Amir Sadollah is one of 16 middleweights to fight their way into the house for a chance to win a contract with the UFC on Spike TV’s reality series “The Ultimate Fighter 7.”
Sadollah is writing a weekly blog to give ocregister.com readers a behind-the-scenes look at everything that goes down in the house, during training and in the fights.
TUF 7 airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on Spike TV, and Sadollah’s blog posts immediately following each episode.
EPISODE 9
JT is as advertised, full speed and out of control. The ping pong weight cutting was absolutely true. He cut about four pounds doing that. As was the urinating himself by the hot tub. These couple of scenes were literally just a few of a slew of classic JT moments.
I won’t divulge too much else because I’m not sure what still may make it to the air or not. Trust me though, we have stories.
I think there were good and bad aspects of Dante and Matt going to Team Rampage. Dante enjoyed working with Junior, another great BJJ guy which was right up Dante’s alley. Matt enjoyed working with Juanito (Ibarra), a world class boxing trainer. Matt has a boxing background and commented many times on how he loved working with Juanito.
It’s always good to work with different people, but the one big negative I saw in the team switch was the last minute lack of familiarity. Dante and Matt are both complete professionals however, so I know they took it in stride.
This episode was the first time I saw the fight between JT and Dante. My fight with Matt was on the same day, and I was in the warm-up room while the fight was going on. Going into the fight, I think they were both confident, yet respectful and knew each other’s strengths. The fact that we trained together for four weeks prior definitely changed how they fought each other.
JT was very aware of Dante’s submission skills, and was very cautious to stay in safe positions. There were probably no better corners Jesse could have had in that fight. They knew most of Dante’s set-ups and favorite submissions, and knew Jesse’s abilities very well. In the end, JT did successfully what he does very well, takes you down and works you over.
Dante and Jesse remained good friends after the fight. It was always funny to hear them talk about it. A couple come to mind.
“JT you hit me in the head 347 times, go get me a water.” As well as, Dante standing up in the hot tub, fists on his hips, head up and turned to the side, kind of resembling a superhero pose and saying, “I think… I have a concussion.”
I would say there was a fair amount of excitement for Matt and myself fighting among our cast mates, I just wanted to deliver. It was very strange being that close (both personally and proximally) to someone I was about to fight, we literally slept in the same room. A fight is really just another form of competition, so that’s how we both viewed it, nothing personal.
Matt and I, being very familiar with each other, also changed how we would have usually fought. I was very cognizant of his hand speed and power, and he was very aware of my favorite kicks. If you remember the previous episode when it showed Matt crumple someone with a body shot sparring, that poor fool was me. I learned that he’s good at that one the hard way.
I think the fight spoke for itself, we went out there and banged, I know neither of us held anything back. Matt threw good, quick combos, kicks, and knees. I didn’t want be in front of him when possible, so I tried to circle when I could, and pick shots when I saw the opening. Matt is one tough dude, and believe me, I was glad to have been able to fight someone like him.
Watching this episode, I saw plenty I can improve upon. Every fight is a learning experience and I saw more than a few things in this fight I want to work on. Not hesitating as much with the kicks for example. Also, doing less of those weird flying side kick things. That … did not look as cool on TV as it did in my head.
I was glad that Matt and I were still friends, both during and after the show. I’ll share the text I got from him tonight right after the show aired, “I should have kicked you in the nuts.” Good times.
One thing you immediately notice about being on the show is how it concentrates and prepares you for almost every obstacle you will come across in your career. Fighting an opponent who knows your strengths and weaknesses is certainly one of those obstacles. This show provides no shortage of intel on us to our opponents, both during the show and after. This forces you to evolve and become a more complete fighter or wither. The bar is always being raised.
I’ll end with my vote for quote of the episode. JT eating cake, “Exuberant!”
-Amir
To check out Amir’s blog for Episode 8, click here.
To check out Amir’s blog for Episode 7, click here.
To check out Amir’s blog for Episode 6, click here.
To check out Amir’s blog for Episode 5, click here.
To check out Amir’s blog for Episode 4, click here.
To check out Amir’s blog for Episode 3, click here.
To check out Amir’s blog for Episode 2, click here.
Once again, awesome fight!
If the little announcer man at the end of the show the week before had been like, “Next week on The Ultimate Fighter: Matt Brown and Amir Sadollah go head to head in the octagon. The two fiercest strikers in the house give it their all inside the cage. And this match will be decided by a triangle choke,” I’m not sure I’d have believed it.
For your second fight in a row I found myself standing up and yelling at my TV like it was on fire. What a fight! The last 20 seconds of the second round I was screaming “FINNISH HIM.” I felt like that dude in Mortal Kombat.
And Matt Brown gave one of the best and classiest post-fight confession I’ve seen on the show ever.
congratulations to both of you, one phrase can probably say it all: It doesn’t get any better than this…..
2 excellent fighters with hearts of steel, drama of a friendship, professionalism before, during and after the fight, ….
JT wins the award for “best and most entertaining un-intentional Kodak moments and quotes”
Great blog, congrats on your win Amir!
Awesome fight, Amir. Keep it up! Slick triangle.
I really loved the camaraderie between both you and Matt Brown and Jesse Taylor and Dante Rivera. Excellent, classy stuff, and that’s what the sport is all about.
does anybody know where amir or his family is originally from? (.. just trying to find one more reason to follow his performances…:) thanks
So, I have never watched any Ultimate Fighting before, but I have to say that after getting tired of the same old garbage on the few channels I watch, I flipped channels until I hit Spike. And of course, TUF was on, so I got kinda hooked.
It’s not the type of thing I would normally watch, but I was curious to see how the fighters would react to one another after a fight. We’ve all seen the sensationalized crap with wrestling and boxing, and all the trash-talking. Not having seen much Ultimate Fighting, I can only guess that there is some of that in the sport, but I was happy to see the sportsmanship and camaraderie of all the fighters I saw.
Two guys kick, punch, grab, slam, and hold each other for a few minutes. They brutalize. They get brutalized. And then, when it’s all over, they hug and shake hands. THAT is what is missing from just about every other type of sport. (Hence, my disgust with sports in general.)
So, now, to Amir, I just happened to notice that you were from Richmond. I work in Richmond, and live in Surry County, so I was like, “Hey RVA boy! I’ll root for him!”
Congrats on your win against Matt. And again, I have to comment on how awesome I think it is that immediately after the two of you pounded the snot out of each other, you were right there next to him, showing those gestures of friendship and solidarity. Also, I understand that Matt is your friend as well. Friends or not, it’s refreshing to see that two guys can both be so humble and grown-up about the whole thing.
Keep up the good work, stay strong, and good luck, Amir! I look forward to watching you fight again in the future. Surf Wisely!
Well, i’d just like to say that you are an amazing fighter .. but I’m sure you already know that. Your fight against Brown was completely awesome, and i’ve never been so stoked to see a fight in my life. Actually, I’ve never watched a fight in my life.. or any sports related show until now. You’ve quickly became my favourite fighter on the show, and i feel the need to brag about your win to my older brother at least 3 times a day, (he was respectfully rooting for Brown.) After watching that episode, I went on my very girly victory march around the house, and went to sleep with a smile on my face .. (as creepy as that sounds.) I’m proud to say that I’m the only girl at my highschool who watches the show, and can actually hold up a conversation about it with all the guys. (It even suprises me! haha) But i’ve just gotta let you know, There’s more then just one pretty boy in the house
.. hinthint. haha, okay i’ll shut up now, no worries.
What up Amir my Persian brother. Your a great guy and hell of a fighter. I would love for you to win the show. Your standup is terrific, I like how your smart enough to circle and not stand directly in front of someone. If you watch the great Anderson Silva you will see he dont stand in front of fighters, he constantly moves left and right, then seeks and destroys. You have an amazing ability to get up after being taken down. I cannot stress how much of a talent that is. The only thing I think your arsenal needs, is a more speed on your strikes. You have a great element of surprise in the way you time your strikes, I think more pure speed would only enhance that. You’ve got a great outlook and attitude. Live your dream my friend, live your dream.
payaam said just about everything i would say, verbatim. if i had only gone online a few hours earlier i would actually have something to write besides that i would say the exact same thing as the guy that posted right before me! thanks alot payaam. good luck amir and great job on TUF!
Gooooood fight! That was cool. Its amazing how you keep beating fighters that others keep hyping up. Your fights sure are exciting and you leave everything out there. Good luck for the semis!
Amir, you never fail to impress with your heart and killer instinct. I’m behind you all the way…I know you’ll be in the UFC one way or another. Just a quick question…there’s a myspace page with your name attached to it. Is it really yours, or somebody pretending?
i am so glad you won. like melissa, you also quickly became my favorite fighter on the show. i think its clear that the producers wanted the drama of two friends fighting but you two were really respectful and put on a great show. congrats on the win.
fave fighters- a lot of heart
spencer fisher
josh haynes
gsp
jens pulver
AMIR SADOLLAH
ok, that fight was awesome!! congrats on your win, and ps I like you with a black eye, you look like a bada** even more so!!!!
I have watched the fight several times now, and I must say I disagree with your statement about “those weird flying side kick things”. They actually look good on TV and is quite enteratining. Plus I think they remind your opponents of your many skills and agility.
I’m glad you won. I picked you vs. Matt or you vs. CB for the finals at the beginning. It sucked that this fight had to be so early, but it was a great fight. From a long time MMA fan, I hope you get that contract and whoop some middleweight ass.
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