TUF 13 Diary: Episode 7 Recap and Analysis

Last week’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter 13 was a doubleheader of action-packed fights that saw both Team Lesnar and Team dos Santos earning wins. The wildcard fight between Team JDS’ Javier Torres vs. Team Lesnar’s Chuck O’Neil was announced and Junior dos Santos said goodbye to assistant coach Lew Polley. In three weeks time two of the finalists from TUF 13 will square off for a UFC contract at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, headlined by a bout between Clay Guida and Anthony Pettis.

I am very excited going into the conclusion of the 13th season of The Ultimate Fighter. The show started off very average and it still has every reality TV show cliché in the book, but I’m curious to see how this season will end. The fights as of late have been a lot more exciting and I have feeling that these men fighting for a UFC contract will lay it all on the line in time for the June 4th finale. 

Notes from TUF 13 – Episode 7:

-After Dana White announced the wildcard match between Team JDS’ Javier Torres vs. Team Lesnar’s Chuck O’Neil, Len Bentley was not happy with the decision. Len decided to plead his case to the UFC president and unfortunately it was too late for him.

-While back at the house Len Bentley let his frustration be known to his teammates and members of Team dos Santos. During a conversation with Team JDS member Ryan McGillivray and Len Bentley, we learn that Junior told Ryan that Brock said Len “wasn’t ready” thus the reason for choosing Chuck O’Neil instead. Len is now more frustrated than ever and even goes as far as wanting to fight Brock Lesnar himself.

-Javier Torres is very happy to have a 2nd chance in the competition and has shown dedication in improving his skills to beat Chuck O’Neil.

-Len Bentley once again lets his feelings about Brock Lesnar be known and accuses him of putting on the coaches hat only when the cameras are on. He confronts Brock regarding his decision to choose Chuck O’Neil over him and Brock said a big reason for his decision is because of Len’s knee problems.

-During training Brock questioned Chuck O’Neil’s dedication in fighting saying he doesn’t seem ready for competition. Brock also feels like Chuck wasn’t listening to his coach’s advice and for the next fight lots of time has been dedicated in coming up with the perfect game plan that could help lead Chuck to victory.

-Every morning Chris Cope from Team Lesnar wakes up the whole house with loud screaming noises. Team JDS’ Shamar Bailey finally snaps and lets Chris know how he feels. Shamar expresses interest in fighting Chris in the future.

-Coach Junior dos Santos and coach Brock Lesnar compete in a football contest showcasing various skills of speed, strength, agility and a chance to win $10,000 and $1500 for each team member. After both coaches demonstrated some great athletic ability, Junior dos Santos was the one to come out on top. Junior being the nice guy that he is felt it was right to give a little bit of his winnings to everyone on Team Lesnar except for coach Lesnar since he lost.

-Javier Torres and Chuck O’Neil starts at a frantic pace showcasing stand up and engaging in a clinch battle against the fence with neither man having an advantage. Chuck attempted numerous takedowns in the clinch while Torres utilized his solid grappling defense. At 2:17 Javier accidentally kneed O’Neil in the groin. When the fight resumed both men battled it out on the feet and once again neither man seemed to have an advantage. After battling against the fence and another brief moment on the feet, the round ended and it was very close.

-At the beginning of the 2nd round both men decided to stand in the center of the octagon and trade shots. During a clinch battle against the fence Javier was able to takedown Chuck and take it into the ground. Chuck managed to get back up and scored a takedown of his own against Javier with Chuck now being in a good position to score a submission. After dominating Javier on the ground for a big chunk of the 2nd round, Chuck finally scored an awesome Darce Choke submission.

-The quarterfinal fights are just around the corner and Dana White announces the match ups of Team Clay Harvison vs. Ramsey Nijem, Chris Cope vs. Shamar Bailey, the rematch of Chuck O’Neil vs. Zach Davis, and Tony Ferguson vs. Ryan McGillivray.

What to expect in the next episode:

-The quaterfinal bouts of Clay Harvison vs. Ramsey Nijem and Chris Cope vs. Shamar Bailey.

Be sure to check out Lowkick.com next week for my episode eight recap.