The shenanigans start early this week as the house sink has been sabotaged and poor Michael Johnson gets drenched upon using it. He of course wrongly assumes it was Alex and we spent some more time listening to them bicker like children. Housemates speak out about how happy they will be once their upcoming fight is over.
At the respective training camps the general theory seems to be that Aaron is the superior striker and that Kyle should use his more advanced ground game to his advantage. Georges St. Pierre even goes so far as to explicitly state that.
Kyle Watson vs. Aaron Wilkinson
Round 1- After throwing a few soft looking kicks Watson moves in and gets a rather easy looking takedown. They grapple on the mat for a bit with Wilkinson obviously looking for a standup opportunity. After a little bit of messiness involving the cage they end up back on the mat and Watson seizes the chance to take Wilkinson’s back. They roll and move around but Watson won’t budge from his position. He keeps looking for a choke and Wilkinson keeps defending it until he can’t any longer and Watson sinks in a rear naked choke. At that point it is only a matter of time before he taps out which he does. Kyle Watson def. Aaron Wilkinson via 1st Round Submission
Back at the training center St. Pierre’s unending parade of famous friends continues as he has boxing trainer Freddie Roach stops by to help the boys with their striking. Koscheck spends some time stirring the pot as he tries to talk shit to Michael’s face and then cooks up some story to St. Pierre about the booking of the fight and how it was created to ensure Michael’s passage into the semis.
Weigh Ins
Michael Johnson = 156
Alex Caceres = 154.5
Alex Caceres vs. Michael Johnson
Round 1- The fighters feel out the situation for a bit before Johnson comes rushing in with a flurry of punches. He then gets a massive takedown and starts working his ground and pound. Alex chooses to go with rubber guard. That ends up working out for him and he gets the fight back to a standing position. They start boxing and Johnson lands a nasty shot that knocks the mouthpiece of Caceres out and to the mat. Once they restart Johnson comes out aggressive and gets a single leg for a takedown. Caceres gets back to his feet again and begins to hit non-devastating jabs. Johnson keeps the pressure on, landing uppercuts and knees and other varieties of shots. This keeps up through the end of the round and after one we have 10-9 Johnson in an easy round for St. Pierre’s #1 pick.
Round 2- Caceres comes out swinging but can do nothing to avoid another big bodyslam from Johnson. Johnson settles in on the mat and starts working some mild ground and pound. Caceres gets up but can’t do anything on his feet or on the ground. There is some wrestling and the two end up back on the mat with Caceres in the dominant position. Johnson stands up at will, works Caceres back to the cage and stands a few shots from there. The rest of the round is made up on a dominant Johnson taking Caceres down, on multiple occasions, and Caceres proving that he just can’t hang. The round ends and the fight goes to the score cards. We had round 2 as 10-9 for Johnson.
Michael Johnson def. Alex Caceres via decision
There is a quick powwow between Dana White and coaches and they decide on the semi-final matchups.
Next episode we will have:
Michael Johnson vs. Nam Phan
Kyle Watson vs. Jonathan Brookins
The episode ends, credits and a sneak peak of the next episode runs.
