Episode 7 preview: oh what a fight
Previously on The Ultimate Fighter...
Team Tate's resident "girly-girl" Julianna Pena gave teammates Sarah Moras and Raquel "Rocky" Pennington makeovers, putting her fellow fighters in heels and dresses, trying to get them to strut their stuff out by the pool.
A group trip to Green Valley Ranch for a night of fights and entertainment comes and goes without any drama between warring coaches Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate. While Rocky went and abstained for enjoying the festivities in preparation for her fight, Team Rousey's Jessamyn Duke opted to stay home and enjoy the silence of an empty house.
That silence was shattered once everyone returned home, however, as Team Rousey's Anthony Gutierrez turned into the annoying drunk guy that doesn't want the fun to end, eventually climbing into bed with an unimpressed Rocky.
In the third female fight of the season, Jessamyn and Rocky combined for the Fight of the Season (thus far), slugging it out in a back-and-forth stand-up battle that went the full 15 minutes. After dropping the opening frame, Rocky took the second to force a "sudden victory" round, and won the fight over the final five minutes, showcasing crisp, precise boxing.
With the victory, Team Tate regained control, and selected Canadian grappler Josh Hill to square off with British kickboxer Michael Wootten in the next bout.
Here's a look at what to watch for in Episode 7 of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate.
Who's the Favorite?
So far, all three of the women's fights have been quality scraps, with all three of the victors impressing in different ways, but who's the favorite thus far?
Following her impressive victory over Jessamyn last week, a case could certainly be made for Rocky, who showed an ability to take the best Jessamyn had to offer and return fire, getting better as the fight progressed.
With the two most experienced members of the cast already eliminated, the women's side of the competition is clearly wide open, which should make for some exciting match-ups in the semifinals, and hopefully some entertaining interactions between the remaining hopefuls from this point forward.
Trying to Start Something
After the tension between the two teams nearly came to a head on episode 4 when Team Rousey coach Edmond Tarverdyan and Team Tate guest coach Dennis Hallman confronted each other, UFC President Dana White told the two teams to knock it off with the inter-squad fighting and antagonizing.
While things went off without a hitch during last week's trip out to watch the fights, Team Tate still tried to tweak Edmond and Team Rousey by leaving a figurine of The Count from Sesame Street in their locker room with a coupon for a free eyebrow waxing procedure attached.
Will it continue? How will Team Rousey respond? What will Dana White have to say about it?
With the season just hitting the halfway point, things could still get very interesting between the two sides from here on out.
Josh Hill (9-0) vs. Michael Wootten (7-0)
The third fight on the men's side of the draw features a pair of unbeaten fighters representing the Commomwealth, as Liverpool's Wootten takes on Hamilton, Ontario native Hill in a bout selected by Team Tate.
Unbeaten in nine pro fights, Hill drew Dana White's ire in the qualification round for employing what the UFC President described as a "drive you into the cage and hold you there" approach. Arguably the top bantamweight in Canada competing outside of the UFC, each of Hill's last five wins have come by way of decision, with six of his nine wins overall going the distance.
Needless to say, he's not a Dana White favorite at this point.
Not to be outdone, Wootten didn't make a great impression on the UFC boss in the qualifying round either. His fight with Emil Hartsner earned an "I literally have nothing to say about this fight...other than it sucked" from White.
Prior to underwhelming winning effort to get into the house, the young Scouser had put together a seven-fight winning streak, earning his last three victories by way of stoppage. Like many incoming TUF hopefuls, he's yet to face any real elite competition on the regional circuit.
One of these two will find themselves in the semifinals after this bout, and with the way their initial bouts played out, they should be looking to impress here.
