The Ultimate Fighter 19.06: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

By Nathan McCarter

The Ultimate Fighter returned with one of the most controversial decisions in the show’s history. Roger Zapata defeated Ian Stephens by decision after losing a point in the final, sudden victory, round. How he managed to pull that off was a mystery until UFC President Dana White cleared it up at the fight announcement. This was a strange episode, but not one that had a lot of excitement.

Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly from the latest offering.

The Good:

• Ian Stephens opened the show with the story of how his father passed away when Stephens was only six years old. He discussed how the loss of his father made him into the athlete he is today. It was a heartwarming story of a fighter who did not need all the latest clothes and training gear to become a successful professional athlete.
• Matt Hughes stopped by to assist Team Penn. Hughes has been a polarizing figure in MMA, but no one should be able to doubt the knowledge of the sport he has. He is a good coach, and Team Penn could learn a lot from him.
• Mark Coleman has long been one of the great cornermen to watch. If you are a newer fan of the sport I challenge you to go back to the PRIDE days to watch him work. His powerful voice, mannerisms, and boisterous attitude make for high comedy. This episode did not disappoint. When Mazzagatti took the point away, Coleman nearly went ballistic. I had to pause the show because I was laughing too much.
• One good thing about this episode revolving around the drama was the producers showing Mazzagatti continually warning Zapata about the elbow. Now, he never said he would take a point away, but at what point does that not matter when you’ve been warned for two-plus rounds?
• Dana did a good job of explaining how the judges rendered the decision. One judge scored the third for Stephens, and the other two had it as a 9-9 draw. Due to the sudden victory format, the judges were then told to circle the fighter they thought had won the fight. All three circled Zapata. One would have to think that having this kind of format, better known as PRIDE rules to MMA fans, would serve better as the industry standard.

The Bad:

• Stephens discussed in his training that Zapata would be expecting the shot, and he was working on his striking. Apparently, that change of gameplan didn’t last very long, as all he did in the fight was go for the takedown.
• The fight itself was boring. There is not much more to be said about it.
• When Mazzagatti announced the decision, he did so by saying, “Ian Zapata!” That pretty much encapsulates Mazzagatti and this mess of a decision.
• Dana came off poorly. He got up and left the fight, he began to run down Stephens while he was still in the cage, and his overall reaction was a bit over the top. Being mystified by the decision was understandable, but there was a better way to go about handling the situation. It wasn’t all bad, however, as White did defuse the situation with the fighters and sent them all to the locker rooms.

The Ugly:

• I understand product placement, but I draw the line at KFC Pillows.
• Mazagatti can’t distinguish between legal and downward elbows. The elbows Zapata were warned for were not 12-6 elbows. He attacked the side of Stephens.
• The whole decision ordeal was just ugly. No one won that.
• BJ Penn made a comment about champagne when they came out for the fight announcement. He may have been trying to lighten the mood, but it was just disrespectful after knowingly getting away with a win.

Next week’s fight will be between Anton Berzin vs. Patrick Walsh.

TUF 19: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn

• Roger Zapata vs. Ian Stephens: Roger Zapata def. Ian Stephens via decision.