Jesse Taylor - Facing Issues Head On

(photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle)

Jesse Taylor, controversial figure of UFC reality show The Ultimate Fighter: Season 7, joined the Fight Network Radio crew this past Tuesday for a look at his fight this Saturday against fellow cast member CB Dolloway at UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin. He spoke candidly about being the only Ultimate Fighter cast member to have been kicked off the show after filming ended and how he planned to turn his life around after the unfortunate event that led to his release and subsequent reinstatement into the UFC.

The million-dollar question was raised by host Mauro Ranallo, asking what exactly Taylor was thinking, referencing his drunken antics after the show’s finale was set to be Taylor versus Amir Sadollah. Taylor replied in earnest, “I get this question a lot. I was thinking, you know, that night, I guess I wasn’t thinking. I let the situation get to me too much, I drank a little too much, and I was a really bad drunk”. A common question that is usually asked of Ultimate Fighter cast members from all seasons is whether certain situations are sensationalized to be more appealing to viewers, glorifying the fighter’s good or bad actions, a sentiment that is often echoed by the cast members. Taylor was asked the same question and was in agreement saying, “They want to bring out anything they can find to bring out. If a guy has a couple drinks once in a while, they try to show that a lot, the drinking part”. To strengthen his opinion on the matter, he took the listeners through the fateful events of the night that resulted in his release from the UFC and the finals of the Ultimate Fighter 7.

“The show was done for and Dana took us all out. We all went out to a club, I started drinking, the show was over, I was going to be in the finals and I just made a really stupid mistake and kept drinking. I ended up just getting totally out of hand, breaking limousine windows and just kind of acted like a moron in the hotel. Some of it was blown out of proportion; it wasn’t really how it sounds. The terrorizing women thing was kind of ridiculous; I was talking to a girl. But at the same time, security came up to me about the limousine window and I don’t know if they thought I was doing something or what. But I definitely wasn’t terrorizing any women, I remember that. The only thing that really happened was the limousine window and they were looking for some other things. I definitely messed up but it makes for good TV, so they had to do it.”

Taylor was in shock at being let go from the finals, believing a veiled meeting with UFC President Dana White and coaches Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin was an appointment to shoot follow-up interviews. Needless to say, the fallout from the release was a huge blow to the young fighter, having to “sit on” the information he received while the show was being aired to the viewing public. Not being able to tell his family and circle of friends due to the nature of reality television filming guidelines took a toll on Taylor. He says, “It was just tough, it was hard to get that far, to do so good, to know how good I am, and knowing that I messed it up over a stupid mistake like that and not being able to fight it was tough, I knew I had to make some changes. It helped me prioritize what I want in my career and life. It was tough, especially going from one ultimate high knowing you’ve done it to the ultimate low that you’ve done it and messed it up. It was just something I didn’t want to talk about really and didn’t want to even see and when the show aired, I really wanted to disappear but you can’t do that, you’ve got to face these problems head on and fight them.”

Taylor also clarified some of his thoughts about being in the magnifying glass that is reality television, touching on a couple of points like alcohol in the house (Dana White has now stated that fighters must pay for any damages inflicted on the house) and his well-documented dislike for fellow cast member Jeremy May. Of the alcohol issues, Taylor muses, “In the first place, I don’t understand why alcohol is really allowed in the house. Maybe you could bring it in on special occasions here and there. But the guys that got loose when they’re done fighting all of a sudden go on spring break and party all the time. For guys that are still fighting, it can be a distraction sometimes”. Taylor doesn’t pull any punches regarding his feelings about May, proclaiming, “No, what you see is what you got with that. Jeremy May is a dickhead; he’s an ignorant asshole. He just doesn’t know how to deal with people; he’s just an idiot”.

Ranallo brought up Taylor’s affiliation with UFC and Pride veteran Dan Henderson and Henderson’s camp, Team Quest in Temecula, California, asking if that association helped with his reinstatement to the UFC. Taylor gave credit to Henderson and Team Quest, hailing the team as a “who’s who of Mixed Martial Arts” and that he wouldn’t have made the progress he’d made as a fighter if it weren’t for his camp. However, he pointed out that, “Dana said I wasn’t really out of the UFC. Dana said that at first but as the interview went on, he said, ‘give me a call in a couple months and we’ll get you back in there’. Joe Silva and Dana White gave me the call on the Monday after the Finale and I was back in the UFC”.

Regarding his fight on Saturday against CB Dolloway, Taylor is confident saying, “CB’s a tough guy, I’m not going to underestimate his skills. He’s a well-rounded fighter; he’s pretty decent in all areas. I think it’s a good match up, he doesn’t know a lot of the tools that I have so it’s going to be fun for me to show those off, do different things. I think I have some more strengths than him. I got this fight; I’ve been training my ass off for it”.

As the interview ended, Taylor addressed his critics. “Come on, they weren’t young and dumb once? For the ones who hate on me or are critical of me, it’s very motivating for me to prove them wrong. There’s a chance in anything you could fail in but win or lose, I want to put on a great fight and you’re going to see a good fight from me on Saturday. With that in mind, with the reaction I get, I don’t think it’s going to hinder my performance. Believe it or not I have actually noticed a lot more support. Here and there I hear some negative spins but you’re going to get people that like you and people that hate you in anything you do”.