Two weeks ago, during the 3rd quarterfinal fight, Team Lesnar’s Chuck O’Neil avenged his loss against Team JDS’s Zach Davis. The last quarterfinal winner was Team Lesnar’s Tony Ferguson, who took out Team JDS’s Ryan McGillivray in a quick 45 seconds when Ryan stepped into Tony’s uppercut, tripped on Tony, then was pummeled by Tony until the ref stopped the fight.
That night after the fights, the victory party at the house (and the alcohol it included) set the stage for drama. “Stripper” Ramsey Nijem performed his usual stripping and dancing while the alcohol flowed, and Charlie Rader poured beer over Tony Ferguson’s head, which added fuel to his drunken fire. This put Tony over the edge, and things turned serious when both Tony and Charlie fell over a couch and almost broke the cocktail table with their bodies. Tony, enraged, let loose, saying mean and hurtful things to Charlie, including things about his eldest son. Tony definitely went over the line, and everyone in the house became pissed off at him.
The semifinals matched Chris Cope (4-1) from Team Lesnar against Ramsey Nijem (4-1) from Team JDS. This was Chris Cope’s biggest fight in his career up to that point, and Ramsey is no joke, despite his behavior outside the cage. This was a high-pressure situation for both guys, as the winner advances to the Finale.
Tony apologized for his drunken behavior, but Chuck O’Neil didn’t buy it because he felt that Tony was not being sincere, saying that he does not respect Tony as a person, only as a fighter. And with both guys set to face each other in the Octagon, Chuck stated, “I’m taking his dreams away or I’m going to f–king die trying.” So this fight became nicely heated up for later!
Chris and Ramsey both weighed in and were ready to bring it. Round 1 began with both fighters feeling each other’s reach for about 20 seconds, until Ramsey threw some sharp strikes and controlled Chris against the cage. Chris continued to to throw short punches at Ramsey, while Ramsey threw nice combos and properly-executed Muay Thai knees until the ref broke them up and returned the fighters to the center of the Octagon. As the round ended, both exchanged punches, and Chris received a cut near his eye from one of the punches.
Round 2 began with both fighters throwing kicks, both inside and to the body. Then Ramsey got Chris against the cage again and tried for a takedown, but Chris wanted no part of that. Both guys got up, went back to the center of the cage, and threw strikes. Ramsey threw some sweet overhand punches, bringing Chris back to the side of the cage. When Chris started throwing the short punches once again, Ramsey had a fire lit under him, and started throwing heavy arm strikes combined with Muay Thai knees, and just dominated Chris. The ref had to stop the fight at 3:12 of the second round.
Next up was Team Lesnar’s Tony Ferguson (10-2) vs. Team Lesnar’s Chuck O’Neil (8-3) . Round 1 started with both guys in the center of the Octagon, with Chuck showcasing flashy combos that Tony blocked, and both guys throwing strikes. Chuck’s combinations were tighter and stronger than Tony’s, but both fighters kept it standing. In the last minute of the round, Tony turned up the heat with striking until Chuck’s face was red and slightly bloody on one side.
In Round 2, the fighters started by throwing tight combinations and inside kicks, keeping the fight in the center. After 2 minutes the guys were warmed up, throwing harder, tighter punches, and kicking more precisely than in the previous round. Chuck’s face began to get redder and bloodier, with one eye swelling and slightly bleeding. It was a really good stand up match.
Round 3 brought striking from both fighters, but Tony threw multiple inside leg kicks, and just dominated the round. Chuck’s face became redder and bloodier as his white shorts became speckled with blood. Chuck wanted the win quite badly, refusing to quit in the face of Tony’s fighting flurry. Tony pushed the pace with more and more inside kicks and proper boxing technique. The ref stopped the fight at 1:51 due to Tony just beating the crap out of Chuck. Dana White really enjoyed this match up, and was impressed by Tony’s victory. Despite the drunken situation, Tony later revealed on camera that he really likes Chuck and hopes he will accept his apology.
Saturday, June 4th, the TUF Finale airs on Spike TV at 9pm EST, and will showcase Team Lesnar’s Tony Ferguson against Team JDS’s Ramsey Nijem, as well as Clay Guida vs. Anthony Pettis and Tim Credeur vs. Ed Herman. Please tune in with me and follow @julzfighter to enjoy some live Twitter action!
