Sherdog.com’s Guide to TUF 6

After last week's final first-round fight between Tommy Speer and Jon Koppenhaver (Pictures), we move on to the quarterfinals. Since Team Serra has won just about everything on this show, they get the power to choose the matchups.

Matt Serra (Pictures) wants very much for Hughes's last two fighters, Speer and Mac Danzig (Pictures), to have to face each other. He knows it will be his last shot to have control of sticking it to Hughes.

Serra's team, however, would rather have their king, George Sotiropoulos (Pictures), take on Danzig. If Danzig and Speer fight each other, at least one of them would be assured a spot in the semifinals. Team Serra figures that they can knock off both of Hughes' boys on their own and doesn't want either to advance.

Dana White and Serra discuss their options and then call in the remaining fighters to see whom they would want to fight and why.

When asked who the best fighter is after himself, George Sotiropoulos (Pictures) can't come up with an answer. Most fighters agree that Sotiropoulos isn't the man they want across from them.

Danzig worries that he will be matched up against his teammate Speer. Hughes claims that he will "throw a fit" if that's the case.

The quarterfinals are announced: Matt Arroyo vs. Troy Mandaloniz (Pictures), Mac Danzig (Pictures) vs. John Kolosci (Pictures), George Sotiropoulos (Pictures) vs. Richie Hightower (Pictures), and Ben Saunders vs. Tommy Speer.

Although Serra might think he did the right thing, the script gets flipped when Dana levels him by telling the coaches that Serra needs to send two guys over to Hughes' team for the typical now-it's-every-man-for-himself scenario.

Serra can't corner every fighter and hates the idea of having to send his fighters to train with Hughes. "The bond between trainer and fighter is something he doesn't get," Serra says about White's decision to make him give up his team. Team Serra is bummed out and no one wants to leave.

"He's such a meathead," says Hughes with a laugh while watching Serra worry aloud.

These Matts make for quite a pair.

"The one thing he has to his advantage is size and strength," Danzig comments on his opponent, Kolosci. "There's no way I'm losing this fight."

Though Danzig is supremely confident on the mat, he's falling apart at the fighter-filled house. "I'm starting to lose it," he says, adding that he's developing a split personality.

Other housemates like Matt Arroyo agree: "It just seems like a guy that has a lot of ups and downs in his personality." Kolosci mocks Danzig's monotone voice.

Danzig blames it on the few choices they have. "Eat, train, sleep and watch people act stupid," he says.

Always looking to entertain himself, he goes outside and hangs a feeder for hummingbirds. No birds show, however, and Danzig thinks his negativity might be keeping animals from him.

It seems he may have forgotten one of the few things that you can always do at the TUF house, which is screw with the other housemates. Not long after his hummingbird feeder goes up, Jon Koppenhaver (Pictures) moves it to another spot in the yard. "War Machine" knows that Danzig will most certainly be cross if he finds out someone touched his feeder.

Sure enough, Danzig finds this egregious act and begins muttering about kicking everyone's teeth in and all the other assorted phrases that accompany Hummingbird foul play.

Later Danzig has an epiphany when talking to the house comedian/voice of reason, Blake Bowman. Bowman talks of how this experience will alter their lives forever, be it good or bad. Danzig has a jolt and walks away thinking he should be more positive.

The next day he writes himself a mantra on his closet to help reinforce better habits of being nice to Bowman and being more upbeat. He hopes that the animals will all come to him like "The Beastmaster" if he gets some good karma going.

White pulls everyone together to find out who will be switching teams. A coin is flipped, and Richie Hightower (Pictures) and Matt Arroyo get the bad news.

They decide to be proactive and let Hughes know that they have developed a relationship with Serra and they don't want any awkwardness with their new coaches. Hughes lets them dance for a stone-faced audience. Hightower is shocked when Hughes doesn't extend his own laurel of friendship and is indifferent to his effort to unite forces. Hughes says he isn't there to make friends, just to coach, and he leaves.

While Hughes may have looked like a jerk, he wasn't. If you're an un-drafted rookie, you don't pull aside a seven time pro-bowler and tell him that you don't want there to be any awkwardness between you both during mini-camp.

The pro-bowler doesn't have to listen to you because you don't exist.

It's time for Kolosci and Danzig to finally tee off on each other, and Danzig has no one to spar with. Half his team is banged up from previous fights, and those that are left can't hang with him to give him a challenge. He doesn't seem too deterred, saying, "I'm going to win this fight; it's not an issue."

Kolosci thinks that he has his team and half of Hughes' team on his side to help knock off Danzig. Serra's squad likes Kolosci's size advantage in this fight.

"His ground and pound is nasty," Serra says. Kolosci warns Danzig to defend against takedowns, or he'll "eat a lot of elbows."

Kolosci must have forgotten that Danzig is a vegetarian, and while he doesn't eat elbows, he doesn't mind serving them.

Kolosci comes out with a few leg kicks until Danzig knees him and gets him down. Danzig tries to pass for the side, but Kolosci shows some of his strength by pushing off and standing back up.

Kolosci drops down, going for a double leg, but Danzig sprawls and elbows Kolosci in the back. Kolosci still holds onto a leg while eating more elbows to the side of his head.

Danzig drops yet more elbows and fists on Kolosci, who seems hell-bent on wrestling and forgetting to defend Danzig's punches. Anywhere Kolosci goes, punches are too soon to follow.

Big John stops the action to get a cut wiped and a mouthpiece put in. Kolosci gets back in and shoots in hard, but again Danzig stuffs him with ease. Once on the ground, Danzig quickly takes his back and catches him in a rear-naked choke to end it in the first round.

"His movements are telegraphed," says Danzig afterward, suggesting that Kolosci was nervous. Kolosci admits he froze up when the takedowns weren't there and got his ass kicked.

After the fight, Danzig expresses his love to his team and coaches. Hughes says that they have all been lifted up by his words, and they meet in the middle for one of those go-team moments.

Fittingly, a shot of a tiny hummingbird sitting on Danzig's feeder brings us full circle.