Team Melendez was in a tough spot heading into last night’s episode of TUF 20, after going winless in the first six preliminary fights. Luckily, they still had their ace in the hole — “Thug” Rose Namajunas, who stepped up in a big way and earned a first-round rear-naked choke submission against Alex Chambers.
Check out highlights from the fight above, which show an ever-evolving Namajunas frustrating Chambers with flashy kicks before taking her down and sinking the choke. Other than the heavy right hand that Rose eats at the 0:56 mark, it was a virtually flawless performance, and one that surely put her housemates on notice. Also on the episode…
– Team Melendez struggles with some infighting related to Heather Jo Clark and Lisa Ellis’s fraternizing with Team Pettis.
– Clark learns that she’s suffered a full ACL tear in her right knee, and will be out of action for the rest of the competition.
– Megan Rapinoe and Sydney Leroux from the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team stop by to say what up.
– Rose Namajunas discusses how she endured sexual abuse growing up in Milwaukee, and advises other females to seek help if they’re experiencing similar abuse in their own lives. Much respect to Rose for making this issue public.
After the jump: Rose and Pat Barry sit down with Karyn Bryant to discuss the episode on FOX Sports Live’s “TUF Talk.” Rose and Pat are still the best.
Team Melendez was in a tough spot heading into last night’s episode of TUF 20, after going winless in the first six preliminary fights. Luckily, they still had their ace in the hole — “Thug” Rose Namajunas, who stepped up in a big way and earned a first-round rear-naked choke submission against Alex Chambers.
Check out highlights from the fight above, which show an ever-evolving Namajunas frustrating Chambers with flashy kicks before taking her down and sinking the choke. Other than the heavy right hand that Rose eats at the 0:56 mark, it was a virtually flawless performance, and one that surely put her housemates on notice. Also on the episode…
– Team Melendez struggles with some infighting related to Heather Jo Clark and Lisa Ellis’s fraternizing with Team Pettis.
– Clark learns that she’s suffered a full ACL tear in her right knee, and will be out of action for the rest of the competition.
– Megan Rapinoe and Sydney Leroux from the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team stop by to say what up.
– Rose Namajunas discusses how she endured sexual abuse growing up in Milwaukee, and advises other females to seek help if they’re experiencing similar abuse in their own lives. Much respect to Rose for making this issue public.
After the jump: Rose and Pat Barry sit down with Karyn Bryant to discuss the episode on FOX Sports Live’s “TUF Talk.” Rose and Pat are still the best.
Team Pettis’ Aisling Daly has a style that can be best described as…unorthodox. She throws awkward, repetitive 1-2 combos and standing hammerfists that evoke memories of Jade Chun vs. Taeler Jackson. She attacks with her chin sticking straight up in the air — her head’s on a beanpole, as Joe Rogan might say. When it comes to submissions and scrambling, she often seems like she’s just making it up as she goes along. Uhhh…maybe if I just grab her arm like this…and twist it that way?
But Aisling Daly also has surprisingly decent head movement, an iron chin, and the kind of killer instinct that would make Gary Ridgway blush with envy. Daly is just plain aggressive, and the relentless pace she sets from start to finish will fucking break you. While it’s easy to understand how her less-than-flashy style led her to be picked last despite being ranked #5, her third round TKO of Team Melendez’s Angela Magana on last night’s episode of TUF 20surely erased anyone’s doubts when it came to her skills as a fighter. “Aisling is just one of those ladies that you just know can fight,” as Pettis summed it up.
Team Pettis’ Aisling Daly has a style that can be best described as…unorthodox. She throws awkward, repetitive 1-2 combos and standing hammerfists that evoke memories of Jade Chun vs. Taeler Jackson. She attacks with her chin sticking straight up in the air — her head’s on a beanpole, as Joe Rogan might say. When it comes to submissions and scrambling, she often seems like she’s just making it up as she goes along. Uhhh…maybe if I just grab her arm like this…and twist it that way?
But Aisling Daly also has surprisingly decent head movement, an iron chin, and the kind of killer instinct that would make Gary Ridgway blush with envy. Daly is just plain aggressive, and the relentless pace she sets from start to finish will fucking break you. While it’s easy to understand how her less-than-flashy style led her to be picked last despite being ranked #5, her third round TKO of Team Melendez’s Angela Magana on last night’s episode of TUF 20surely erased anyone’s doubts when it came to her skills as a fighter. “Aislin is just one of those ladies that you just know can fight,” as Pettis summed it up.
The first round of Daly vs. Magana was all Magana, though, who reversed a failed Daly takedown attempt to bring the Irishwoman to the mat. From there, Magana controlled Daly and threatened with rear naked chokes for the majority of the round. Save for one particularly egregious standup by the ref while Magana was working an armbar, Team Melendez seemed as if they might finally be on the verge of their first win.
Unfortunately for Team Melendez, the second round was a different story entirely, with Daly peppering Magana on the feet and eventually taking her to the ground to work some top control of her own. Daly was nothing short of suffocating, landing some solid shots to the body and simply out-positioning Magana before locking in a rear naked choke of her own as the round expired.
Magana was clearly the more tired fighter coming into the third, and Daly exploited it immediately, taking Magana to the mat and reigning down punches from above until the referee was forced to step in. Being that Chan Sung Jung will be MIA for another two years, I hereby move that we swap Daly’s current nickname “Ais the Bash” for a more appropriate one, “The Irish Zombie.”
The fight was easily one of the best of the season, if not the best, and with the win, Team Pettis is now up 6-0 over Team Melendez. Next week: Thug Rose vs. Alex Chambers.
After a 2-week hiatus, TUF 20returned last night with a much anticipated grudge rematch between #6 seed Felice Herrig and #11 Heather Clark. As luck would have it, the fight went down in very similar fashion to their first encounter, with Felice using her Muay Thai background to set up her consistently improving takedowns and generally outwork Clark all around. The UFC has made the full fight available via its Ultimate Fighter Youtube channel, so check it out above.
Also on last night’s episode, it was revealed that #9 seed Justine Kish had torn her ACL and would therefore be removed from the tournament. In her place, #3 Tecia Torres — who was upset by #14 Randa Markos back in episode 1 — was reinstated to face #8 Bec Rawlings in a later episode. The twist: Torres will now fight for Team Pettis, who are currently up five to nil over Team Melendez.
After the jump: Clark and Herrig continue their war of words on TUF Talk, which is apparently a thing that exists now.
After a 2-week hiatus, TUF 20returned last night with a much anticipated grudge rematch between #6 seed Felice Herrig and #11 Heather Clark. As luck would have it, the fight went down in very similar fashion to their first encounter, with Felice using her Muay Thai background to set up her consistently improving takedowns and generally outwork Clark all around. The UFC has made the full fight available via its Ultimate Fighter Youtube channel, so check it out above.
Also on last night’s episode, it was revealed that #9 seed Justine Kish had torn her ACL and would therefore be removed from the tournament. In her place, #3 Tecia Torres — who was upset by #14 Randa Markos back in episode 1 — was reinstated to face #8 Bec Rawlings in a later episode. The twist: Torres will now fight for Team Pettis, who are currently up five to nil over Team Melendez.
After the jump: Clark and Herrig continue their war of words on TUF Talk, which is apparently a thing that exists now.
Next week: Team Pettis’ #5 ranked Aisling Daly takes on #12 Angela Magana.
Last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned featured #1-seeded former Invicta champ Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza taking on #16-ranked Angela “Overkill” Hill. And while Hill and her coaches were confident that the fight would be a lot more competitive than the rankings suggested, Esparza’s elite wrestling skills overwhelmed the Muay Thai champ. Once Esparza secured a takedown, she aggressively went for Hill’s neck, eventually sinking a rear-naked choke late in the first round. With Esparza’s win, Team Pettis is now up 4-0 on Team Melendez.
As for Angela Hill, she may have been eliminated in the first round, but she’s left a lasting impression on her teammates…
Last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned featured #1-seeded former Invicta champ Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza taking on #16-ranked Angela “Overkill” Hill. And while Hill and her coaches were confident that the fight would be a lot more competitive than the rankings suggested, Esparza’s elite wrestling skills overwhelmed the Muay Thai champ. Once Esparza secured a takedown, she aggressively went for Hill’s neck, eventually sinking a rear-naked choke late in the first round. With Esparza’s win, Team Pettis is now up 4-0 on Team Melendez.
As for Angela Hill, she may have been eliminated in the first round, but she’s left a lasting impression on her teammates…
On last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, #13-ranked Team Melendez strawweight Lisa Ellis had the chance to avenge her Invicta FC 1 TKO loss to #4-ranked Team Pettis fighter Jessica Penne. It didn’t go so well. This time, Penne only needed a single round to lock in a rear-naked choke and secure the tap from Ellis. Video of the full fight is above.
The episode begins on a somber note. Dana White comes into the locker room looking for Bec Rawlings. He takes her into a side room and gives the bad news. After a long bout with Parkinson’s disease, her stepfather passed away. Bec knew that there was a chance of this happening when she left Australia, but the news still hits her hard. Her stepfather was a big fan of her career and she laments that, “I was hoping he could hold on a little longer so he could see my UFC debut.”
On last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, #13-ranked Team Melendez strawweight Lisa Ellis had the chance to avenge her Invicta FC 1 TKO loss to #4-ranked Team Pettis fighter Jessica Penne. It didn’t go so well. This time, Penne only needed a single round to lock in a rear-naked choke and secure the tap from Ellis. Video of the full fight is above.
The episode begins on a somber note. Dana White comes into the locker room looking for Bec Rawlings. He takes her into a side room and gives the bad news. After a long bout with Parkinson’s disease, her stepfather passed away. Bec knew that there was a chance of this happening when she left Australia, but the news still hits her hard. Her stepfather was a big fan of her career and she laments that, “I was hoping he could hold on a little longer so he could see my UFC debut.”
I decided not to do a “TUF Checklist” post for TUF 20 episode 2, because there were no absurd Dana White exaggerations, none of the women said “I’m not here to make friends” or made any scary proclamations, there were no misleading teases for future episodes, and honestly, the ladies didn’t really “bring it” during the fight. (#2-ranked Joanne Calderwood looked hesitant and flat in the first round, and still managed to beat #15-seed Emily Kagan in a two-round majority decision.) The updated TUF 20 bracket is here, if you’re interested.
Luckily, the Ultimate Fighter YouTube channel has posted clips of the relevant moments from last night’s episode, as well as some unaired footage. Notably absent: The scene where some of the Team Pettis fighters tell their coaches that they’re not happy with the stop-and-go vibe of the training. According to Randa Markos, that confrontation may have compelled Duke Roufus to leave the show.
The clips continue after the jump. If you have any thoughts on the episode — other than the obvious — please share ’em.
I decided not to do a “TUF Checklist” post for TUF 20 episode 2, because there were no absurd Dana White exaggerations, none of the women said “I’m not here to make friends” or made any scary proclamations, there were no misleading teases for future episodes, and honestly, the ladies didn’t really “bring it” during the fight. (#2-ranked Joanne Calderwood looked hesitant and flat in the first round, and still managed to beat #15-seed Emily Kagan in a two-round majority decision.) The updated TUF 20 bracket is here, if you’re interested.
Luckily, the Ultimate Fighter YouTube channel has posted clips of the relevant moments from last night’s episode, as well as some unaired footage. Notably absent: The scene where some of the Team Pettis fighters tell their coaches that they’re not happy with the stop-and-go vibe of the training. According to Randa Markos, that confrontation may have compelled Duke Roufus to leave the show.
The clips continue after the jump. If you have any thoughts on the episode — other than the obvious — please share ‘em.
