The show opened with a look at last week's preliminary fight--Matt Serra vs. Pete Spratt. Serra had won and moved on in the competition.

Back at the house, Shonie was grumbling as he cleaned up the dirty dishes. Next thing you know, he was headed out the door with Team No Love to train with them. Needless to say, he was an unwelcome guest in the van. Shonie informed them he was neither Team Mojo nor Team No Love. He was Team Shonie. When they objected to his intrusion, he told them repeatedly that "he don't give a f**k," which he alternated with "he don't give a flying rat's ass." You can always count on Shonie for a colorful sound bite.

When they'd finished training, Team No Love decided to stick around the gym to watch Shonie's team train.

On the ride to the Training Center, Matt Serra said the team had been betrayed by Shonie and he would take care of Mr. Carter when they got to the gym. Team Mojo was surprised to see the other team still there when they arrived.

Team Mojo members said they'd rallied behind Shonie for his fight. I think Shonie can pretty much count on silence from his corner for his next fight.

Serra said there were starting to see some true colors as far as Shonie was concerned.

Back at the house, as Shonie slept, he was the topic of conversation around the fire pit. "Team Shonie" was felt to be a smack in the face to Team Mojo, especially when they learned Shonie had bad-mouthed them to the other team.

Serra said he was done defending him and done with the Shone Show; he had cancelled it. "For low ratings," someone quipped.

By process of elimination, this week's fight would be a preliminary middleweight battle between Patrick Cote and Jorge Rivera.

At the Training Center, Patrick Cote was training with his countryman, Georges St. Pierre, who felt Cote had a good chance to win.

Marc DellaGrotte was training with Jorge Rivera, whom he felt was more well-rounded than Patrick.

The teams were gathered for a fighter meeting, and Dana White introduced this week's guest trainer, Chuck Liddell, who received a warm reception. White noted that some of them had felt last week's guest trainer, Rich Franklin, was a bit of a "dick."

They admired Liddell's pedicure (shiny black toenails), and seemed eager to learn from him. Serra and Cote were shown getting tips.

Quite a bit of time was devoted to the backgrounds of this week's fighters.

Dana White said Cote had been dominant in his native Canada, but he'd struggled in the United States. He'd impressed White by accepting a fight against Tito Ortiz on just a few days' notice for UFC 40. Cote said it had been a dream come true to be in a UFC main event, even if Tito had fed him numerous elbows. Other UFC fights had been against Joe Doerksen and Chris Leben. He was White's favorite to win the 185-pound category.

Jorge Rivera confided that he'd had a lot of anger and ultimate fighting had saved him.

White said he'd first seen Rivera at small show in Boston and had kept an eye on him.

Rivera was shown making his entrance, which included Scott Steiner-style chainmail head gear. It looked just as stupid on him. Rivera's opponents have included a who's who of full contact fighting, such as real-life bad boy Lee Murray, Rich Franklin and Chris Leben. Rivera had a decisive victory over Dennis Hallman. White felt the TUF experience would be a good one to get his career back on track.

Rivera was feeling confident that he could beat Rich Franklin--although he had not yet beaten Cote.

Fight Day rolled around for this last middleweight elimination round, and Rivera said he had a feeling he could win it with a kick to the head.

Herb Dean was the referee and the match got underway. Rivera got Cote against the fence early on and Cote seemed a bit unsure, actually looking at Serra for advice. And advice he got, as Serra provided him with a verbal road map. When the two battled back to their feet, Rivera made a wrong move and Cote was all over him like the proverbial cheap suit.

By round two, Rivera looked defeated as Serra kept Cote motivated from the corner. Cote won the fight by unanimous decision. It was his first UFC victory and he savored it. I would give Cote extra points for having the most charming accent.

In his post-fight interview, Rivera said he fights to put food on the table for his family. It hurt to realize that he would go no further in the competition.

Next week Matt Hughes arrives as the week's guest trainer, which gets under Matt Serra's skin. He was heard to mumble something about "stuck-up jock" in the preview.

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Feedback or comments? I'd love to hear from you.

Mallory@worldwrestlinginsanity.com