TUF TIMES: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller, Season 14-Episode 8

By Julie Romine

This week on The Ultimate Fighter, the Featherweight semifinal match up of Team Miller’s Dennis Bermudez vs. Team Bisping’s Akira Corassani took place. There was also plenty of mayhem, but from Team Bisping instead of Team Miller! In the house, the fighters started forming cliques, and Akira started the night of pranks, beginning with Team Miller’s Bryan Caraway. Akira didn’t care for Caraway, not just because he was on Team Miller, but because he took too long to do his hair in the morning. In response, Akira decided one late night to shave Caraway’s hair! Akira got a patch partially shaved before Caraway quickly rose from the bed pissed. Caraway told the members of Team Bisping that were there when Akira planned the prank that he did not think it was funny. Caraway then decided that he would begin barricading his room.

The next day, it was time for a Team Miller training session. The fighters who are fighting in the semifinals were really intense and trained hard. In the meantime, the rest of Team Miller was peeking outside to see if Team Bisping was about to pull off a prank on them…but it was too late. Team Bisping opened Team Miller’s ready room, sprayed a fire extinguisher in, and then closed their door and held it tight! Then Team Bisping brought in a Mexican Mariachi band to play as Team Miller kicked the door down and ran out of their room! Jason Miller laughed it off, but his team was a little pissed at Bisping.

Next came Team Bisping’s training time, but the gym was trashed and full of fire extinguisher smell. So the guys that needed to train for their upcoming fights decided to do some road work. The next day that Team Bisping returned for training, they really concentrated on preparing Akira Corassani for his upcoming fight against Dennis Bermudez. Bisping had a training game plan for Akira that included practicing jiu-jitsu from his back, but Akira wanted to stand and do pad work. Ultimately, however, Bisping’s argument won out, and Bisping convinced Akira to practice his ground game. All the coaches agreed that Akira needed the work on the ground, and they put him through a tough go around with different fighters on the ground. Then Bisping brought Akira into the cage for striking. After practice was finished, Bisping’s own fighter, Marcus Brimage, decided to play a prank on Bisping. He jumped Bisping’s back in the hall after practice, and shoved a dirty, stinky jockstrap in Bisping’s mouth! Gross! Marcus ran off and didn’t return!

That night, Bisping and coach Tiki Ghosn showed up at the house and demanded a team meeting, sounding really serious as they did so. The fighters gathered together outside the house in one of the courtyards, while Bisping and Tiki kept their hands in their pockets. Then all of a sudden, they pulled their hands from their pockets, where they were hiding cans of silly foam, and sprayed all the guys, mainly Brimage! All the guys ran around outside and laughed it up.

The following day it was Team Miller’s time to train, and their main focus was on Dennis Bermudez. Assistant coach Siyar Bahadurzada, from Team Golden Glory out of Holland, worked with Dennis on his stand up. Then, to switch it up, Dennis, trained his ground game with assistant coach Ryan Parsons.

Fight day! Team Miller’s Dennis Bermudez (7-2) took on Team Bisping’s Akira Corassani (9-3). Round 1 began with both guys coming out striking, before Dennis started going for takedowns, while Akira continued with strikes. Dennis pressed Akira up against the fence and landed a hard knee to Akira’s chin, but Akira was relentless with strikes, though the wrestler Dennis was relentless in shooting for takedowns. However, Dennis had success of his own with striking, though, as you could hear is team and coaches yell, he needed to keep his hands up. He finally succeeded in taking Akira down, then attempted a submission with Akira on his back against the cage, and Akira ended up tapping from Dennis’s submission. This fight was not very technical, almost more of a street fight.

After the fight ended, Akira became upset and angry, almost hysterical, and the doctor needed to look at him to make sure he was ok.

On next week’s episode, Bisping and Miller have the coaches challenge, and Team Miller’s Dustin Pague takes on Team Bisping’s TJ Dillashaw in the Bantamweight semi-final fight.

Join me in watching The Ultimate Fighter Wednesday nights on Spike TV, or catch up here on MMA Ratings.