Welcome back, fight friends! After two terrible baseball-filled weeks, The Ultimate Fighter 20 is finally back!
We start with Heather Clark talking about how she initially got upset at Felice Herrig’s antics and attitude. This immediately led to Team Melendez all saying how much they hate Heather. We move to terrible news, as Justine Kish finds out she’s got a tear in her ACL, which has now knocked her out of the tournament.
This means that Tecia Torres gets to come back in the competition and will face Bec Rawlings. Everyone is thrown into a tizzy off this, since Tecia is now on Team Pettis, which doesn’t sit well with both Team Melendez and Carla Esparza. Gilbert in particular wanted it treated as a forfeit and an automatic advancement for Bec. I think Gilbert just wants to be assured of one win this season.
Felice opens up about the struggles of fighting for over a decade and coming into a new situation without her regular coaches and support system, but she’s putting up with it for a once in a lifetime opportunity. Heather Clark talks about the time Anderson Silva told her MMA isn’t about the belt, it’s about the mind and the heart. I think he only said that because he probably had the belt at the time, so it wasn’t a big deal to him.
The fight: #6 Felice “Lil Bulldog” Herrig vs #11 Heather-Jo Clark
The first round was exciting, with Herrig and Clark trading punches before Herrig went in for a take down. Clark locked up a guillotine, but Herrig managed to escape. The fight went to the ground and Herrig threatened with an armbar before ending up on top of Clark to finish the round. I’d probably give the first to Herrig, though it’s close.
Round two featured even more grappling, as Clark is unable to stop Herrig’s take downs. Herrig looks for submissions, but can’t lock anything up. The round ends, and the judges have rendered a verdict – Felice Herrig wins by unanimous decision, putting Team Pettis at 5-0.
Join us next week as #5 Aisling Daly takes on #12 Angela Magana
Quotables:
“We don’t need you. Don’t get that twisted” – Bec Rawlings on the group mentality regarding Heather Clark
“I don’t care if we do three hundred Ultimate Fighters, I still have to remind everybody that this is not a team sport!” – Dana White. SO STOP MAKING EACH SEASON OF THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER TEAM VERSUS TEAM, YOU BALD DING-DONG
“She has that unorthodox style that, it just works for her. She does all the wrong things, but they work, it’s crazy.” – Anthony Pettis talking about Aisling Daly, someone who has had roughly two seconds of total screen time all season, so it’s really hard to see what she’s been doing right or wrong.
Highlights:
– Felice Herrig wearing a friendship bracelet headband with friendship dreadlocks
– Heather Clark trying to bury the hatchet with Felice after the fight (Though to be fair, I really wanted Herrig to just call Heather a two-time loser and jazz hand away)
