Another week and another episode of TUF, as we’re a week or so away from the TUF Finale. We are here, again, in the live-ish format. Mainly I’m typing this as it happens but not posting it until the time you read it on Thursday morning, if only so I can edit and add commentary about it as well.
Tonight is the coaches challenge, which apparently is rock climbing. Tonight’s fight is to determine who faces off with Chris Holdsworth, the favorite to win it all.
There is apparently big news yet again coming out of this week’s episode. We start out with Ronda bringing her crew to hang out, her dog too, as Manny Gamburyan and the Armenian crew she rolls with came over to grill some meat and such. Gamburyan was a TUF finalist, losing to Nate Diaz in season 5. That’s a misnomer, though, as his shoulder dislocated early on and he couldn’t continue. Gabe Ruediger is the last TUF fighter to miss weight during the show, as well, and that was in Season 5 as well.
Ronda and her coaching crew are having problems separating emotions as two of their team members are fighting. Rousey seems genuinely affected by it, as she likes both guys. Neither fighter will have coaches in their corner, relying on teammates. That seems to be the TUF motif, letting two guys on the same team get teammates for intra-squad violence.
Rousey teaches her armbar today and it’s a fascinating lesson in submission grappling. Rousey is very good at it and seeing her break it down is pretty impressive. I wish we got more moments like this; Rousey is a first rate instructor. I think that’ll get lost in the “Real World” drama of this season: Rousey genuinely cares about coaching and it shows.
Coach’s challenge at the Mandalay Bay. It’s Dana’s favorite moment of the season. It’s pretty close throughout as both are up really quickly. Rousey with the win and the Stockton Hey Buddy in victory.
Anthony Gutierrez gets a deep profile this week. He cuts a ton of weight and doesn’t help himself by eating poorly during camp. Ronda lets him know that being a pro athlete sometimes involves eating less burgers.
Davey Grant used to be a DJ of some note in England, much like TUF season 3 winner Michael Bisping.
Day of weigh-ins and Anthony Gutierrez is playing it fast and close. He’s got 10 pounds to cut the day of, never an easy thing to do. He has four hours to cut 10 and it’s going to be a rough cut. As we progress it gets tough for him as Team Rousey is on him to make his weight. Anthony is really getting lambasted for an awful cut; he wasn’t disciplined and was drinking an energy en route to the training facility.
Time to weigh in. Grant’s in and on point, no problem. Gutierrez weighs in at 140, making him the second guy this season to miss weight the first time. He’s got five pounds to go in an hour after sweating a ton already. From my own experience as an amateur wrestler I can say it’s a tough proposition, especially when you’ve been cutting for the whole morning already.
A couple minutes in and he quit. Just can’t do it anymore. Dana tosses him off the show, too. One fight away from the finale and he can’t make weight, especially considering he didn’t have a fight to make it to the semi-finals. This is a bizarre circumstance; Grant is emotional as Anthony was a friend and this is his dream, too. Ronda’s emotional, as well, as she’s taking this profoundly personal.
