Good, bad break for Team Lesnar on TUF

THE CANADIAN PRESS

Brock Lesnar asks for someone to step up and Clay Harvison obliges on Episode 5 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

Harvison’s decision over English welterweight Mick Bowman in the episode that aired Wednesday cuts the lead of Junior Dos Santos’ team to 3-2 over Team Lesnar on Season 13 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

And it restores some lustre to a Lesnar team that got a tongue-lashing from its blunt coach following Charles Rader’s defeat the previous week.

In telling his team there is nowhere to hide in the cage, Lesnar says: “I got my ass kicked by Cain Velasquez.

“I didn’t come out of there blaming anybody. I don’t have any team members. This isn’t a team sport. That was my responsibility.”

And when Len Bentley says he got robbed by the judges in his loss, Lesnar replies: “It’s over. It’s over buddy.

“I want somebody to wow me,” he continues, looking at the three who have yet to fight. “Who is it going to be?”

Things look bleak for Bowman when, citing the inspiration of his young daughter, he says he will die before he loses the fight. In the world of reality TV, such bold talk is usually indicative of a coming fall.

And the Brit looks tentative and outmatched against Harvison, who drives him backwards repeatedly with strikes. Bowman rallies slightly in the second round, connecting with kicks against a tiring Harvison, but still spends much of the round in retreat.

Adding insult to injury, Bowman is subtitled throughout the show for those who can’t make sense of his Liverpudlian accent.

The bad news for Harvison is that the fight marks an end to his TUF campaign after suffering a compound fracture of his pinky, a nasty-looking injury that gets plenty of camera time.

The rest of the show is spent in drama queen mode, with members of Team Lesnar obsessing over whether Chris Cope is sharing secrets to Team Dos Santos — a charge Cope denies.

Harvison is particularly irate and threatens consequences.

“I’ll break the law … I’ve been known to,” says the big-talking Georgia native who had his brother’s ashes put in the ink used to tattoo his torso.

The episode, titled “Wow Me,” also hints at more to come in the growing rift between Dos Santos and assistant coach Lew Polley.

Lesnar and Dos Santos face off June 11 at UFC 131 in Vancouver.

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