TUF Quarterfinals: Dylan Andrews knocks out Luke Barnatt

The Ultimate Fighter Quarterfinals kicked off tonight on FX and the fights did not fail to deliver in any way. The first bout saw Collin Hart square off against Kelvin Gastelum. The bout began with the two fights looking to trade, and it didn’t last long.

Gastelum rocked Hart with a clean hook, bouncing his head off of the canvas with subsequent ground-and-pound. Gastelum continues to impress as a fighter that no one believed in at the beginning.

The second bout featured Dylan Andrews vs. Luke Barnatt. It was an interesting matchup in that Barnatt was Chael Sonnen’s first pick while Andrews was the last overall pick to Team Jones. It was a war, as the first round saw Andrews land a hard punch and an early takedown. Barnatt fought off a guillotine attempt and landed a few kicks and knees, but he was on the defensive for most of the round.

Andrews landed some clean shots in an early boxing exchange to start round 2. Barnatt scored a nice trip and landed in full mount, but Andrews reversed it nicely. He scored with strikes in Barnatt’s guard, and went for a late choke. I thought Andrews did enough to win the fight, but it went to a third round.

The last stanza unfolded much faster than the previous two. The two went to war immediately, with Andrews landing some absolute bombs. Andrews finished the fight with a combination of crushing blows for the knockout. Kudos to Barnatt for being a very tough and resilient fighter, but tonight was Dylan Andrews’ night, and he did it against no slouch.

This season of The Ultimate Fighter is shaping up to be one of the best in terms of talent and fights. There have been some amazing finishes and some unlikely victories. I think more than a few of the cast members will fight in the UFC. Both Chael Sonnen and Jon Jones have seemed to be effective, focused coaches.

There is still a ton of talent left in the competition. Who is your pick to win The Ultimate Fighter: Jones vs. Sonnen?