since I’ve been back on the gold coast he has been a regular training partner and is making outrageous improvements week to week and today was the same as always.  

The best thing about these to guys is the EGO is left in the car park and after 90 mins of punching, kicking and throwing each other on our heads theres no love lost and it’s all smiles after we are done.  A wise man once said  ‘iron sharpens iron’ and these to guys are pretty sharp so how can I go wrong mixing it up with these two. Im not sure what the future will bring to me fight wise but with the ability to train with guys like this regularly I’m always going to be fight ready.

The team was really into full swing and we had really become a solid unit, the whole OZ v UK battle really showed our true colors in the way we were training together supporting each other in and out of the gym. Welterweights were back in the firing line and to be honest we were pretty confident that Manny or Xavier could get the job done.

“Chalate” if you hadn’t noticed already was the running the ship when it came to food preparation and definitely a great chef, I think to some extent he could have been the leader of our team in a few of the boys eyes and really the glue that bought the team close in the first place.

With UK having the fight pick and only 2 of our guys left to fight in the WW’s both guys were ready to go and fairly close to weight, and with Ross choosing Bola to fight Manny really gave us all the confidence in the world as Manny had been preparing for this exact fight.  Morale once again picked up after coming off a loss once again we have 24 hours to make weight and then 24 hours to fight.

NOT much to say about his fight as Bola did exactly what we thought he would do and did a great job keeping many at distance and after landing a huge leg kick dropped Manny and gained top position.  It seemed from where I was sitting that after spending 3 or so mins on top position he didn’t cause any damage and after making a mistake Manny was able to scramble secure a high crotch takedown dumping Bola on his head and instantly landing with a north south choke on.  I’m not sure if Bola didn't know what was happening or how to defend as he lay still for a few seconds allowing Manny to secure and squeeze……… and tap Bola with one of his pet submissions.

After we went back to the change room and the excitement died a little we found out that Manny had a pretty sore leg and had to go get it checked out.  Back in the winners circle again the Aussies went home happy chaps!

In episode 4 the Aussie team travel down to the beach for our first outdoor practice and it was great to get out of the house, away from the gym and put our toes in the sand.  We were all riding pretty high after Rob won his fight with that epic knock out and we even got some coffee (from a proper coffee machine) before practice.  We headed over to the sand dunes after a short run on the beach and it turned out that Manny and Richie train here regularly.  Essentially we were doing sprints up and down sand dunes called “ Mexicans” and it wasn't fun.  I don't think one person enjoyed that session until we got to swim in the ocean after.

The Kitchen continued in the same direction it was heading and became a disgusting mess and really started to smell, I ended up collecting a few things I needed and washed it as I used it.  It took a few days but the boys from England decided to all pitch in and clean it up, we were surprised to see this happen but glad. 

The pranks continued in the gym with coach Nathan stacking some mats on the outside of the UK room but hardly a harsh prank, Brendan seemed to think that this was the prank that was taken to far and we had crossed the line.  Brendan what on earth do you mean? If you think that is a bad prank you could be in for a rough time during your stay in the TUF house.

So we head to another fight pick and again the light weights are up, as George walks in the whole UK team are yelling out “ pick me “ randomly (this was the phrase Norman kept yelling after the first fight of the show) George then invites Luke to come train with us if he wants to learn some striking.  I think the remark was aimed at Ross and the UK coaches more than Luke and just a continuation of the rivalry that has formed between the coaches.  George finally gave Norm what he was looking for and matched him up against Richie Vas. The Pom’s were 100% sure they had mad George change his mind during the pick and caved into the pressure of them calling out “pick me “ at him but George had already decided on the match up quite a while beforehand. Definitely amusing to see the UK team so adamant and trying to claim they had changed George’s mind.

Richie Vas did fight his ass off for two rounds but really was always going to have a tough time with so much height, weight and reach to make up before the fight even started, Norm looked pretty dry when he made weight and Richie came in a kilo or so under weight with out having to cut anything.  He did clip norm early in the 1st round and had norm backing up for a bit, but as norm came forward and got the take downs there was little Richie could do from the bottom and giving away so much weight. Much the same for round two and the UK even things up on the scoreboard. To be fair Richie is competing on TUF at two weight classes higher than usual but in saying this he made no excuses after the fight and to be honest I think that guy would fight anyone that was put in front of him.

Next week back to welterweights and with 4 great fighters left we are guaranteed a great fight regardless.

This time we walked back to the change rooms victorious again in the WW division and honestly I was just as shocked by how the fight ended as I was stoked to see Rob get the KO in epic style.  Rumor had it that Luke was a killer on the feet and he came out and showed us why, not sure if you guys think the same but I saw his punches being thrown in a very different way to what I’m used to seeing and that kind of looping action left the corridor open for the straight right.  Now I can vouch for Rob’s right hand and yes he hits as hard as it looks (I had the pleasure of wearing a few of those during time in the practice room) and I wasn't expecting Luke to recover from that shot.  I was however a little shocked at the result as Rob was backing up the whole time until he landed that punch from the back foot.  A 19 sec KO set the new standard for our belief and us was growing strong after that match.

Whittaker is another fighter that cuts huge weight to get down to 77kgs and he to was impressive during the weight cut and how he made it look so easy, I know that shit aint easy but I guess the Hungry Jacks burger, angry fries and can of coke he devoured straight after he got off the scales added a little more to the whole Rob Whittaker weight cut method.  So at this stage Whittaker and myself are through to the semis and things are looking good for the Aussie WW’s.

Back at the house after things had cooled down after Wall vs. Freak show, we were having a bit of a chat in the living room when young Mr. Wall proceeded to tell us that with another shot at the Freak show things might be different, which in turn allowed me to exhaust my ‘second to none ‘ negotiation skills and set up the rematch.  This rematch how ever would take place in the kitchen and involve 2 hot substances and 4 nostrils.  If you missed the final result of the first ever ‘ TUF smashes wasabi challenge ‘ do your self a favor and watch episode 3 ASAP.  To his credit Wall was strong but Freak show was stronger and if not for puking everywhere may have been a closer decision but Freak show went 2-0 up on Wall with some hectic yet delicate and precise snorting.

Wall definitely gained a lot of respect from the Pom’s and it seemed to unify the entire household for a short time, short lived we all went back into fight mode the next day and prepared for the next fight pick.  With the house already starting to break down the kitchen started to become disgusting and yours truly initiated the first clean up (although there was not many other things to do at the time) and was hoping that it stayed a little like the way we left it for at least a while.

Back from training that night we were tired, sore, run down, hungry, thirsty and looking forward to having a clean kitchen to make some food without having to deal with a mess and to our total surprise the kitchen was looking great again with shit everywhere.  The episode ends here with again yours truly having a few words to say about the great environment we had for making food  so if Missed it you don't have long until episode 4.  Also up for fight pick is the lightweights and if you have been following twitter its no surprise who is up next and we all know this fella brings it every time he fights…. Can we get our first LW win for Australia?  Tune in guys Wednesday night.