TUF 17 Contestant Clint Hester's TUF Blog: Episode 3

Hester's TUF Profile

Heading into the third episode of the 17^th season of The Ultimate Fighter, there was an incredible amount of hype. The hype was surrounding a supposed “one of the worst knockouts not just in TUF history, but in all of the fight business”. Many were skeptical due to Dana’s love of hyping fights.

Well, it was one of the most brutal knockouts in UFC history. It was not only hard to watch, but it made you grimace and cringe. It was both beautiful, and terrifying.

But before I write out a whole article about it, let’s welcome Clint Hester back for his point of view:

So this episode starts out showing Bubba calling out Kevin "King" Casey, and King expressing his feelings about being called out, still having a cut from elimination fights. Which is interesting for me, because I don't feel one should have a tough guy attitude when it comes to The Ultimate Fighter. Especially when you have a house full of this much talent!

Next thing we see is how Uriah's past affects him today in his adult life. I can see how it would be hard to go from being degraded and ridiculed as a young child to where a simple joke would trigger so much anger in the blink of an eye. But when you are around a group of new people, sometimes customs are just very different. Then we all get to see how Adam has come along in his fight career, which impresses me because he has a “plan B” making this is a no pressure situation. So we know that he can still enjoy the fun in the sport that we all love. 

We all know that we are in a sport that is 90% mental when you really give it an in-depth look. If you're not in it mentally, no matter how much talent or athleticism you have, all the talents in the world won't help anything! 

So now we go to the fight. I loved how Adam went out and let his hands go. He came to fight. He threw combos, controlled the ring, and was the aggressor. But there were times when Uriah's strength and speed helped to not completely give Adam the edge. Then we see a very nasty KO. It was all due to Adam making a very small mistake that very few fighters would actually be able to capitalize on. Because the window of opportunity that Adam gave Uriah was so small, it just goes to show Uriah's striking level. Now Team Jones is down 0-2. We have to wait and see what happens with Collin Hart vs. "King" Kevin Casey!! 

TUF 17 Contestant Clint Hester's TUF Blog: Episode 2

Clint Hester's TUF profile.

With the first official fight of the season in the books, the controversy has already begun. When Jones picked the shortest competitor, Gilbert Smith, against the tallest competitor in Luke Barnatt, many were skeptical as to why Jones would have set up such a bizarre matchup.

Now that episode 2 is in the books, let’s welcome back TUF 17 favorite Clint Hester for his second entry:

So tonight’s episode was pretty awesome! I don't know if I'm excited because I have lived with the other thirteen guys for six weeks and I know how everything went down, but this show has been great!!

So this episode was named ambush and it seemed more of ambush the way it happened. Team Jones was trying to change the fight pick right before we went out to announce it, and we did it that way because we weren’t really sure how to break our feelings to [Gilbert] Jamal.

From my point of view, I thought Jamal had it in the bag except from times when he would speak about not having positive reinforcement like he usually does back home. So I'm thinking to myself, “He will not be able to focus for this fight or it will be too much pressure on him just from the way he is acting.” Then we had him trying to defend himself about his cardio and going in trying to prove a point to us, which was not needed in my opinion. He got the fight and now you have nothing to prove in my eyes. All we had to do as fighters was do whatever it took to get to the next round.

So, with all that being said, I feel Jamal went into the cage and did what was planned. It just sucks that there wasn't a plan B.

What I remember from being there was his arms got tired from exerting so much energy going for the takedowns. He should have stepped back and blasted Luke with combos because when he would throw he would land! But we all live and we all learn with each fight and I feel that was a great fight and he went out there to win it. It's just that my man Luke Barnatt wasn't giving anything away and he capitalized on a bad shot and clipped Jamal with a knee that put him out.

But keep watching because two people who loose will get selected for the wild card. Will it be Gilbert Jamal Smith? Or will it be another contestant that dreams of being the Ultimate Fighter who got cut short in this first round? Stay tuned for a great, exciting season!

TUF 17 Contestant Clint Hester's TUF Blog: Episode 1

Hester's TUF profile.

With the newest season of TUF beginning, many were skeptical following the last season, which was probably the worst TUF season so far. It has now brought about a new sleek look, bringing about a cinematic feel rather than the live TV look in the previous years. The fights were explosive and entertaining with lots of technique, something the show has been missing recently.

One of the favorites following the fights to get into the house was Clint Hester, who dominated his opponent Fraser Opie right from the get go. His striking was too crisp and his grappling was too strong. He was so impressive that he was Jon Jones’ first pick.

Now that the TUF 17 pilot has launched, we welcome Clint Hester aboard the CR team for duration of the new TUF season for a weekly blog of his experience on The Ultimate Fighter. Check out this week’s entry:

So the premier of The Ultimate Fighter season 17 aired last night, and all I have to say is amazing! It's cool how they gave it a new look. This whole experience was amazing and I definitely understand the emotions that the episode showed in the hotel room.

 It was crazy just sitting in palace station and waiting for the producers to come get you for whatever they needed you for. You just have time to sit and think and sometimes you can catch yourself over thinking the fight you will have the next day. You can feel yourself panicking because you know absolutely nothing about the guy you will be fighting the next day, but that is just the nature of this beast of a tourney that we have entered.

But I knew personally for me, the minute I walked into the UFC training center I felt like this is where I belonged and I just relaxed, calmed down, warmed up, and went out and left it all in the ring! Just like my other 13 friends that I shed blood sweat and tears with.

 After I fought, it was time to study my future opponents so I sat back relaxed and enjoyed watching the rest of the fights, making a gameplan for every other fighter that got into the house. When the fights were over and it was time to pick teams, my boy "Big Slow" Luke Barnatt was picked first on Sonnen’s team and I was picked first on Jones’ team. It was a great feeling to be picked first but it made me feel like there was a target on my back. And I always feel better for a fight when the pressure is on.

This season will be great! Don't miss an episode or blink an eye because I promise this season will be amazing!