The Weekly Wrap: Oct. 30 - Nov. 5

TUF 12 Quarters Set; Kos Gains Steam

The quarter-final matchups for Season 12 of “The Ultimate Fighter” were set on an episode that saw the long-teased scuffle between heel coach Josh Koscheck and a medic for Team GSP.

Koscheck taunted medic Brad Tate repeatedly for being a male nurse, with Tate firing back insults at members of Koscheck’s team. Koscheck grabbed at Tate’s throat, and the camps scrambled to separate the two. Koscheck, who apologized in unaired footage released on Spike TV’s Web site, theorized that Georges St. Pierre strategized to bring in Tate to do his trash talking and fight his psychological warfare for him.

Koscheck continues to pick up great steam as a bad guy on the show; his Wikipedia page this week was wrought with insults that had to be purged, including an intro sentence replacing “American fighter” with “douchebag fighter.”

The episode saw Team Koscheck stablemates Marc Stevens and Aaron Wilkinson fight in this season’s wild card bout between contestants who lost a fight but were deemed to have enough potential to earn a second shot. Wilkinson, a U.K. fighter who received word his “Nana” had died before the bout, was out-grappled in the first round underneath the control of the talented wrestler. In the second round, Stevens again dove into a guillotine choke while shooting for a takedown, tapping quickly. Stevens, who appeared to gas between rounds, was subbed by elusive guillotine master Cody McKenzie in the first round in one of the bigger upsets this season.

Wilkinson will face Kyle Watson in the quarter-final round of the Season 12 lightweight tournament. The three other fights will be Jonathan Brookins vs. Sako Chivitchyan, McKenzie vs. Nam Phan and a grudge match between Michael Johnson and Alex Caceres. Brookins vs. Chivitchyan and McKenzie v. Phan will air next week.

Though it contained the hyped Koscheck-Tate scuffle, the latest episode saw a dip in ratings. The show drew a 1.2 rating for an average of 1.6 million viewers on Spike TV, down from 1.9 million last week, the high point of the season.

The UFC has begun casting for Season 13, holding an open tryout for welterweight and middleweight contestants in Las Vegas. Coaches have not been announced, though Season 3 winner Michael Bisping’s name has been in play. Among those who tried out were Andre Galvao, Karl Amoussou, Zak Cummings, Muhsin Corbbrey and one-armed fighter Nick Newell, MMAJunkie.com reported.