Following each episode of The Ultimate Fighter Heavyweights, Team Rashad member Matt Mitrione will share his thoughts on what happened on camera and behind the scenes.
How high school is it for people to speculate behind my back that I’m faking an injury? Is it really that big of a deal? Is it worth a whole segment on the show?
I’ve never had shoulder issues like that before, never. The amount of mileage on my, Marcus’ and Wes Shivers’ body is pretty high. So when we do a high volume of upper body stuff like two hundred jabs, my rotator cuff’s going to get a little bit sore. I played football for 19 years, Marcus played for like, 23. Playing football at a D-I program and in the NFL you get to know your body really well. Who does Rashad think he is to tell me getting a cortisone shot is a bad idea? Why were THEY being so dramatic about it?
My shoulder was bad for four or five days before that conversation. There was a pretty significant amount of time between when I hurt my shoulder rolling and when I had a conversation with Rashad about having a cortisone shot. I had taken three or four practices off where I did nothing at all. It’s common practice when you’re coming back from time off to do a good little amount of work and ice it. You don’t try to kill an injury or beat it into the ground. So when I wanted to ice it and they were like, no, no, I was like, fine. You can see when I was working straight lefts I was barely hitting the bag.
The coaches were saying they were gonna make me do pushups – that’s stupid. If you think I’m bullshitting, tell me, don’t talk about me behind my back. They didn’t show me asking Jon Chaimberg what I could do to strengthen my shoulder. They didn’t show me in my closet doing shoulder workouts every morning and every night.
When they’re talking about me shooting baskets in the pool, did you notice that I was using my right hand and my left arm did absolutely nothing? I’m left handed, shooting with my right hand, yet I’m a faker? Then at the dinner table Brendan and Roy are talking about things I do with my right hand. So obviously they are building me up to look as bad as possible.
That’s what’s funny to me. I’m being shown as this dramatic person but it’s my shoulder, it doesn’t affect anybody else. I wanted to go to the doctor and get a cortisone shot. Why was everyone so concerned about it? I didn’t complain, I just said I want a cortisone shot and it will be fine in a couple days. I’m sure it had to do with the week before. Rashad called me a drama king but when I hurt it I was like ‘don’t worry about it, don’t worry about it, I’ll keep practicing.’ Whatever. It really doesn’t bother me at all.
I don’t know what to make of Zak. Brendan’s right, Zak didn’t belong there. He’s not an Alpha Male; he’s not anything dominant whatsoever. In that situation you just feel bad for him. He played football at Northern Illinois and I was supposed to play football there so we had some things in common. I joined in on making fun of him a little but but I told him to come talk to me if he needed to, I told him I was a friend, made sure he knew he was cool with me. I know what it’s like to be the scapegoat but if you’re getting picked on and you can’t even defend yourself? That’s pretty rough.
The fight this week was weird. When I was watching it in person, I didn’t realize how slow Wes’ punches were. He was telegraphing them. He seemed like he was really out of his body. I make rookie mistakes when I’m rolling because I should, but with Sims, it looked like he had no clue what he was doing. He didn’t struggle to get back up, it seemed like Sims just kind of lost him mind for a couple of minutes. Before the fight, we were talking in the house about how Sims doesn’t tap. He doesn’t tap in practice, either. He was out for six or seven seconds before Herb even acknowledged that he was out.
Read the recap of the first episode of The Ultimate Fighter Heavyweights.
Read the recap of the second episode of The Ultimate Fighter Heavyweights.
Read the recap of the third episode of The Ultimate Fighter Heavyweights.
Read the recap of the fourth episode of The Ultimate Fighter Heavyweights.
Abe Wagner’s wrestling needed work.
Abe Wagner’s low moments.
Abe Wagner’s talks with and about Kimbo Slice.
Abe Wagner says nobody is that gullible.
Matt Mitrione wasn’t busting his stones.
Matt Mitrione says James McSweeney kicks hard as hell.
Matt Mitrione discusses the Gospel of Roy.
Matt Mitrione’s no snitch.
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