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Fighter kicked off reality show hopes to make most of second chance in UFC |
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Written by Neil Davidson, THE CANADIAN PRESS
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Tuesday, 15 July 2008 |
Jesse Taylor (on top) defeats Nick Rossborough in his first bout on Season 7 of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality TV show, shown in this undated handout photo in Las Vegas. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Spike TV
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Jesse Taylor's second chance begins Saturday night.
Booted out of the finale of Season 7 of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality TV show for a booze-addled night of misadventure, the 25-year-old mixed martial arts fighter returns to action in the UFC against TUF runner-up C.B. Dollaway on the undercard of the Anderson Silva-James (The Sandman) Irvin main event at The Palms in Las Vegas (Spike TV, 9 p.m. ET).
The UFC show was put together on short notice to help take away some of the spotlight from Affliction's debut event that same night in Anaheim, Calif. (available on pay per view).
Taylor (7-2) believes he is essentially on probation with the organization.
"You know they're not saying that but I definitely think they probably have a little bit (of) their eye on me," he said in an interview. "Like if I do something again, I'm sure I won't be allowed back. I guess in that respect I have to watch what I am doing."
Taylor's brief "Fighter Gone Wild" video was captured on a boozy night two days after the taped portion of the show had ended, with Taylor slated to meet Amir Sadollah in the live TV finale on June 21.
That went by the boards when he was captured on tape kicking out the windows of a limo and then harassing female patrons of a casino, according to the UFC.
UFC president Dana White booted him off the show, saying he wasn't ready. Taylor is still dealing with the fallout.
"I hate when people come up to me and say 'Oh, I'm sorry. You're the guy who got the boot. You're the guy who broke the window,"' Taylor said. "I want to be known for fighting. That's the plan coming up in my career here."
Sadollah went on to submit Dollaway (7-1) to be crowned The Ultimate Fighter.
Taylor, who has a young son, seems to mean well but the message is confused at times. In his bio on the UFC official website, he lists his heroes as his parents, training mentor Dan Henderson and "people that speak their mind and stand up for what's right, like Martin Luther King, Moses, and Howard Stern."
Perhaps he was joking.
While perhaps warranted, his ejection from the show also appears a double-standard. The show's producers revel in the mayhem caused by putting 16 grown men in a house without TV, telephone, books or any contact with the outside world other than trips to the UFC training centre to work out and fight.
The house is stocked with booze to add fuel to that fire and Taylor was at the top of the ladder when it came to drunken oaf status on Season 7. While Taylor turned heads with his power wrestling style, many of those same heads were shaking in disbelief and disgust as he was shown urinating indoors on a carpet.
News of a shock twist at the end of the show was used to heavily promote the final episode on Spike TV. And the UFC waited just two days after the live finale on June 21 before telling Taylor he was back in the fold.
Taylor said the reaction he garners these days is "totally half and half."
"You've got people that are helping you out and you have people that are hating on you or against you," he said. "Both of it's motivating.
"The people that are against me, it's motivating to go out there and prove them wrong. Win them over."
Taylor said he has worked hard to make amends. He has checked out AA meetings and is trying to control his alcohol intake after concluding that he and alcohol don't mix well.
"I'm always going to be watchful of it. I haven't had a drink in quite a while," he said.
Taylor and Dollaway were on different teams on the TV show, but Taylor says they got on OK. But he admits that he saw another side of Dollaway after watching the show on TV.
"I knew he was cocky, I had no idea he was that cocky because we don't hear everything that goes on (during the taping)," he said. "That's definitely kind of annoying. I hope to retire that fact."
Taylor was a junior college all-American in wrestling at Palomar College before heading to Cal-State Fullerton. Dollaway was an all-American at Arizona State.
Dollaway won all three of their encounters in college.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 September 2008 )
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