With the 21st season of The Ultimate Fighter nearing the finish line, could the Blackzilians clinch the season victory on episode 10? Or would American Top Team live to fight another day?
With three 100-point fights left, ATT cannot lose any more of the fights. Otherwise, it loses and the Blackzilians claim victory in this heated rivalry.
Knowing it needs a victory, ATT decides to go with team captain Nathan Coy to not only look to stay alive but bring the fights back to its home gym. Coy is 0-1 on the season, falling via submission to Vicente Luque in the 50-point round.
The Blackzilians counter with Valdir Araujo, as they believed Sabah Homasi would be ATT‘s next pick. They came to that conclusion because he was cutting weight in the house, signifying he would likely be fighting next.
When it came time for the weigh-ins, both teams sent out their guys. When it was revealed Coy was the pick for ATT, coach Conan Silveira handed Homasi something to rehydrate with, showing he was a decoy for the Blackzilians‘ assumptions.
Somehow, this led Blackzilians owner Glenn Robinson to accuse Dan Lambert of pulling a fast one. He theorized that if he had sent out Jason Jackson, Lambert would have sent out Homasi.
Basically, Lambert would have multiple people ready and match up based on whom Robinson sent out.
Of course, that is impossible, as paperwork for who is fighting needs to be handed in on the day of the weigh-ins. That means only one fighter could have had paperwork handed in for them, making that theory incorrect.
This led to Lambert challenging Robinson to a grappling match or for him to shut his mouth. After the gauntlet was laid down by Lambert, Robinson backed down a bit.
Come fight time, we saw an exciting grappling display full of transitions, ground-and-pound and submission attempts. It was Coy’s wrestling that would ultimately earn him a unanimous decision after two rounds, despite some good aggression from Araujo, who was constantly trying to be a threat in the fight.
That win by ATT claimed home-gym advantage, put the score to 300-200 and ultimately saved its season.
It still needs wins in the last two fights to win, but it can tie the score next week with another win, which would keep it afloat.
Season Results
| Winner | Loser | Points | Leader |
| Kamaru Usman (B) | Mike Graves (A) | 25 | Blackzilians lead 25-0 |
| Luiz Firmino (B) | Uros Jurisic (A) | 25 | Blackzilians lead 50-0 |
| Valdir Araujo (B) | Steve Carl (A) | 25 | Blackzilians lead 75-0 |
| Carrington Banks (B) | Sabah Homasi (A) | 25 | Blackzilians lead 100-0 |
| Hayder Hassan (A) | Andrews Nakahara (B) | 50 | Blackzilians lead 100-50 |
| Jason Jackson (B) | Marcelo Alfaya (A) | 50 | Blackzilians lead 150-50 |
| Vicente Luque (B) | Nathan Coy (A) | 50 | Blackzilians lead 200-50 |
| Hayder Hassan (A) | Felipe Portela (B) | 50 | Blackzilians lead 200-100 |
| Kamaru Usman (B) | Steve Carl (A) | 100 | Blackzilians lead 300-10 |
| Nathan Coy (A) | Valdir Araujo (B) | 100 | Blackzilians lead 300-200 |
Notes and Observations
- I think it’s important to note that before his fight, Coy was visited by his wife and children. I know he still has to go to the cage and fight, but I think that motivation helped him get through the fight. He saw what he needs to fight for, and I think that’s what he needed to motivate him and get him to perform at a higher level.
- I have come to like Dan Lambert a lot and dislike Glenn Robinson this season. Robinson’s attitude and personality rub me the wrong way, and his excuses when things haven’t gone his way have bothered me. The theory at the weigh-ins that ATT prepared two fighters was annoying. His complaining and annoyance at the loss in the Hayder Hassan-Felipe Portela fight were also peeving. I am sure I am not the only person who feels that way, too.
- Speaking of Lambert and Robinson, a grappling match should have been the coaches challenge. That or a sparring match. I know for a fact that won’t be it, as the previews suggest it will be a track and field challenge, but seeing their hatred play out on the mat or in the cage would have been awesome.
- It was great strategy by ATT to have a decoy fighter cutting weight to throw off the other team. Robinson’s theory of having Araujo fight Homasi was a smart one, but because Homasi was the decoy, it was the wrong matchup. That allowed ATT to gain the strategic advantage.
- During the Harley-Davidson episode of TUF, there should be absolutely no commercials from the company otherwise. Basically, the Harley-Davidson episode is a 10-15-minute commercial for the motorcycle company, plus ads for other products on the station. That really makes it an episode to miss because I don’t want to be watching ads for more than half of the show.
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