TUF 13 Diary: Episode 6 Recap and Analysis

Where has the time all gone? The month of April has ended and we are now just getting into May. The 13th season of The Ultimate Fighter is getting closer to it’s finale and what a season it has been so far. This hasn’t been the most exciting season in the history of the show, but it’s kind of a refreshing change to see the two coaches respect each other. The fights haven’t been memorable and the cast of fighters extremely predictable, but I’m still curious to see which fighters from the show could emerge as big stars in the world of MMA.

Have I see anyone on that show that I personally feel qualifies to fight at the highest level? I haven’t seen anything so far that blows my mind, but I thought Team JDS’s Ryan McGillivray’s performance against Team Leasnar’s Len Bentley was a fight that I can still remember pretty well from the 3rd episode. Last night’s episode of TUF showcased two fights, the wild card draw, and we go deeper into Team dos Santos internal problems.

Notes from episode TUF 13 – Episode 6:

-After Team JDS’ Mick Bowman’s loss to Clay Harvison from Team Lesnar, Junior tries to cheer up his team. Right after Junior shares his words of encouragement, assistant coach Lew Polley shares his two cents, and disagrees with JDS’ comments to his fighters. It seems like the problems between the two coaches is entering a boiling point.

-After finding out Clay Harvison injured his pinky finger from his bout with Mick Bowman, Coach Brock Lesnar speaks to Len Bentley about possibly being his pick for the wildcard selection. During training, Len hurt his knee and had to make a trip to the hospital along with Clay.

-After Len and Clay visit the doctors, they find out their injuries aren’t as bad as they thought, and are still in the game.

-During Team dos Santos’ training session, coach JDS felt disrespected when Lew Polley decided to visit the fighters at the house without telling Junior. After Junior consulted with his coach, he felt it was right to kick Lew off the team due to “confusion”.

-In the first fight of this episode Brock Lesnar chooses Tony Ferguson to face Justin Edwards from Team JDS. In the 2nd fight Brock picks Chuck O’Neil to face Team dos Santos’ Zach Davis.

-Team JDS’ fighters feel upset about Lew leaving and some even question if Junior can understand them when he corners their fights.

-The fight between Tony Ferguson and Justin Edwards wasn’t a long affair. Both men put it all on the line during their bout, threw striking technique out the window, and decided to trade strikes in the pocket. Edwards managed to takedown Ferguson late in the first round forcing Ferguson to fight off his back. While on his back with a single heel up kick, Tony Ferguson rocked Justin Edwards. With Edwards falling to the canvas, Ferguson went in for the kill, earning the TKO victory for Team Lesnar on his birthday.

-Going into 2nd fight on the show between Chuck O’Neil and Zach Davis, we learn both have fun and easy going personalities but when it comes to fighting or training it’s all business.

-Chuck and Zach put on a grappling clinic with Zach scoring a takedown from the beginning of the 1st round. The two fighters engage in a clinch battle against the cage with Zach even scoring another takedown to put Chuck on his back. Neither man wants to keep the fight on the feet and decide to use their grappling background. Chuck scored a takedown of his own against Zach, but with Chuck fighting aggressively in Zach’s guard, Chuck gets caught in a tight triangle choke. Zach earns a hard fought victory for Team dos Santos.

–Brock Lesnar, Junior dos Santos, and Dana White enter a meeting to select the two fighters to be on the wildcard. Justin Edwards was a heavy favorite in the selection process, but the commission has suspended Edwards for 90 days after his fight with Tony Ferguson.

-Dana White doesn’t seem very impressed by the hunger and drive of the potential wildcard fighters.

-Javier Torres from Team JDS takes on Chuck O’Neil from Team Lesnar in the wildcard fight. Len Bentley is not happy at all with coach Brock Lesnar‘s selection.

What to expect in the next episode:

-Team Lesnar’s Len Bentley vents his frustration in not getting the wildcard selection and confronts Brock.

–Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos compete in a football coach’s challenge.

-The fight between Chuck O’Neil and Javier Torres.

-The quarterfinal match ups are announced.

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