No filler fights here.
The Ultimate Fighter 5 quarterfinals have known nothing but exciting bouts so far. The second match in this round pitted Team Penn's Gray Maynard vs. Team Pulver's Brandon Melendez in a high-energy, fast-paced fight that saw Maynard advance after sinking in a guillotine choke midway through the second round.
"Gray's tough, but I felt like I should've beaten him," Melendez said. "He doesn't have the experience. I should've had the bigger weight advantage. I have like 36 fights total and he only had like four...but his wrestling was just world-class and he handled business like a soldier."
The fight began with Maynard getting a successful takedown. After he got to Melendez's back and attempted a choke, Melendez was able to roll around and get in Maynard's guard. Even though both fighters got back to their feet, Maynard scored a couple more takedowns and controlled Round 1. Melendez landed a few good strikes in Round 2, but Maynard's takedowns looked unstoppable as he earned the submission victory after a short scramble on the ground.
Something Melendez said that he's going to take away from this fight is to "have better endurance," he said. "You could be the best person in the world, but once you get tired you're worth nothing."
Another fight started outside the Octagon for Melendez as he was struggling to make weight for this fight. Andy Wang, who was eliminated by Melendez in the first round, helped the Utah native make weight.
"The first time I handled it well," Melendez said. "I did it by myself. The second time I had a little harder time for some reason. I got down [to] the last six pounds and they would just not come off. I did the sauna, I bundled up more. I was hitting mitts. Andy was holding them for me. I tried to go back in the sauna and immediately got real dizzy. I was having the hardest time. So I went to the gym and I just had to sprint as hard as I could. It took so long just to even get a sweat and once I had a sweat, Andy just kept me running, and running, and running and running. Then finally they started coming off...I sprinted to weigh-ins and I was there on the money."
Earlier in the episode, Melendez asked to switch from Team Pulver to Team Penn, but Jens Pulver and his coaches wouldn't allow the move.
"I just don't think Jens wanted to let me go because I was a good asset to the team at that point," Melendez said. "But before I left, I just told myself it would be nice to train with both coaches."
Here's where the teams stand after Episode 9:
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).
Episode 7: Gray Maynard wins by referee stoppage against Wayne Weems in the first round. (Team Pulver, 5-2). Matt Wiman defeated Marlon Sims via rear naked choke in the first round. (Team Pulver, 5-3).
Quarterfinals
Episode 8: Joe Lauzon defeated Cole Miller by referee stoppage in the second round. (Lauzon advances to the semifinals).
Episode 9: Gray Maynard defeated Brandon Melendez by submission due to a guillotine choke in the second round. (Maynard advances to the semifinals).
Comments (1)
rob emerson did not get submitted by cole miller, he got submitted by diaz. just thought I would let you know.