Welcome again, to The Ultimate Fighter season 20 recap spectacular! Last time, there was a super fun fight between Joanne Calderwood and Emily Kagan. We start this week’s show off with some really bad news, as Dana White brings Bec Rawlings into his office to let her know that her step dad passed away. I’m really uncomfortable with Bec’s tearful conversation with her mom being shown on TV, but then again, I’m not a callous reality show asshole producer.
Next up on the show is the episode’s requisite “everyone who isn’t Heather Clark hates Heather Clark” segment. This time, team Melendez is playing some kind of Truth or Dare-Except-Everything-Is-Truth game and while most are content to just answer the questions and have fun, Clark really wants to enforce weird guessing rules that nobody else wants. The driving force behind this season seems to be less “these are the cream of the crop among women’s strawweight fighters, let’s find a champion!” and more “you stink, Heather Clark”.
Then, Jessica Penne details her history of being bullied and cries, while Lisa Ellis talks about leaving her kid for six weeks to film the show, and also cries.
The fight: #4 Jessica Penne vs #13 Lisa Ellis
We finally have a finish! The fight was very grappling-heavy once both fighters engaged each other. Penne defended a take down and clinched Ellis against the cage. Ellis went for a throw, but Penne sits out on it and ends up in half-guard. I thought Penne was looking for an arm triangle, but nothing ever materialized from it. Ellis hit an excellent sweep, though Penne quickly countered with a sweep of her own. Penne took Ellis’ back, got both hooks in, and cinched up the fight-ending rear naked choke.
Come back next week as #1 Carla Esparza takes on #16 Angela Hill. Expect singlets and takedowns.
Quotables:
“Dear God, Buddha, Krishna, whatever your name is…” – Angela Magana invoking the Lord, I guess?
“It’s like she doesn’t have real person feelings” – Rose having none of Heather’s shenanigans
“Oh what the fudge?!” – Gilbert Melendez, adult, professional fighter
Highlights:
– Team Melendez banding together to send positivity to Bec’s mom.
– Felice proposing via friendship bracelet to be Jessica’s “lawfully wedded BFF.”
– Jessica Penne flipping out at the granny panties left by Team Melendez and stretching them across the portrait of Gilbert’s face.
