Another Wednesday has passed and another episode of “The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck” has gone into the books. If you missed last nights recap then you missed the last remaining bouts of the opening round, which included the Wild Card bout.
UFC.com has a quick recap of Episode Seven, here it is.
After the official announcement of the Dane Sayers-Sako Chivitchian bout, it is revealed that Team GSP’s Spencer Paige is out of the running for the Wild Card bout after breaking his right hand in his loss to Nam Phan. The injury and his subsequent surgery will keep him in a cast for three months.
“It sucks that I’m out,” said Paige, “but everything happens for a reason.”
That leaves Team Koscheck’s Jeff Lentz, Marc Stevens, Sevak Magakian, Andy Main, and Aaron Wilkinson as the current candidates for the Wild Card bout…
Now it’s time for Koscheck’s win to translate to his team, and Chivitchian is motivated to do the job. It’s Sayers who draws first blood though as he sinks in a guillotine choke after a Chivitchian takedown attempt. After a few moments, Chivitchian escapes and starts firing ground strikes at his foe. Sayers fights his way back to his feet, but he remains pinned to the fence. With 3:25 left, Sayers breaks loose, but Chivitchian remains the aggressor with the exception of a late takedown attempt from the Team GSP member.
Chivitchian opens the second with a throw to the mat, some striking when Sayers gets up, and another takedown followed by ground strikes, making it clear that he wants to finish the fight strong. With three minutes left, Sayers is able to scramble to his feet, but Chivitchian continues to pressure him and keep him locked up against the fence. Eventually, Sayers reverses position and almost gets a takedown, but Chivitchian grabs the fence, drawing a warning from referee Josh Rosenthal. From there, Chivitchian simply keeps Sayers pinned, securing the unanimous decision win for the Armenian battler.
Sayers is still alive in consideration for the Wild Card bout, and now it’s time for GSP, Koscheck and UFC President Dana White to decide who will get a second shot at staying in the competition. And the winners are…Aaron Wilkinson and Marc Stevens.
To see who won the Coaches’ Challenge and the full team lists visit UFC.com.