This week on The Ultimate Fighter, Team Miller needed to get back on the winning track after the last controversial fight, which pitted Team Bisping’s Akira Corassani against Justin Neace. Team Miller’s training session for the next fight, which paired featherweights Steve Siler from Team Miller, and Team Bisping’s Diego Brandao, was intense yet lighthearted. Siler has incredible cardio, and is tougher than he looks. Training for Diego went well, but Bisping was worried that Diego was overconfident, and could gas out early in the fight.
The first fight of the night was Team Miller’s Steve Siler (17-6) vs. Team Bisping’s Diego Brandao (13-7). Round 1 started with Diego running out with a superman punch, but Siler ducked quickly just in time! Diego was on fire with punching and kicking, and as Siler backed up, Diego threw a strong and quick hook which knocked Siler out. Diego Brandao stunned the entire room, including Dana White, with a KO victory over Siler. After the fight, Bisping and Miller exchanged words, with Bisping leading the verbal war, and pissing off Miller’s coaches and team.
During the next training session for Team Bisping, the team with fight control, they tried to decide who should fight next. The bantamweight fighters left for his team were TJ Dillashaw and John “Prince” Albert. TJ, who proclaimed he was the strongest bantamweight on the team, preferred that Albert fight next.
Meanwhile, in Team Miller’s camp, Roland Delorme had a swollen foot. Miller thought at first that it could have been a bee sting, but after a further look, thought it could be a skin infection or Staph. And the only two bantamweight fighters left to fight on Miller’s team were Delorme and the mole, John Dodson.
Both teams gathered on the mat to hear Bisping choose the next fight. Bisping chose John Albert from his side, and from Team Miller, John Dodson. He also chose the final bantamweight matchup, Dillashaw vs. Delorme, who was not present at the fight picks due to his foot. In fact, he was at the emergency room…which Miller did not divulge.
Training session for Team Bisping concentrated on John Albert using his height and reach advantage over Dodson, who is 5’3″. While Team Miller didn’t really show much love for Dodson at the beginning of their training turn, since he was a mole, “Mayhem” thought Dodson was working his way back to their good side, and was not mad at him anymore. Dodson and Team Miller had a fast- paced session of standup and grappling training.
Fight time for the bantamweights saw Team Bisping’s John Albert (6-1) face Team Miller’s John Dodson (11-5). Round 1 began with Albert throwing a kick, and both guys threw a few strikes to find their ranges. Albert was a little frustrated, as Dodson was quite fast on his feet, as well as with his hands. Utilizing his reach, Albert was able to secure a Thai clinch and score with with a knee to Dodson’s gut. As both guys threw non-stop punches, Dodson got a Thai clinch of his own, landing a knee to Albert’s chin which rocked him slightly. Albert and Dodson grappled to the ground, with Dodson on top throwing punches, but Albert brought him in closer, and locked his arms in, before both guys scrambled quickly to their feet, striking the whole time as they rose. Back on the feet, however, both fighters took the center of the cage with less energy, throwing fewer strikes. Albert looked more gassed than Dodson. With 30 seconds left in the first round, however, they picked up the pace with more intense striking, before spending the last few seconds of the round on the ground grappling, all the way until the bell rang.
Round 2 started with Dodson landing precise kicks to Albert’s inner leg, then both guys throwing a flurry of punches. As the pace started to slow, the coaches yelled instructions, and both fighters loosened up and started to mix up the combinations. Albert jumped on Dodson’s back for a choke, but Dodson quickly lowered himself, and ended up on top of Albert. Dodson threw down hammer fists, but they fought their way back to their feet, and back in the center. After a brief exchange of strikes, Albert took Dodson to the ground, but Dodson was able to wind up on top once again. With a little more than a minute left in the round, the fighters returned to the feet to resume striking. Dodson was landing the harder shots, and even landed a few head kicks. With five seconds remaining in the round, Dodson took Albert to the ground, but Albert was able to turn that into a submission attempt just as the bell rang. John Dodson won the fight via unanimous decision.
On Next week Dana White will announce the semifinal matchups, and we will find out whether Delorme, with his foot infection, will be able to fight or not. And Team Bisping will be getting a visit from Tito Ortiz! This can not be missed — but if you do miss out on the madness and fast-paced fights, please catch up with me next week on MMA Ratings.
