The Ultimate Fighter concluded its 18th season Wednesday evening with a boring, noncommittal effort from both Team Rousey‘s Jessica Rakoczy and Team Tate’s Raquel Pennington.
Yippie.
After the women’s fights stole the spotlight for the majority of the season (mostly because, you know, they actually made weight and fought), episode 13 churned out to be a dud, as both Rakoczy and Pennington suffered injuries in training, causing them to be hesitant and reluctant to throw inside the Octagon.
After Pennington stole Round 1 with a late takedown, Rakoczy took Round 2 with her superior boxing, picking her foe apart for the full five minutes with a variety of strikes.
In Round 3, we saw a carbon copy of Round 2, as Pennington could not close the distance and work into grappling range.
While Pennington did secure another late takedown in this round, Rakoczy was far more active from the bottom, and the judges awarded her the victory, sending her to the grand finale Saturday, Nov. 30 to face Julianna Pena.
Here’s what you missed in this episode:
- Both women were hurt going into the fight, and the episode spent a significant amount of time building up the severity of these impairments. In the end, obviously, all was fine, and each combatant made the trip to the cage.
- Rakoczy and Pennington easily made weight. Somehow, that’s a highlight to me.
- Heartstrings were tugged, as Rakoczy talked about her four-year-old son, who she had to temporarily abandon to chase her dream inside the TUF house. Will her son see his mother hoist the coveted glass plaque by the time this wraps up?
- Ronda Rousey hates socks. That’s the only explanation I have for her reaction to Miesha Tate’s gift offering before their staredown inside the Octagon.
- To Tate’s credit, the socks had the middle finger on them, so anybody who followed this season would have agreed that they’d make an excellent gift.
- They did not make an excellent gift in Rousey‘s eyes.
To the finale we go, friends. Thank you for following along this season.
What were your favorite moments from Season 18? Did anybody surprise you? Annoy you? Sound off, and we’ll talk about what went down during The Ultimate Fighter’s latest showing.
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