Team Canada blog: Kajan Johnson on 'TUF Nations,' episode No. 5

So Nordine Taleb lost. I still can’t believe it. It seems like it’s always the sure things that go wrong in this sport. It’s probably the worst sport to bet on ever – you really never know what’s going to happen.

Nordine was in so much pain after the fight. I hate seeing my people like that, but it motivates me. It motivates me to do everything in my power to avenge Nordine and put on for my team. Even as I think these things, I know that it may not be possible to get any type of revenge on the Australian team. Matthew Desroches is fighting next against Richard Walsh. I am in a really weird spot with this one. I love Matt; he’s an awesome guy, and I want him to win, but I also don’t want to fight him.

I have faith that Olivier Aubin-Mercier will beat Jake Matthews. Oli is a beast! So If Oli makes it through AND Matt makes it through, I’m going to be forced to choose to fight Matt instead of Oli or Chad. The thing is, I know Oli and Chad will both pick him, as well. I don’t want him to feel like our whole team is turning on him. He’s just starting to really warm up to us. So it’s a lose-lose for me. Matt wins, and I have to fight him. Rich wins, and I have to watch Matt lose. This house is crazy for real.

So apparently Elias Theodorou is a snowball sniper! This guy took on the whole team by himself and murdered! I wasn’t going out there. I, unfortunately, am not a snowball master. Don’t get me wrong, I can make amazing snowballs. I just can’t throw ‘em with any kind of accuracy. Truthfully, I couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn, so I was content to just watch through the windows while Elias put the team on his back and completely slayed their entire team single-handedly.

Nordine and Tyler Manawaroa finally returned to the house. You know it was a good fight if both the winner and the loser are in the hospital getting casted up. Nordine came back with his leg and foot in a cast, and Tyler had his hand in one. Now it is pretty customary to have a beer with your opponent after a fight. Thing is, Nordine ain’t really about that beer stuff, so he ordered a bottle of cognac. I’m not a huge drinker, so I don’t know much about cognac, but I’m pretty sure it’s meant to be sipped, not shot. Nordine, however, gets Tyler – who I don’t think has ever had cognac – to take some shots with him. This is hilarious!

After the first shot, Tyler wants none of it, but Nordine won’t let him get away that easily. At one point, Tyler actually bent over the sink. I thought he was gonna spew everywhere, and Nordine still makes him come back and take one more. Very persuasive, that Nordine. I think it’s all apart of his plan.

We get to the gym the day after the loss, and Cote gives us a speech about making sure we train all aspects of our game so that we have options if something unexpected happens in the cage. This is invaluable information, and it is one of the pillars that my style has been built on. I always train to have no weaknesses. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to beat everyone in the world at striking, grappling or wrestling, but I do everything in my power to be better than my future opponents in at least two of those disciplines. If you have holes in your game, it creates more anxiety and mental fatigue. It’s harder for you to do what you’re good at because you’re too busy worrying about what you aren’t good at. To be truly free in the cage, you must be very well-rounded.

Matt is one of the most physically gifted athletes on our team, as well as the youngest. This guy is SO strong. I mean, we’d be grappling, and he would grab my wrist as many people do. I know how to break grips, Im pretty good at it actually but Matt is so strong you just cannot break his grip. I had to just try to kind of accept that he was locked on to my arm and try to figure out a way to use it against him. Not only is matt super strong and explosive, but he has some seriously long reach. Again, I have long reach, but this guy is only 5-foot-11 and has a 77-inch reach! That is really next level. His physical gifts are amazing.

Also, he’s like a genius or something. He really knows a lot about a lot of different things. Just ask him to tell you what the weather’s going to be like, and he’ll start going off about strat cumulus and high-pressure systems and all this technical lingo. Guy’s got brains. Unfortunately, Matt lacks in experience and technical knowledge in MMA. He grew up in Prince Edward Island and then did most of his training in New Brunswick, so he’s a little far from the big-name gyms that can contain some of the higher level knowledge for this sport.

I had been doing as much as I could to get him up to speed. I’m helping him with his ground game and wrestling, getting him ready for the quarterfinals, and he’s sucking it up like a sponge. Like I said, the kid’s got brains and athletic talent, so it doesn’t take him long to pick things up and put them into his toolbox. As long as he believes in himself, he has a shot to beat Rich.

We obviously had a bit of a failed attempt at getting to the gym for the second session. We failed to make it up a hill that was sheer ice, and in attempting to back down, we almost went off the road and over quite a steep embankment. I, for one, was terrified as I had experienced this exact same scenario while driving home from a DJ gig at a remote First Nations community called Fort Ware. So I saw it coming and was the first one out of the van as soon as it stopped sliding. “Ragin’” don’t play dat!

OK, so I’m watching the Aussies practice right now, and the first thing “Izzy” says is that the Aussies are outstriking us. Ummm, what?? I don’t think I got hit once. I don’t think Elias got hit once, and Chad put on a slickness clinic. The fights were all competitive, but outstriking us? Nope, don’t think so.

Matt makes weight without losing his soul (don’t ask). So does Rich. No drama at this weigh-in. Both these guys are the type to just wait until they’re in the cage to start trying to win, which I like. Rich apparently did a lot of wrestling in college. I’m worried about that because Matt is mainly a striker and wrestlers have a tendency to hold on the mat (lay and pray) or hold on the fence (cage hump) strikers and win boring decisions. I think Matt possesses the ability to knock Rich’s head right off if he hits him properly, but my gut tells me that Rich will force his game and win a decision.

I used to be a lot like Matt. In my early career, I had lots of talent but no technique, and people with less talent and better wrestling would just lie on me while I was trying to fight them. It’s very annoying, and I hate watching it.

Oh my God. Daniel Kelly on Thai pads. That’s all I have to say about that. For real though, I love this guy. We had our differences, but he’s awesome. He’s really been through a lot. He’s competed in four Olympics in one of the most damaging sports for your body at like four different weight classes! Now he’s here starting a completely new and even crazier career at 36 years old! What a beast. No matter what the guy looks like hitting Thai pads, he’s definitely got my respect.

Speaking of beasts, Nordine – who we all know is a beast of a fighter – is also a beast of a coach! Dude can’t even walk, but he’s still in the gym, hopping around and giving us all sick knowledge and encouragement. It’s no secret that I really look up to Nordine, so when he coaches me in training, I will push myself to the absolute limit.

Injuries are very commonplace in MMA, and this show really brings that to light. Sheldon Westcott, I think like a lot of us, came on the show hurt, but like two days into it, hurt turned to injured. Now, as every athlete knows, there’s a big difference between hurt and injured. If you’re hurt it’s not a big deal. You keep training normally and just kind of ignore the pain. If you’re injured, however, training can make things much worse.

Certain injuries can be worked around. If you hurt your right hand, you can just use your left, etc. Unfortunately, knees are very tricky. You need your knees for pretty much everything we do. If they go out, your training pretty much grinds to a halt. I feel really bad for Sheldon right now. All the guy wants to do is train so he can be at his best for the biggest opportunity of his life, and his knee injury is really making it difficult. What’s worse is we don’t have control right now, so he could be fighting in a couple days, and the guy can barely walk. Poor guy. On the bright side, pretty much every girl I know has been drooling over him since the first episode, so hey, you a star now brah!

“Badger” is a funny little creatures. I Remember Branden O’Reilly showing up to the fight with the water jug bullhorn, but I had no idea how much work it took to make it. This guy actually made use of the like hundred-year-old woodsaw hanging as decoration. Then he goes and gets a chef’s knife. No wonder that thing got so dull Grrrrr!! Finally though, he got through it, and his foghorn was born. As if you weren’t loud enough already Badger!

I was really nervous in the dressing room but made sure not to show it. The dressing room was getting calmer now. There’s a fight every couple days, so guys are getting used to the process. I make sure that the room has energy though. I start singing out a team anthem like I do every fight. “Oh…no…that’s how Team Canada rolls!” It’s become somewhat of a tradition for us. I’ve even got the other guys singing along with me now. Pure epicness.

Matt is very calm in the dressing room, but I can sense that the darkness is bubbling just beneath the surface, ready for the perfect time to be unleashed on an unsuspecting opponent. It’s his time now.

The two stand across the cage from one another. Matt doesn’t look calm anymore; he looks intense. The ref says fight, and Rich circles around Matt to attempt to push him back towards his own corner. Matt, though, walks on Rich pushing him back. Matt lands a front kick to Rich’s face. No one expected him to do that. I had never seen Matt throw that one time in training, and he goes out and just boots Rich in the grill right off the hop.

Rich catches the kick after it comes off his face and rushes Matt to the fence. He secures double underhooks but doesn’t seem to be able to use them because of Matt’s reverse cross face. They jockey for position back and forth, throwing knees to the body and digging for underhooks. Matt seems to be getting the better of the knee and elbow strikes, but Rich is controlling the position better, keeping Matt’s back on the fence the majority of the time. This is the kind of fight I hate getting into. I love MMA, but this kind of fight is difficult to watch. I’m really praying for Matt to get free and let his hands go.

Rich is doing a good job of controlling though. Still, last I heard, this isn’t the Ultimate Controlling Championship. Matt finally breaks free and begins to stalk Rich. He’s throwing big shots from the outside and barely missing. He needs to throw combinations. Single shots are too easy to counter. He throws a lead right uppercut (a no-no in my book) and gets countered with a hard right hand from Rich that stings him up a bit. He’s a warrior though, so he continues to press forward. Matt lands yet another front kick to Rich’s face, then throws a roundhouse that just misses its mark. He’s by no means out of this fight.

Rich lands a right knee and tries to put some pressure on Matt. Matt answers back with a left hook-right uppercut that makes Rich back-peddle. They trade shots, and Rich closes the distance. He’s met with an elbow from Matt on the way in but still manages to get to his legs. Matt defends the double well, forcing Rich to a single that he can’t finish. He doesn’t really seem to understand the single-leg takedown. He just holds on trying to lift and push Matt into the fence instead of pulling him backwards with a chest pressure or lifting the leg high and sweeping the bottom foot out – small technical mistakes that make it possible for Matt to stay standing.

With one minute left, Matt gets free again. He seems fresh still and looks to have found the bounce in his step necessary to be an effective striker. Matt hits a superjab-right hand and finishes with uppercut-left hook-uppercut. Rich moves back and again Matt lands the uppercut. He really seems to have found a home for that punch. Matt is really moving forward now. You can see he has a sense of urgency about him that is necessary when trying to finish an opponent. He isn’t letting rich breathe.

Bam! Again he hits him with another front kick to the face. This is his best one yet. Perfect extension, perfect placement. Rich must really not like that. Thirty seconds left, and Matt lands another superjab-right hand. Unfortunately, as he does this, his mouthguard goes flying and the ref stops the action. Like the bush kid he is, Matt doesn’t wait for the corner to rinse off the mouthguard. He just picks it up, throws it in and is ready to go again.

Matt makes a mistake here, though. Rich reaches out to touch his hand and with only 15 secs left in the round. He wastes time touching gloves again. He has almost stolen the round. Don’t touch his glove, Matt, punch his face again! And superjab-right hand lands again. He may be winning this round here. With 10 seconds left, Matt dips and comes up with a right uppercut right into Rich’s hard overhand right. That is why I don’t like to lead with that punch – very risky. You can see Matt’s legs go on him for a split second, and Rich tries to capitalize, coming in and bombing away with his overhand right. Matt hits him with a left hook on wobbly legs just as the horn sounds.

Kru Ash tells Matt in between rounds that he needs to box with him and throw more combinations. This is true and is great advice, but I would also like him to try and get a takedown. From what I’ve seen, Rich doesn’t look like an amazing wrestler, and I think if Matt shot on him, he might get it. Even if he didn’t, it will keep him honest in the striking because he’ll always be thinking about Matt shooting on him. The more weapons you throw at your opponent, the more he has to think. The more he thinks, the less he acts.

Second round, and both fighters still look pretty fresh. They come together, and Matt lands a nice left hook. They exchange in the center, and Rich shoots a double. Matt pulls him up off his legs and tries to throw him off into the cage, but Rich holds on. Matt almost takes him down with some kind of whizzer throw that I think he made up on the spot, but Rich gets back to his feet. They exchange a couple of knees as Matt presses Rich on the fence. Matt lands a nice crossing elbow as they break and then scores with a couple jabs.

This is a really good start to the round for Matt. He tries another front kick that misses and is caught by Rich. Matt limp-legs out though and spins around just as Rich shoots another double leg. Matt sprawls on the fence and forces Rich to a single while bouncing some elbows off his skull. Our whole team is screaming at Matt to put in a whizzer, but he doesn’t and almost gets dumped for it. After regaining his balance, he puts in his whizzer and controls Riches bicep with his other hand. “Izzy” is screaming at Rich to get to a double leg and lock his hands, but Matt has that kung fu vice grip on his wrist and isn’t letting go.

Rich gets a body lock and tries a trip, but it’s to no avail. Matt’s takedown defense has improved worlds since getting in to the house, and it’s really paying off now. The only problem is he isn’t trying hard enough to get off the fence. I have a cardinal rule for fighting: Don’t put your back on the fence, and don’t put your back on the mat. If you can do that successfully, you have a way better chance of winning. Matt finally pulls a strong-man move by literally grabbing Rich’s face and pushing it away from him until he has enough space to get out. I have to say, I have never seen that move before, and I’m going to try it in sparring this week.

Rich lands a teep to the body, and Matt misses again with his front kick to the face. Rich seems to be on to it now, and I doubt he’ll land another one. Matt charges in with a roundhouse to the body but only connects with the end of his foot. He circles to his left, landing a couple nice jabs but then gets sat down when Rich hits him on the button with a jab of his own. Rich charges in and tries to finish his downed opponent with a throwby punch, but Matt uses the momentum of the leg throw to time a very explosive backwards somersault to get to his feet. Now THAT was a ninja move!

It’s halfway through the round now, and Matt is going to really have to do something special to win this round and get the fight to go a third. He’s abandoned the advice of his corner, though, and is bombing away with single shots trying to get a knockout. Rich is throwing single shots as well, but he’s using a lot more jabs and is landing a high percentage of them. Rich gets inside Matt’s left hook and clinches him up to walk him back to the fence. Matt goes much too willingly in my opinion. If someone is pushing you, you must attempt to spin and use their momentum against them. Unfortunately, Matt goes straight backwards and ends up with his back once again on the fence. Rich drops down for a double, picks the ankle and gets Matt to his butt. Matt immediately pops back to his knees and begins throwing elbows to the side of Rich’s ear.

Rich, listening to his coaches, circles and takes Matt’s back with a 90 seconds to go. He waits too long to get his hooks in though, and Matt is able to get back to his feet. It seems like Rich isn’t really trying for the takedown anymore; he is content to just keep Matt pressed up against the fence and controlled. Luckily for Matt, the ref breaks them and they go back to the middle of the octagon.

They trade jabs. Matt circles and steps in with a right hand that just misses. Rich catches Matt with a clean left hook that backs him off for a second. Rich is moving forward now with 20 secs to go but walks into a right hand from Matt. Unfazed by this, he continues to press. With 10 seconds to go, he grabs Matt and puts him on the fence again. They trade little arm punches until the bell sounds.

I would like to be optimistic here, but I’m pretty sure that Rich won both rounds and there won’t be a third. If Rich hadn’t hurt Matt with those two shots, I think Matt may have at least won round 1. He landed way more punches, and damage scores before control. Well, at least it’s supposed to.

Like I thought, the judges gave both rounds to Rich, and his hand is raised in the cage. So it’s 3-2 now. I don’t like that. There is no way these guys are tying this up, let alone pulling ahead of us. I can’t have that, I just can’t. Worse thing is now they have the pick and we only have two guys left. One is massive and scary looking and one is small, less scary and injured. It’s almost a sure thing that they are going to pick Sheldon and he is going to have to find a way to fight through his injury. I don’t know how though; the poor guy can barely walk!

Matt was pretty disappointed in the back. He had never lost before, and the first one is always the hardest – especially if it’s for the biggest opportunity of your life. He’s very young though, and he has a lot to learn. I have confidence that he will do what it takes to continue to grow as a martial artist and come back much more technical. He has what it takes. All he needs is guidance, time and technique.

So it’s fight pick time again. Unfortunately, it’s still the Aussies’ pick. They pick Dan from their team to fight, just as I expected, Sheldon. Sheldon, to my surprise, seems excited and saunters happily onto the mat. Is this the guy that was limping around all day today? He doesn’t seem like he feels anything right now. Anyways, they have an extremely awkward staredown, and we head back to the change room. I think this is a good matchup for Sheldon. Dan can’t have much standup, so Sheldon won’t have to shoot, and then if Dan takes him down, that’s fine, too, because that’s where Sheldon is the best, anyway. Not a smart pick by the Aussies, if you ask me. Sucks for Luke, though, because he really wanted to fight him. Judo vs. Judo! Judon’t know about Canadian Judo!

So thats the episode guys.

Before I leave today, I must touch on something that happened earlier this week. One of my friends had sent me a picture of an Instagram post made by Tyler that hit a nerve very close to home and was upsetting for me to see. Letting my upset feelings and outrage get the best of me in that moment, I immediately tweeted about it, calling Tyler a racist.

Growing up, I was the only “black” kid in an all-white and First Nations community. And as such, I was constantly picked on, left out and discriminated against, simply because of the color of my skin. As some of my fans know, I am an advocate for anti-racism and fighting the war on racism against all people, especially First Nations people and the injustice that is being served to them, all of which includes the struggles that members of my family must endure on a daily basis. So as you can imagine, when I saw the post, I had a knee-jerk reaction to call him out on it. However, it was brought to my attention later that the post was made well over a year ago when Tyler was still in high school. Being young isn’t an excuse, but I can see now with eyes unclouded by anger that the post wasn’t intended to hurt people.

Unfortunately, remarks such as these can hurt people regardless of intent, so I hope everyone can take away a lesson from Tyler’s mistake and think of how their jokes and comments can affect and hurt other people. Posting something on sensitive topics such as this will inevitably always be controversial and raise eyebrows. There has been way too much suffering amongst many races in this world over the course of time. To joke about it will not sit well with many people.

With that being said, I know I have learned my lesson to never speak publicly while angry or upset, as anger clouds our judgment and can make us do or say things we wouldn’t necessarily say or do if we were in a clearer state of mind. Tyler, I really hope that this hasn’t done irreversible damage to your career. You are young and still have plenty of time to turn things around. We are both young for that matter and have much of our lives ahead of us; we both have lessons to learn along our journey. A part of living is learning by making mistakes and growing. You are a great fighter, and from what I remember, a pretty good guy. I completely forgive you for what you posted, as I know there was no malicious intent. I hope that you can also forgive me for my reaction to it. I wish you nothing but the best in your future.

I’m out. Shout outs to http://www.eon4life.com. See you guys next week.

“TUF Nations” cast member “Ragin” Kajan Johnson (19-10-1) blogs each week exclusively for MMAjunkie. The Team Canada welterweight takes readers behind the scenes of the FOX Sports 1-broadcast series, which airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET. Catch Johnson on Twitter at @iamragin and check out his official website at www.raginmma.com.