Phillipe Nover: The Final TUF 8 Blog
December 4, 2008 by Phillipe Nover
First, let me start by apologizing for the late blog post. I received the DVD the day of the episode and I’ve been so busy.
Episodes 11 and 12.
Bader vs. Marshall -
I thought Bader did his thing. He is a great wrestler with unbelievable power! It wasn’t the most exiting fight but he pulled out the win! I personally thought Elliot should have thrown less high kicks and stay in ow stances and focus on the punching. All the credit to Bader. I wasn’t happy how Mir said Bader wasn’t a good fighter and that he was just a wrestler. That was plain wrong — Bader is a great fighter!
Myself vs. Roop -
Going into the fight I had so much respect for Roop. He was a great person to hang around with. It’s so much easier fighting someone who you don’t like. But I liked the guy. We shared food and chatted all the time. I had to put that aside. The other obstacle in my mind before the fight was how tough Roop was mentally. His thumb was really bad and lot of fighters would have backed out. He had a war with Polakowski a week before he had to throw down with me and has no hesitation in doing so. He is one tough dude. In fact, after the win, I went over to him and called him “The toughest dude in the house” but that wasn’t shown. He really was the toughest.
The strategy I had was to go out there and overwhelm him with big shots — and sub him. I wanted to cut the distance fast and stay out of his kicking range. I was swept and stayed cool. As soon as I locked that Kimura I stayed relaxed and slowly adjusted my hips and legs. Right after the fight I felt so free. It was the last day living in the house and a few hours later I was able to call my family and friends.
Side note: The actual fights occurred as follows: Wednesday: Bader vs. Marshall then Efrain vs. Junie. Thursday: Myself vs. Roop and then Krzysztof vs. Vinny. This also meant I didn’t sleep much on Wednesday night before the semi’s. There were only four fighters left in the house who needed to fight and I was one of them. Everyone else was in crazy party drinking mode. Wednesday was nuts! I had to put in ear plugs and cover my head with a pillow. Then I moved my mattress into the closet to stay away from the singing.
After the fight, Dana had some more great words about me. He really thinks I’m a great fighter. He even said “I think this guy is one of the best fighters ever to get on this show.” This really blew my mind. I was silent for a minute just thinking it over. It’s a lot of pressure but I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing. Training everyday like my life depends on it.
Vinny vs. Krzysztof -
Again I can add that Vinny is a beast on the ground! His guard is nuts. Once in his guard the trouble begins. Props to both fighters.
Efrain vs. Junie -
I like the way Dana handled Junie this season. He knew Junie wanted an out and if would have gotten thrown out he would have left with all his pride. Dana didn’t let that happen.
As for the fight itself, Efrain played it smart. I knew Junie wasn’t going to take Efrain down. When I saw Junie shoot in and Efrain stuff it, I knew it was going to end soon. The elbow strikes when Junie shot in were genius. Junie said some things after the fight that made him look even worse. I know he didn’t mean he was going to give up fighting. He’s on the card against Kaplan!
The finals -
Efrain and I are good friends. We slept in the same room. We cooked together. We chatted all day. We know a lot about each other. I respect him as a fighter and as a man. It’s all business when the cage door shuts. He knows it and I know it. I am honored to fight him.
Editor’s Note: FiveOuncesOfPain.com would like to publicly thank Phillipe and Spike TV for making this great content available to us all year long. It has been an absolute pleasure working with Phillipe and it was an honor being able to feature his work on our site. We’d like to wish Phillipe the best of luck on Dec. 13 in Las Vegas in his continued quest at becoming the next “Ultimate Fighter.”
Phillipe-
Thanks for taking the time to share some of the behind the scenes life in the house, It has been fun reading your column after each episode. I wish you the best of luck in your fighting career, and I will be rooting for you.
Thanks Phillipe! Keep kicking ass!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with all of us this season Phillipe. Was very enjoyable reading each week.
I’m not gonna lie after i watched Phillipe’s first fight my jaw dropped to the floor. I dont know sometimes watching the show you think you have a fighters style figured out just based on their demeanor ( I know thats not true most of the time) and from that I figured you’d probably be a smooth well rounded fighter, but I had no clue you were a F’n assassin. I am most impressed with his mentality, he just seemed unbreakable and I also read a quote about how in his fight with Kaplan he wanted to finish it fast and tap him to minimize damage which worked flawlessly. Also just the fact he admitted Roop’s bad hand was a reason he picked to fight him, not because he thought he was weak or anything. I can’t say enough good things about Phillipe, however though duck fetus things were so gross looking. Much more appetizing then the urine and semen episode though.
Me and my wife watched yesterday’s episode and man I was impressed by your last two wins. My wife is fellow filipino so shes been rooting for you the whole season. I dont know if you are the next Anderson Silva…but I know for a fact the lightweight division is going to have their hands full. I think you have a good skillset to get pass Roger Huerta and some of top level guys…with some more wins…you may be fighting b.j. or florian before we know it. Wish you the best of luck.
Q
Phillipe……
I agree with Dana. You is one bad mo fo!!! I cant wait to see you annihilate Efran. he seems like a good dude, but you are on another level.
I have to say that letting Junie reamin on the show was the lowpoint of TUF, PERIOD. That is a joke, when someone can assault someone TWICE by throwing a glass and having it SHATTER on another person and go apeshit and run into the cage after a fight that WAS NOT YOURS. That was a shame letting him stay.
This will be the last TUF season I watch. People get kicked out of the UFC for doing FAR , FAR less. And that asshole gets special treatment 3 times….then is invited to fight on the Finale. Bullshit!!!
The only thing that could of made me happy would of been to see Junie get the living shit kicked out of him by Phillipe.
What will they reward him for next?? Maybe he will spit on someone and knock out the referee?? Maybe Dana can offer him another job. Sure, I beleive in 2nd chances….just not 3rd and 4th in what a one month period???
Anyhow, good luck Phillipe………..I cant wait to see you pummel Efran!!!!
Thank you so much for blogging your experience and allowing the readers at 5oz. to share in that experience! By far a very entertaining read every week.
Best of luck in the finals against Efrain.
And keep representing and putting BROOKLYN on the MMA map!!!
finally, a fighter with honor. Please remain this way and don’t engage in the crap associated with talking up your next fights (as i believe you will have many). Always remember that the fighter with the best character wins no matter what the outcome.
It was a pleasure watching you in the few episodes i actually watched and i strongly believe you are the only reason why many MMA fans continued watching this dismal season of TUF.
Respect to you Phillipe. Much respect.
Great blog Phillipe. I have enjoyed reading it. You seem like a class guy and I look forward to seeing you win TUF 8. I also have to say that Vinny should beat Bader. I have to agree with Fightfan on the Junie F**kup. He should have been kicked off, but I guess Dana figured that Junie would help with ratings. This was the worst season for me to hype up the UFC to new comers. I was appalled at some of the behavior I saw on TUF 8. They really need to clean up the show in future seasons if they want to increase fan base. I at the point where I would rather spend my time supporting the local MMA scene instead of watching that trash. I will get of my soapbox now, but I will admit it was entertaining to watch. Almost like a train wreck, keep watching hoping you will see something more F**ked up than before. Yeah, yeah, I am done now.
thanks for sharing your thoughts with us Phillipe.
Looking forward to seeing what’s on the horizon for you.
You’re awesome, congratulations, and I look forward to following your career of ‘necessary inhumanity’ further. Thanks for fighting.
You looked great all season long and I agree with every word Dana has said about you. I look forward to watching your career unfold. Thanks for all of the awesome blogs you wrote for FiveOuncesOfPain and good luck against Efrain.
It’s been great reading about the toughest nurse on the planet. =) Your blog’s been excellent this season, and I really look forward to watching your career as you progress through the ranks. I wish you all the best in your fight next Saturday and I hope that you get to fight both in the Philippines and NYC in the near future — I know both of those would mean a bunch to you.
This has been one of the best blog’s I have read lately. Phillipe, it is good to hear you be so honest and straight foward about thing’s that come your way in life. That’s the way to be. 5 oz has always had their of doing this too. You earn respect by showing respect and doing the right thing will take you as far as you want to go.
Best of luck to both, you and Efrain. It won’t be easy for neither of you. Just give your best, fight smart and try harder. Take care of yourself. Where Brooklyn at???
Bader vs. Vinny is going to be a pretty damn good fight I think. Ryan has some real power behind those shot’s. Vinny got skill’s on the ground and can take a good punch. Fireworks…
Phillipie is a cool kat. Prolly the first guy to go into the finals that actually impressed me out of all the seasons. Besides the fact he is a bad as in the ring, he seems like a very respectful guy.
I am picking him to win!
congratulations!! hope u win the finals and get your u.f.c. contract. i just hope u can still train with big nog. he’s such a good person and a great coach. frank mir sucks as a coach. i’m glad big nog shaved his hair. good luck to you. pinoy pride.
It was really great reading your blog. Good luck in the finals man! TUF 8 is shown late here in Manila, they’ve only aired episode three so far. But they do have a promo ad with you on it! It goes something like “Philippe Nover, registered nurse, Filipino fighter”. Haha!
They’ve compared u to GSP & Silva, u just be the best Phillipe’ Nover’ win or lose and keep plugging away… Don’t live by the expectations of others’ but just what u expect of yourself day by day.
However, training like a GSP or Silva wouldn’t hurt… ; )
You certainly blew away the competition. I thought Joe Duarte was your toughest fight todate and if he had fought anyone else, he would’ve had a good chance to get into the house.
Best of Luck to u Nover’ (Super Nova) it is a pleasure to watch someone with your character and ability follow his dream and thank you for all the write ups, don’t forget about us MMA internet Fans.. come back n’ visit!
‘Worlds Toughest Nurse’…LOL
Phillipe, I echo many of the earlier comments - you were one of the few bright spots of this TUF season. It’s great to see some serious talent come out of this show, which isn’t always the case.
Good luck on Saturday - I think you’re a lock to win!
Phillipe — congrats on the semi win ! this blog has been a GREAT read, i appreciate the insight on the TUF season. your heart, class & mma work ethic is refreshing to say the least. i guess you are training your a** off right now…i hope to see you on TV saturday with your hand raised. thanks for being a REAL warroir !
Great reading your blogs on 5oz and watching you on TUF. I’ll be cheering for you on Saturday.
Congratulations on making it to the Finals! I hope you win. I didn’t think Efrain was gonna make it though, but it looks like he’s gonna be a tough opponent given his wrestling background. It’s great how you finished your fights quickly, but at the same time I hope your cardio is ready if the fight goes the distance. You should train with Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao! With their guidance, I really think your standup will be the best in your division. And then train with Mark Munoz for wrestling! haha!
Thanks for reppin’ the Philippines! Goodluck!
Hey piss eating Duck fetus boy i hope you get smoked in your upcomming fight. You come on here and talk like you are some really great guy and that you are all high and mighty but its all an act and i see right through it si ill be watching this saturday and im hoping to see you get knocked out.
You are the future dude, just don’t pass out at any pressers LOL.
YOu are such a good guy Phillipe, I really expect to see you beating BJ Penn in late 09, ‘10 the latest… You’re the kind of person I’d hope my kids will look up to.
Good performance on Tuf .Finish efrain on his feet.Keep traning hard and one day you can be a legit contender @155.The fight’s just get harder from here out.Good luck.
“BigDave on December 5th, 2008 1:57 pm” “Hey piss eating Duck fetus boy”
Kaplin?…. is that you??
i agree with Mir, all ive seen from Bader is takedowns and lay n pray.
Nover is 100% class and has a huge upside in the 155 division. Good luck Phillipe!