THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER SEASON 12 EPISODE 3 REVIEW

As promised, Bruce Leroy grows too cocky because of his win against Jeff Lentz and goes off on a tirade of boasting. Pretty boring, though, as nothing really came of it. Back in training, GSP brings in Olympic silver medalist Gia Sissaouri to help train wrestling with his team. Koscheck, meanwhile, senses that his team might not be giving it their all and tells it to them straight.

FIGHT PICK

GSP selects his first pick, Michael Johnson, to fight the Brit, Aaron Wilkinson.

GSP works hard with his Johnson to improve his footwork in order to avoid Wilkinson power hand, circle, and take him to the ground, where Johnson can have free reign to unleash his specialty: vicious ground and pound.

GSP stays cool while being pranked by Koscheck

KOSCHECK THE PRANKSTER

Koscheck, meanwhile, tries to get into GSP's head by playing a prank on him. While Team GSP is still in training, Koscheck has his guys park two cars really close to GSP's car on both sides, so Georges can't get in. GSP keeps his cool, though, and still manages to squeeze and get in his car. He drives away and doesn't let Koscheck have the satisfaction of pissing him off.

Back in training, Koscheck works on his strategy for Aaron Wilkinson. The game plan is to keep Wilkinson mobile so that Johnson can't take him down. they also work hard on having Wilkinson reverse positions if Johnson manages to pin him to the fence.

IRON MIKE

Iron Mike in the Team GSP locker room

On fight day, Dana White grants GSP's request of bringing legendary heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson in to talk to his team. GSP is a huge Tyson fan (who isnt'?), and he and is team were overjoyed to be in the presence of a fighting legend. It was actually fun when GSP mentions to Tyson how much of a fan he was growing, and how he played Punch Out with Iron Mike as the character.

ROUND 1 

Johnson comes out aggressive with his striking and Wilkinson stays mobile and keeps away as much as possible, as planned. Wilkinson counters Johnson kicks with one of his own and Koscheck shouts from the corner "no kicks!" in keeping with the game plan of not getting taken down. Johnson still manages to pin Wilkinson against the fence, however, and takes him down with ease.

Wilkinson manages to quickly get back up and separate with a solid knee to Johnson's head. Wilinson manages to stay on his feet with his feetwork, but 3 minutes into the fight, Johnson gets off a huge takedown. Wilkinson impressively manages to reverse positions and stay on top, though, and lets loose a couple of effective punches and elbows. Definitely not looking good for GSP's top pick.

ROUND 2

Johnson and Wilkinson exchange furiously

Johnson lands a Superman Punch at the start of the round and pins Wilkinson against the fence. Though he does manage to get another takedown, Wilkinson immediately gets back on his feet and gets a takedown of his own. Johnson reverses and the fight eventually gets back on the feet. It's a very exciting round filled with back and forth action, but with 2 minutes left, both fighters seemed to have succumbed to the fast paced activity. Which fighter has the more gas in the tank will most probably determine the final outcome.

ROUND 3

The fight goes into a third round (Wilkinson probably got the first, with Johnson taking the second), and Johnson, obviously realizing what's at stake, gets a second wind and charges in like a bat out of hell, throwing strikes and taking Wilkinson down like nobody's business. He batters Wilkinson with some of his patented ground and pound, takes his back, and finishes the fight with a rear naked choke with 4:25 left on the clock.

MY TAKE ON THE EPISODE

Michael Johnson finishes Aaron Wilkinson with a Rear Naked Choke

The fight was a blast to watch in my opinion. It seems to me that Johnson did take Wilkinson's wrestling for granted since he couldnt' keep the fight on the ground. Wilkinson managed to get back up almost every time. From the first round, it would seem that Johnson is, as everyone suspected, the stronger and more powerful of the two, but Wilkinson was the more well-rounded fighter.

The second round featured a furious pace which neither fighter was able to maintain, most probably due to their relative lack of inexperience, which is pretty standard for TUF fighters. Most TUF participants are very young in the sport and have a lot to learn, particularly when it comes to pacing. This is why, despite the fact that they may be highly athletic and receive the best training possible every day, they still gas out in their fights.

Johnson proved to be the more motivated and better trained physically of the two, though, as he mustered all the strength he had left and finished the fight within the first minute of the third round.

The rest of the episode was okay. Alex Caceres' much-hyped bragging didn't really amount to anything, though Koscheck's prank was pretty amusing. Aside from the fight, the best part had to be Iron Mike's appearance. That was genuinely very cool.

UP NEXT 

Iron Mike sticks around and Koscheck continues to try and get into GSP's head. Back at the house, Alex Caceres continues to run his mouth and enrages Sevak Magakian. All this and another thrilling fight on the next Ultimate Fighter.