Coach Forrest shows a lot more interest in his fighter than Rampage showed in his, maybe a reason his team has won 6 of 8 fights so far. But, then again Forrest doesn’t seem to know what to do with the talented wrestler,

“Jess is going to do what he wants to do. I can’t control him.”

Jesse for his part seems relaxed, calm, and while he respects his friend Dante, has no qualms about beating him up. At the weigh-in, Taylor is about 2 lbs over the 185 limit. Uh, oh, he better hit the steam room, or jog a few miles right? Well, not exactly. For a fighter with Taylor’s chromosomes, a few games of ping-pong will do. If he fights as hard as he plays ping-pong, he should have no trouble beating Dante. In fact, his odd training method actually works, as he sweats off a good 3 lbs.

QUARTERFINAL FIGHT 1

Jesse Taylor (7-2) vs Dante Rivera (11-2) *Records include their preliminary victories.

Round 1

This will be a very easy round to describe. Jesse takes Dante down IMM-ediately. For the rest of the round Jesse ground and pounds Dante with driving forearms, heavy right hands, and sharp elbows. He uses his gloves to cover Dante’s mouth and disrupt his breathing whenever he’s not throwing something.

Occasionally Dante tries to get up or grab a limb for a submission attempt, but his attempts are fruitless. Jesse is so overpowering, it looks like the two fighters are from different weight classes.

*Easy round for Taylor

Round 2

Jesse takes him down almost immediately again. It’s a replay of the first round, with the exception of Taylor throwing fewer shots. Dante is so ineffective from his guard, that Rampage starts yelling at him to get up and fight from his feet, even though Jiu-Jitsu is his game. The only problem is Dante can’t get up.

Thankfully, the ref is getting tired of the lack of action,

“Gotta advance position… Work!”

He eventually does what Dante can’t, gets the fight back to standing. Taylor’s having none of it. He takes Dante down again like a rag doll. And that is where the rest of the round remains. Taylor mostly smothers Dante, with an occasional shot here and there.

**Taylor wins round 2 and the fight in a dominating, but unspectacular manner.

BACK AT THE TUF HOUSE

Matt Brown and Amir Sadollah are roommates, with the utmost respect for each other. They’re so friendly with each other, that it’s hard to imagine that in a few minutes we’re going to see them bashing each other’s brains out. It’s always amazed me how good at compartmentalizing fighters can be!