Episode seven is titled “Animal Instincts.”
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to FOX Sports 1 last night (Weds., Oct. 12, 2016) for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 24 combat sports reality show, coached by top flyweight contenders and bitter rivals Joseph Benavidez and Henry Cejudo.
If you missed last week’s episode click here.
We kick things off inside the TUF house and after the alcohol starts flowing the teams start jawing. Matt Rizzo and Matt Schnell are still arguing over who has the better striking, with Jamie Alvarez chiming in every two seconds about his own abilities.
Some cursing and shoving take place but no fists are thrown.
We get a closer look at UFC veteran and new dad Tim Elliot, who competes later in the show for Team Benavidez. UFC President Dana White talks about Elliot’s ability to rebound after getting released, winning three straight fights and capturing the flyweight crown for Titan Fighting.
“Tim’s style is hard for anyone to deal with,” Benavidez said about the former state champion wrestler. “It’s controlled chaos.”
On the other side of the gym, the FS1 cameras follow Team Cejudo standout Charlie Alaniz. First and foremost he’s a family man and we get to see him having fun at home, far away from the rigors of mixed martial arts (MMA). Alaniz — fighting out of Australia — blows a gasket during training and threatens to knockout his entire team.
He’s the current HEX Fight Series 125-pound champion, for whatever that’s worth.
Time for the coaches challenge and it’s being hosted by Top Golf in Las Vegas, Nevada. As you might expect, neither Benavidez nor Cejudo know a goddamn thing about golfing. The goal is to hit 20 balls into different rings for points, kind of like Wii Sports Golf.
Each ring is worth different points depending on size and distance.
The winning coach gets $1500 for each member of his team. Benavidez wins the coin flip and chooses to go second, probably so he can pick up pointers from Cejudo. Welp, the first three swings “The Messenger” takes don’t deliver. In fact, they don’t even hit the ball … or the tee … or the grass.
Yikes.
So we get some back-and-forth action for the next several minutes and by the end of the competition, coach Benavidez wins by a landslide. And by “landslide” I mean the final score was 144-28. “Joe Jitsu” also gets a plastic trophy and $10,000.
Getting back to the hurt business, the fighters weigh in without incident. Time to fight!
No. 3 Tim Elliot (Team Benavidez) vs. No. 14 Charlie Alaniz (Team Cejudo)
Round 1: Both fighters come out swinging but nothing lands clean. Elliot with a jumping knee that turns into a scramble. Alaniz shoots and gets his neck stuck but escapes. He tags Elliot who returns a low kick. Alaniz changes levels and Elliot grabs a neck but Alaniz uses it to drag him to the floor and work from guard. Elliot works his way back up and gets tagged so he shoots and drags the fight to the floor. Alaniz escapes so Elliot repeats and brings him right back down. Alaniz very nonchalantly gives up his back and Elliot takes what appears to be gift wrapped and locks up the rare but effective bulldog choke.
Final result: Elliot def. Alaniz by submission
Here’s where we stand after episode 7:
Bracket A
#1 Alexandre Pantoja vs.
#16 Brandon Moreno
#8 Terrence Mitchellvs. #9 Kai Kara-France
#5 Hiromasa Ogikubo vs.#12 Nkazimulo Zulu
#4 Damacio Pagevs. #13 Adam AntolinBracket B
#2 Yoni Sherbatovvs. #15 Eric Shelton
#7 Ronaldo Candido vs.#10 Jamie Alvarez
#6 Matt Schnell vs.#11 Matt Rizzo
#3 Tim Elliot vs.#14 Charlie Alaniz
Team Cejudo and Team Benavidez are tied 4-4.
Now it’s time for the semifinals and here are the corresponding match ups:
#1 Alexandre Pantoja vs. #9 Kai Kara-France
#13 Adam Antolin vs. #5 Hiromasa Ogikubo
#7 Ronaldo Candido vs. #15 Eric Shelton
#6 Matt Schnell vs. #3 Tim Elliot
Stay tuned next week as Alexandre Pantoja does battle with Kai Kara-France.
See you in seven!