Did you see it? The middleweight fight between Daniel Akinyemi and Derek Strong was the highlight of the show. Before the fight, Strong said that an MMA match should be won with a decisive victory, either a tap out or knock out. Failing to break himself free of Strong’s arm bar, Akinyemi gave Strong a body slam that rocked the ring. Landing on his shoulder and head, Strong was left in a daze, and it seemed he was having trouble moving his head.

Although Akinyemi was able to walk away from the fight, his win wasn’t a clean one. Strong’s arm bar managed to seriously injure Akinyemi whose arm hung off his shoulder like dead weight. Both fighters received medical attention after the most dangerous fight yet in the Iron Ring.

Hopefully, Strong isn’t eating his own words too hard. He possibly broke Akinyemi’s arm…or maybe not. When Akinyemi slammed Strong, his arm was still locked in the arm bar. Maybe Akinyemi’s own slam caused the injury? He saw a moment to capitalize and took it. Was it worth a broken arm? These fighters know what they’re getting into, but what do you think?

You’ll have to tune in next week to find out who won this bout and if anyone’s injuries were serious.

Many of the team owners and trainers have been vocal about their desire for strong standing fighters who can go for the knock out. So far, very little credit has been given to good ground techniques.

Enter the Bullet and Josh Key. They showed that knowing what to do when you’re down on the mat may make the difference.

Trying out for Team Luda, Bullet avoided David Brown’s punches by going straight for his legs. Once on the mat, Brown left his boxing roots behind in his bid to win, locking in Bullet’s arm. Bullet quickly recovered, and his ground and pound style left Brown stretched out on the mat.

Trying to impress Juelz Santana for Team Dipset, lightweight Josh Key fought climbing grapples from his opponent before being caught in a standing arm lock. Key countered with a body slam, leading to a tussle on the mat. Eventually, Key picked up the win on the mat with fist pounds to the face.

Will these significant ground wins change the minds of the trainers and owners? A good standing game may not always be enough against an experienced ground fighter.

Not impressed was fighter Dymond Jones, who called Bullet an animal with no real skill. Dymond was upset at Bullet’s lack of respect after the win and now a rivalry has been started. Both of these fighters have proven themselves in the Iron Ring, but how well will they fare against each other?

Can’t we just all get along? Not in the Iron Ring! Everyone has something to prove.

Floyd Mayweather and Lil Jon watched the same group of fighters to pick their teams. Shonie Carter, Lil Jon’s team trainer, arrived at the tryouts wearing a yellow suit and purple hat. Mayweather was not feeling the get up and decided to throw verbal jabs at Carter.

According to Mayweather, Carter looked more like he belonged in a pool hall than a match. Mayweather then asked if there was a pimp’s convention before comparing Mr. Carter’s color coordination to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Carter wasn’t too concerned, blaming Mayweather’s background as a boxer. He said that boxers think they’re better and that Floyd might do okay against an MMA fighter depending on the match. Floyd said that boxers train harder and that he believes he could take on an MMA opponent. For now, though, Mayweather and Carter must watch their Iron Ring fighters face off.

What started as a standing brawl quickly became a ground game as Alex Daltro and Joe Watson grappled on the ground. The fight was called when Watson’s eye became swollen, and the win was given to Daltro.

Carter didn’t want the match to end, saying that he’s seen worse in the ring. A match should end with a knock out or a tap out. Mayweather thought the call was fair because Watson couldn’t fight without being able to see. Watson was disappointed as the call was made, but at least he escapes with his eye intact.

Do you think the match should have been stopped?

T.I. doesn’t want you on his team if you’re not going to win.

 Lil John wants a fighter to get ‘em out quick so he can go to the strip club.

It’s clear that the Iron Ring fighters will have to bring their A-game to win a spot on a celebrity team, but the fight may not be enough.

After Alexis Aquino achieved a quick victory in his fight to continue try outs, Team Luda wasn’t completely impressed. Ludacris and team trainer Abdul Mutakabir both noted Aquino’s bad attitude during and after the fight. A word to our fighters: it’s enough to let your fists do the talking!

Team Grand Hustle’s trainer, Crazy Horse, forgot that he isn’t the one who will be fighting in the ring when decided that the best way to settle a dispute with his team members was to let them know he could beat each one of them, including team owner T.I.

The King of the South wasn’t having it, and Team Grand Hustle got it together before watching Primus Moore prove how much he wants a spot on the team.

Moore was definitely prepared, delivering blow after blow to his opponent’s head to secure a swift win. Living paycheck to paycheck with 2 kids and a pregnant wife is more than enough inspiration to come out on top.

What did you think of the fighters?

Some of our celebrity team owners know a little something about MMA (mixed martial arts). The rest just looked for a fighter that could knock someone out. With a sport that includes jiu-jitsu, judo, karate, boxing, kickboxing and wrestling there are plenty of ways to take the opponent down to the mat.

It will be interesting to see which selection strategies our celebrity owners chose make for the best team as we get to the real reason why we’ll be watching “Iron Ring” every week: Who is going to get hurt, and how bad?

Who do this week’s respect points go to? Ludacris. Not content with simply sitting on the side lines as his fighters train, Luda gets in on the action and takes the opportunity to train with them, taking in the MMA experience as much as he can. Now that’s team spirit! It’s good to see one of the celebrity team owners show that kind of support, but Team Luda better hope that support translates into wins inside the ring!