The 19th season of The Ultimate Fighter continued Wednesday night, and the first middleweight semifinal was showcased. This time around, Team Penn’s Irish middleweight Cathal Pendred looked to show why he was so highly touted coming onto the show when he fought Chris Weidman teammate and physically imposing Team Edgar fighter Eddie Gordon.
This episode was the drinking episode, so we got to see some hijinks. It was nothing like the Julian Lane or Junie Browning drinking episodes of past, but it still earned a few chuckles.
As for the fight, we saw yet another decision. Gordon took a razor-thin split decision over the Irishman, effectively earning a spot in the finale.
I am now 1-0 on my semifinal picks, as I had Gordon over Pendred. That being said, it was so close that one could argue Pendred won the fight.
Next up are the light heavyweights, as Patrick Walsh takes on Corey Anderson. My pick for that fight is Anderson, as I think he is stronger, faster, more athletic and has a better gas tank than his Wai Kru counterpart.
Teams
| Team Edgar 185 | Team Penn 185 | Team Edgar 205 | Team Penn 205 |
| Ian Stephens | Mike King | Corey Anderson | Anton Berzin |
| Dhiego Lima | Tim Williams | Patrick Walsh | Josh Clark |
| *Eddie Gordon | Cathal Pendred | Matt van Buren | Dan Spohn |
| Hector Urbina | Roger Zapata | Todd Monaghan | Chris Fields |
*signifies that this fighter is a finalist.
Notes and Observations
- For some reason, I find the episodes where they show the fighters drinking as the funniest. There are always near-fights, as seen with Chris Fields and Hector Urbina. Somebody always gets naked, as seen with Tim Williams. Basically, something crazy happens, which is entertaining. That short scene of them drinking was more entertaining than most of the fights on the season so far.
- Related to the drinking thing, the pan-out they did with the camera in the morning where Fields woke up on the floor and then we saw Williams sleeping naked face down on his bed was hilarious. Awesome job by the production crew; that was unintentional comedy at its best.
- When Dana White brought the fighters to Mandalay Bay to show them what they could have in their future, what are the odds that he let them stay and watch the fights? It would be funny if he got them out of there before the show started.
- The Gordon-Pendred fight was actually decent, showing the pep talk might have helped. It’s not gonna win any Fight of the Year awards soon, but it was better than most of the fights this season so far.
- I personally scored it 29-28 for Pendred, but that was no robbery. Pendred clearly won the first round, Gordon easily took the second and really it could have gone either way in the third. I expect that Pendred and Fields will probably be added to the UFC Ireland card, assuming they are healthy.
- Next week’s fight between Walsh and Anderson could be decent. Both have great wrestling, which may negate. On the feet, Walsh has more power, but Anderson has a much better gas tank, so it should be very interesting.
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