The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs Team Mir - Episode Four Recap

By Thomas Gerbasi

CAUTION: SPOILERS INCLUDED – One light heavyweight competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs Team Mir has been eliminated. Now it’s time for the lightweights to begin cutting their ranks down in the Octagon. But will someone go before he even gets to fight? Read on to find out the latest.

UFC President Dana White has a television brought into the house for the fighters to see the UFC 84 pay-per-view card featuring the lightweight title bout between BJ Penn and Sean Sherk. Junie Browning and Shane Nelson take this opportunity to have a few drinks, and after some good-natured fun, things start to get out of hand, culminating in Browning throwing a glass and cutting Kyle Kingsbury on the left forearm. Browning thinks that spells the end for him in the house.

Meanwhile, Nelson is getting into it with his housemates as well, and he pushes Roli Delgado and Efrain Escudero, who show remarkable restraint in not retaliating.

Browning and Nelson proceed to go outside, where the hijinks continue as they throw the house’s furniture into the pool. Light heavyweight Krzysztof Soszynski has seen enough at this point, and he steps in. Browning challenges Soszynski to hit him, but the 205-pounder holds back. Soszynski gets the last laugh though when he throws Browning’s clothes into the pool, sparking another confrontation. As Browning confronts Soszynski, Ryan Bader throws Browning’s clothes back into the pool, and the cycle repeats itself, with Browning now attacking Bader and Tom Lawlor.

Eventually, cooler heads prevail, and Browning returns to his room for what he thinks is his final night on The Ultimate Fighter.

“I always feel like people are trying to push me around and talk s**t to me,” said Browning. “I don’t think about consequences, I just go nuts.”

By the next morning, everyone in the house expects Browning and Nelson to be thrown off the show, but even White hasn’t made his decision yet.

“From what I’ve seen on the tape,” said the UFC boss, “Junie is a punk and possibly a drunk. But I have no idea what I’m gonna do.”

White arrives in the house and calls everyone together. He harshly reprimands Browning and Nelson for their behavior, but he allows them both to stay.

“I’m not kicking anybody off,” he said. “I’m gonna give you a second shot. I don’t know why I’m doing it, but I am. Don’t make a fool out of me. Be a man while you’re in here.”

There’s one stipulation for Nelson – he will fight next against the man he pushed hours earlier, Escudero.

When talking with coach Frank Mir about the fight, Nelson’s gameplan is simple: “Punch his face off. I’m gonna put him to sleep.”

Escudero is known for his wrestling, but his coach, interim UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira says he also has the “best guillotine in the house.”

Browning tasted some of Escudero’s submission skills when they rolled together before their opening fights, and this session is a bone of contention between the two, as they start jawing at each other.

“I’m not saying you can’t beat Shane,” Browning told Escudero, “I’m just saying that if you do, it’s gonna be America’s most boring fight because you’re just gonna take him down and hold him.”

Hilo, Hawaii’s Nelson (11-3) weighed in at 156 for the bout; Somerton, Arizona’s Escudero (10-0) checked in at 156 as well.

Early on, Nelson showed a good use of footwork and distance as he struck from long range. Escudero eventually worked his way inside and was effective with knees before he scored a takedown and worked his ground and pound.

The second round saw Escudero again control the bout on the ground, and with 28 seconds left in the bout, he forces Nelson to tap from a triangle choke.

“That’s what the UFC needs, another boring-ass wrestler,” yells Browning from Octagonside. Escudero says something back to the Kentucky native, and Browning jumps the fence to go after him. What will happen next? Next week’s episode will tell the tale.

After this week’s bout, Team Nogueira moves to a 2-0 lead in the competition and retains control for next week’s bout pick. Here’s how the teams look:

TEAM MIR
Krzysztof Soszynski
Vinny Magalhaes
Elliot Marshall
Tom Lawlor – Eliminated in week three by Ryan Bader
Junie Browning
Shane Nelson – Eliminated in week four by Efrain Escudero
Dave Kaplan
George Roop

TEAM NOGUEIRA
Ryan Bader 1-0
Shane Primm
Kyle Kingsbury
Jules Bruchez
Phillipe Nover
Efrain Escudero 1-0
John Polakowski
Roli Delgado

For weekly recaps of The Ultimate Fighter, as well as fighter profiles, stay tuned to UFC.com.