Hey fight fans, welcome to the next to last episode of The Ultimate Fighter season 20! That means we are going to get not one, but TWO fights tonight, hooray! That also means dumb house drama will be limited, which is also good.
We start off with Tecia explaining her history with Carla that started in Invicta, so this fight is a long time coming. After Carla says yet again that she’s upset Tecia got a second chance, it’s time to fight! Boy, that was quick.
The fights:
#1 Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza vs #3 Tecia “Tiny Tornado” Torres
The first round opens with some good punching exchanges, then Carla shoots for a takedown, but Tecia stuffs it and the action resets in the center of the cage. Carla keeps looking for takedowns, but Tecia keeps avoiding. Carla ends up taking Tecia’s back in a scramble, getting her against the cage, and then gets Tecia down with a judo-style headlock toss. Tecia manages to escape out the back and get to her feet with about a minute left. Carla gets a big double leg takedown late in the first round and lands some ground and pound to end the first. Round one goes to Carla through wrestling.
Round two starts with Tecia landing some solid punches and avoiding takedown attempts from Carla. Carla is relentless, though, and gets a takedown halfway through the round. Tecia stands back up, but Carla takes her back, but can’t do anything with it. Carla ends the fight with another takedown. I give round two and the fight overall to Carla. The judges agree and Esparza is moving on to face Jessica Penne in the semi-finals.
#2 Joanne “Dr. Kneevil” Calderwood vs #7 “Thug” Rose Namajunas
This fight starts really aggressive, with Rose landing a head kick in the opening seconds. The fight quickly goes to the ground, with Rose looking for an armbar, but Joanne gets free. Rose gets back to her feet, clinches with Joanne and looks for a flying armbar. Joanne avoids the submission, but Rose keeps pressure on her with clinch strikes. Joanne gets a hip toss takedown, but Rose threatens with a heel hook and a kimura. Rose ends up on top, and I’d give her the first round due to submission attempts and overall grappling dominance.
The second starts with good striking, the two clinch and the fight hits the ground with Joanne on top. Rose keeps attacking with submissions, though, and snatches up a kimura, forcing Calderwood to tap out. WOWZERS!
Come back next week as #1 Carla Esparza takes on #4 Jessica Penne and #7 Rose Namajunas fights #14 Randa Markos!
Highlights:
– Carla throwing up from exhaustion after her fight with Tecia
