On the heels of the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 21, we got our second episode this week in the groundbreaking season, which features American Top Team vs. Blackzilians. It was an episode that continued the tension and competition from last week.
After a recap of the first fight of the season, a critically panned fight that saw Kamaru Usman defeat Mike Graves, we went to a team talk in which Graves expressed his disappointment. His team was there to reassure him and tell him that being undefeated is a lot of pressure and that he will be back.
We got to the fight picks by both teams pretty quickly. American Top Team went with undefeated youngster Uros Jurisic, while the Blackzilians wisely went with experience in the form of Luiz “Buscape” Firmino.
After getting their back stories, we went to a Blackzilian training session where tensions boiled over between teammates Usman and Jason Jackson. Usman stormed off, but he came back a short time later to mend fences with his teammate.
We then went to the weigh-ins, where both men made weight with no trouble. At the staredown, gym owners Dan Lambert and Glenn Robinson had yet another verbal sparring match in a tense situation which could have easily boiled over. It’s an intriguing personal vendetta that will continue to be must-see TV this season.
Come fight time, the fight went how many thought it would, as the more experienced Firmino controlled the fight and grinded on the young, inexperienced opponent. A third round was not needed, as all three judges gave Firmino the fight unanimously after two.
The win put the Blackzilians up 50-0 this season, but it again failed to impress UFC president Dana White. He again hated how the two fighters failed to really go for it when this is their stage to show fans they really want it.
Season Results
| Winner | Loser | Points | Total |
| Kamaru Usman (BLK) | Mike Graves (ATT) | 25 | Blackzilians lead 25-0 |
| Luiz Firmino (BLK) | Uros Jurisic (ATT) | 25 | Blackzilians lead 50-0 |
Notes and Observations
- Two episodes, two boring fights. I really hope that’s not an indication for the rest of the season because the team vs. team setup is attractive, but if the fights keep being this unimpressive, I feel viewers will again turn on this season of the show.
- I really question ATT for picking Jurisic this early in the competition. When you’re fighting for home-gym advantage and on this point system, and you know they are probably putting up some of their better fighters early, he should have gone with experience and let Jurisic continue to develop and get ready. Putting in a guy like Steve Carl or Nathan Coy would have been the way to go, in my opinion.
- I know it would never happen, but how awesome would it be if some sort of combat sport was the coach’s challenge this season. Imagine Lambert and Robinson, two guys who hate each other, having to box or grapple for the coach’s challenge. That would be amazing.
- I am officially making a position to change Luiz Firmino’s nickname from “Buscape” to “You Know.” He says it about 571 times per sentence, and the guy writing in the English subtitles made sure to include it every singe time.
- If you’re a fan of drama, next week looks to be a good one to watch. It appears a fighter misses weight slightly and has to use the other team’s sauna, sparking a heated battle between teams.
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