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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Friday's episode of The Ultimate Fighter on FX featured one of the lower moments seen on the reality show. As the week's fight between James Chaney and Jon Manley wore on, Manley caught Chaney in a tight mounted guillotine. In a desperate move, Chaney bit into Manley's side in an attempt to break out of the hold.
That didn't work, and he was forced to tap out, taking him out of the tournament. He knew almost immediately that it was an awful move, and even made the comment on the show afterward that, "maybe I'm kind of a piece of s***." It was just a very low display, and Chaney addressed the situation on Saturday following's the show's airing in a blog penned at MMAWeekly.com. Here's his commentary on the biting incident:
"I was desperate and in that moment I did the only thing I can think of. I bit Jon, I was hoping it would do something, anything to get me out of the choke and back in the fight. Had I any clarity of mind obviously I would realize that what I did was not only completely despicable, but unlikely to help my case.
I've never cheated in a fight before, but the stakes were so high and I so desperately wanted not only to win the fight, but to have some means to improve my own life that I resorted to something I never would've believed I'd do.
I'm back home now still breaking my back working a job that pays nothing, living on a mattress on the floor of my best friends garage, I've lived and still live like animal to fulfill this dream and one day have the means to help the people I care about and create a better life for myself with fighting. I failed them, I failed myself, and I brought disgrace to everyone I represent.
In retrospect it's so obvious I should never have done what I did, but in the heat of battle, certain victory changing to sudden defeat, with the animal mentality I bring into the cage, I did a really ugly thing. It goes without saying I would never do it again, but what's done is done.
To the UFC, the fans who support me, Jon Manley, and all of the people on all of the people I represent I'm truely sorry. I was given an unbelievable opportunity and I blew it above and beyond what I even thought possible."
Penick's Analysis: There's something to be said for accepting responsibility and admitting fault, and Chaney can be credited with doing that almost immediately after actually doing what he did in the cage. Still, this incident is just another in a long line of things, just on Friday's episode, that showcase how much the show has regressed from a talent standpoint. We don't have fighters coming into the show with a chance at being a champion in the UFC. Those days are gone, and have been done and over with since season five. And it's only gotten worse. This was embarrassing for Chaney, it was embarrassing for even this show's standards, and the entire episode was pretty embarrassing for MMA. Good on him for the apology, but what happened still happened.
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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