Two fights an episode? Not a bad idea at all.
Because of Gabe Ruediger's failure to make weight last episode, SpikeTV provided fight fans with another preliminary bout on this episode of The Ultimate Fighter.
In place of Ruediger, Rob Emerson was brought back into the competition for Team Penn. The penalty for Ruediger failing to make weight though was that Team Pulver had the next two picks.
Their picks? Team Pulver's Brian Geraghty and Corey Hill vs. Team Penn's Joe Lauzon and Rob Emerson, respectively.
First up was the Geraghty vs. Lauzon match. Lauzon came out truly looking for a fight, much in the same way that he did against Jens Pulver when he knocked out the former UFC lightweight champ at UFC 63. Lauzon took Geraghty to the ground early in the first round and delivered some elbows to the Kenosha, Wisconsin native. Eventually, Lauzon got in a good position and won by rear naked choke in the first round.
"He got on me real quick," Geraghty said. "I just never got my game going. He rang me with a couple of good elbows and before I knew it he was choking me."
With all the fighters remaining in the house after losses this season, there is plenty of time for a fighter to think.
"At first I was devasted," Geraghty said. " I was like 'I lost and I lost bad'. You start questioning are they going to have you back. Do you have another shot at it. I'm just back into training right now and waiting for the phone call. Hopefully they'll give me a call to go fight in the under card in the finale."
The second fight pitted Hill vs. Emerson, who appeared to have some problems against the reach of the 6-foot-4 Hill. After a first round that went to Hill, Emerson landed some devastating leg kicks in the second and just missed securing a heel-hook submission victory late in the round. As the fight headed to the third, Hill looked as if he was having difficulty putting weight on his left leg, which was battered by kicks and the submission attempt. With neither fighter really looking to finish the fight in the third, Hill earned the decision as Team Pulver took a 5-1 lead.
Here's where the teams stand after Episode 6:
Episode 1: Cole Miller caught Allen Berube with a triangle choke in the first round. (Team Pulver, 1-0)
Episode 2: Manny Gamburyan caught Noah Thomas with a kimura armlock in the first round. (Team Pulver, 2-0).
Episode 3: Nate Diaz defeated Rob Emerson via rear naked choke in the second round. (Team Pulver, 3-0).
Episode 4: Brandon Melendez defeated Andy Wang via unanimous decision. (Team Pulver, 4-0).
Episode 5: Gabe Ruediger eliminated due to a failure to make weight. (Team Pulver, 4-0).
Episode 6: Joe Lauzon defeated Brian Geraghty via rear naked choke in the first round. (Team Pulver, 4-1). Corey Hill wins by decision against Rob Emerson (Team Pulver, 5-1).