Another fun- and fight-filled week was had with Team Miller and Team Bisping. This week “Mayhem” Miller really felt that his fighters were more confident and were going to win another fight, as they were all either learning or refreshing their skills, which created team cohesion. That team cohesion was felt by all but one team member, John Dodson (11-5), who trains at Jackson’s Academy with a few of the Team Bisping fighters.
While Team Miller was training at the UFC Training Center, Team Bisping decided it was their time to pull a prank. Since 2 weeks before Team Miller added some extra large tires to Team Bisping’s ready room, Team Bisping decided to take away the tires from Miller’s car, and place them inside the training facility. After Team Miller finished training, their coach headed out to his Dodge Charger, saw the car up on jacks, and just laughed it off; Jason Miller can certainly appreciate a good joke. He returned with the rest of his team, found the tires placed throughout the facility, and had his guys put the tires back on the Charger.
Team Bisping’s turn for training time at the facility brought out a war between some of the team’s fighters. Bisping’s training was quite technical, and he instructed the guys to just spar at 60%. However, some of the guys pushed it up to 100%, especially featherweight Corassani. Corassani decided to instill fear in people (including his teammates) because his team needed discipline and tighter structure.
Corassani decided to add some drama, pranks and entertainment to the house as well. (Obviously, he will be the show’s attention-stealer this season.) Corassani decided to put a mixture of rice and bird feed into the gloves of some of Team Miller’s fighters. After Team Miller picked the fighters for this week’s fight — Team Miller’s Johnny Bedford vs. Team Bisping’s Josh Ferguson — Team Miller took their turn to train, and when the guys put their gloves on, out poured the mixture! A good laugh was had by all, but Bedford was ready for the fight, and eager to pick off Team Bisping’s Ferguson.
When it was Team Bisping’s turn at training, training focused on preparing Ferguson for his upcoming fight. Since Ferguson is a shorter, stronger fighter, and more of a wrestler, Bisping kept the training focused on standing. Due to the large reach disparity between the two fighters, Bisping gave Ferguson some tips on dirty boxing when pressed against the cage.
Back to the house pranks. Team Miller’s Neace decided to prank Corassani with rice, but not in his gloves — he poured rice in Corassani’s bed instead! When Corassani came back from Team Bisping training and found the rice in his bed, he got very upset and confronted Neace. This led to the two fighters having a verbal sparring session and deciding to fight it out hard in the cage, as their words served to fuel each other’s fire.
As previously mentioned, Team Miller’s fighter Dodson, the “mole”, is friends and training partners of Team Bisping’s fighters from Jackson’s Academy. He decided to inform Team Bisping of Johnny Bedford’s hand injury, which he sustained at the beginning of the season during his initial fight for house entry. This information helped Team Bisping’s Josh Ferguson during his preparation for the upcoming fight.
The fight of this week was Team Miller’s Johnny Bedford (17-9-1) vs. Team Bisping’s Josh Ferguson (7-3-0). Round 1 started with both fighters coming out striking and determining reach, but it was pretty clear that Bedford was much taller with longer reach. However, Ferguson did start off with some tight combinations and hard hits, despite the reach difference. As the round continued, Bedford easily pushed Ferguson to the ground, took his back, and threw strikes to Ferguson’s head. But Ferguson is a tough, strong fighter, and he remained active on the ground. Both guys eventually got to their feet for more striking, where Bedford, with his longer limbs, dominated the standup before pressing Ferguson against the cage. Bedford put Ferguson on his back again, and controlled him on the ground until Ferguson suddenly reversed it with striking and strength. With both fighters back on their feet, Ferguson attempted a standing choke, but Bedford pushed him off almost with ease. Again, both fighters hit the ground and Bedford took Ferguson’s back, but while he was attempting a RNC, the bell rang.
Round 2 began with striking again, as Bedford connected more with punches and knees, and Ferguson’s face started to swell. Ferguson tried a flying knee, but Bedford caught it and took the fight back to the ground. As Bedford tried to secure the full mount, Ferguson remained active, and they grappled for at least a minute. Bedford tried to pass guard, but Ferguson quickly made his way back to the feet, until Beford tripped him back to the ground. Then, as both fighters were grappling, but were not making progress, the ref threatened to stand them up. In response, Bedford decided to use his elbows from side control for the remainder of the round until the whistle blew. Team Miller’s Johnny Bedford won by decision.
Team Miller remained in control of the fight picks, and Bisping became slightly upset. But with a mole on Team Miller, and one of Team Bisping’s fighters not happy with his training, next week will be sure to bring more excitement and intrigue. Stay tuned every Wednesday night on Spike TV, or catch up with me and MMA Ratings.
