Team Alpha Male seems to do nothing but produce elite mixed martial arts talent and Chris Holdsworth’s performance on The Ultimate Fighter 18 is further proof of that.
The Woodland Hills, Calif., native blew by Winnipeg’s Louis Fisette and Somis, Calif.’s Chris Beal with first-round submission wins and was looking to make England’s Michael Wooten his third victim.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Watch The Ultimate Fighter 18 every Wednesday on Sportsnet 360 and get weekly episode recaps on sportsnet.ca
Wootten entered the competition as one of the top MMA prospects in the United Kingdom and showed why in his wins over Emil Hartsner and Hamilton, Ont.’s Josh Hill en route to his semifinal matchup with Holdsworth.
THE FIGHT
Right from the get-go Holdsworth was in control. The two fighters exchanged a couple strikes, but Holdsworth grabbed control of Wootten and there was nothing the Brit could do. Holdsworth pressed Wootten against the cage before taken the fight to the mat. He worked several half-guard passes as he looked to advance his position. As Wootten looked to explode back to his feet, Holdsworth locked in an anaconda choke, but couldn’t force the tap. Wootten then hopped back to his feet, but Holdsworth stuck to him and took standing back control along the cage. Holdsworth eventually wedged his forearm underneath Wootten’s chin and locked in a rear-naked choke to force a tapout.
“[Wootten] started doing the correct escape which was putting the arm on the other side of his head, but then he ended up letting go of it,” Ronda Rousey said of her fighter. “He fought really hard and I know this isn’t the end for him, but little mistakes go a long way sometimes and he made the wrong little mistakes at the wrong time.”
Miesha Tate praised her fighter for what she referred to as a near perfect performance.
“Man. What can I say? I’m loving life right now,” Holdsworth said. “Hard work pays off. I live by that. I’m in the finale and I can’t wait to get there, show everybody my skills and keep improving.”
During training sessions leading up to the fight, Wootten said he was feeling homesick and wasn’t quite himself while sparring.
“It was the most important fight of my life and I just didn’t perform, I didn’t show up,” Wootten said. “I’ve let myself, all my coaches, Ronda, all the guys down as well. I want to try and not be so hard on myself and just try and bounce back from it and try to secure that spot in the UFC one way or another.”
Holdsworth will face the winner of Davey Grant vs. Anthony Gutierrez on the Nov. 30 TUF 18 finale live in Las Vegas.
OUTSIDE THE OCTAGON
Team Tate playing favourites?
With a spot in the finals on the line for the remaining fighters, several competitors complained about how Team Tate was giving extra attention to Holdsworth and Julianna Pena. Raquel Pennington and Sarah Moras, the other two Team Tate members still remaining in the competition, acknowledged that Tate and her coaches have given Pena some preferential treatment.
Guests galore
Episode 10 featured a handful of special guests, two of which were big UFC stars. The remaining contestants were treated to a day at a Harley Davidson garage to check out some bikes — the winners of the tournaments and the winning coach will receive a new motorcycle — and they were greeted by UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, who is a motorcycle enthusiast. Rousey brought her friend and frequent training partner Nate Diaz, the TUF 5 winner and perennial UFC lightweight contender, to give a few lessons in jiu-jitsu. Also, Tate brought a motivational speaker into the house to inspire the fighters.
On the next episode
Sportsnet.ca TUF blogger Sarah Moras faces her teammate Julianna Pena with a spot in the finale on the line. The bout is a rematch of a fight from April 2012 in which Moras beat Pena and broke her arm in the process.
