The Ultimate Fighter went back to the middleweights for the fourth episode of the season. Dhiego Lima was set to take on Tim Williams with Team Penn up 2-0. The build-up to the episode let us know that there was a finish, and let us know that a mistake led to the end. It was true to the billing. Williams allowed Lima to steal the fight in the waning minutes with a rear-naked choke, and Williams knew he let it slip through his hands.
After the fight, Frankie Edgar announced the bout for next week: Corey Anderson vs. Josh Clark. That will be for next week, but until then, let’s have a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of the fourth episode:
The Good:
- In the beginning stages of the episode, Daniel Spohn confirmed that his gameplan was indeed not to get injured in the first fight. It was smart. This is a tournament, and an injury sees you exit the show completely. As Spohn mentioned, the semi-finals is where you can go all out, as you have months to rehab at home in for the finale.
- The episode made mention of Lima’s brother Douglas Lima. That is nice in itself, but it was very nice to hear them mention he is a champion. Obviously, there was a failure to mention where he is a champion, but that is to be expected. It was just nice to not have to hear them beat around the bush, and give Douglas the respect he has earned.
- Coaches John Hackleman and Mark Coleman stopped by the house to talk to the Team Penn fighters. It is always nice to see the coaches swing by and connect with their team.
- Williams had a strong first round. He took Lima down, busted him up with some ground and pound, and nearly finished with a choke. He dominated the first frame of action.
- In spite of Williams winning the majority of the fight, all credit has to go to Lima for capitalizing on a small mistake and finishing the fight. MMA is a game of inches, and Lima showed that the fight is not over until the referee stops the action.
The Bad:
- Pat Walsh and Todd Monaghan argue, as Monaghan wants Walsh to simply cheerlead for the team. Walsh was merely stating his own opinion. Apparently Monaghan is not a fan of truth.
- Pat Walsh was then featured in the episode as having an injured back. The severity is unknown, but as we would find out at the tail end of the episode, he will be fighting next week. I suppose we will all have to keep that in mind for next week’s episode.
- Williams was shown as putting in extra work at the house. Hundreds of sit-ups and push-ups, and running three miles a day. That is all well and good, but there is little quesiton that it has to be taxing his body. Did all that extra work play a role in his fight? We may never know, but in this environment, one can do too much. Diminishing returns.
- Matt Van Buren was heavily featured in the show. Why? Because he decided to start jawing at Team Penn, specifically Chris Fields. His nickname is “Gutter” because he came from the bottom, but I may be willing to bet it was also because he likes to talk trash.
- Edgar was yelling instructions at Lima during the first round, and Lima simply did not listen. This is a theme with fighters on TUF over the years — a failure to listen to top-tier coaching and doing their own things. It nearly bit Lima in the behind, but he got away with it this time.
- After the fight, Van Buren lobbied Edgar to fight Fields. Edgar said it wasn’t the plan, but Van Buren kept at it – including saying that Fields was only 80%. He is quickly becoming “that guy” this season.
The Ugly:
- TUF promos leading up to this week virtually ruined the fight. There was little suspense. We all knew the fight would be finished, and we all knew that a mistake would be made. We simply needed to wait to see who was winning. Once it was evident that Williams was, we knew that Lima would win. Disappointing. Fox Sports and the UFC have to do better with their promos leading up to future episodes.
- Give guys downtime and they resort to juvenile behavior. It have not reached body fluid levels, yet, but it did show they are already throwing objects at the nether regions of one another. Boys will be boys, but it gets very tiresome.
We will see you all next week for Corey Anderson vs. Josh Clark, and the fallout from this week’s fight.
TUF 19: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn
• Tim Williams vs. Dhiego Lima: Dhiego Lima def. Tim Williams via submission (rear-naked choke) in Round 2.
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Te Huna #3?? Completely don't understand.
Good catch. That was supposed to be Rumble Johnson. Cut & Paste errors…
Ok but now you're going against your own criteria. I agree Rumble has looked improved recently but never forget he lost by sub to Kos and career LW Rich Clementi so how can he be #3 especially over Cormier? Granted LHW is becoming as shallow as HW or Women's BW but #3 doesn't seem consistent.