Even though mixed martial arts is an individual sport, the team element of The Ultimate Fighter can significantly impact momentum heading into a fight on the show.
Team Australia was riding high off Tyler Manawaroa’s upset of Nordine Taleb last week and welterweight Richard Walsh looked to continue that momentum as he took on Team Canada’s Matthew DesRoches.
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DesRoches, an athletic 21-year-old from Fredericton, N.B., has an unblemished record and has shown tons of potential in his four pro bouts, all of which he’s won by first-round stoppage.
Meanwhile, Walsh, 24, has a 7-1 pro record and was known for his aggression and ability to bully his opponents in the cage.
Team Canada knew they were in for a tough matchup, but coach Patrick Cote was confident DesRoches could stick and move his way to victory.
THE FIGHT
In the first round, Walsh came out the aggressor and looked to dictate where the fight would take place. They were even in the striking battle but Walsh was able to press DesRoches up against the cage often. The Canadian defended well, but had difficulty landing his own offence. Walsh connected on a huge overhand right that wobbled DesRoches with seconds remaining to secure the round.
Throughout much of the second round, Walsh was again able to control DesRoches in the clinch. Walsh also knocked DesRoches down with a stiff jab midway through the round. DesRoches was unable to create enough separation to damage Walsh and ended up losing a two-round unanimous decision.
“[Matt] wasn’t able to find his range today,” Cote said after the fight. “He looks like he was all the time trying to swing and this is not his game. His game was straight punches and a lot of footwork. I think he did pretty well but not exactly what we wanted…Richard is tough. He received some pretty big punches to the face and he kept going forward.”
DesRoches admitted he had difficulty dealing with Walsh’s control and began fighting impatiently.
“I was so frustrated to land that punch because I was getting nervous that the time was running out and it just really started throwing my game off more because the more frustrated I was getting, the less skills I was using,” DesRoches said. “I just go in there and do the best that I can do and I should be happy with that no matter what and I always look at it with the same approach: be humble when you win and be more humble when you lose.”
Walsh said the win stemmed from years of hard work.
“There have been many training sessions and fight nights where I’ve had to drive myself to weigh-ins, sitting in cars with heaters on trying to make weight and you know ultimately this is what it’s all for,” Walsh said. “It’s for trying to make the UFC and the bigger picture is getting to the top and making a living for myself, so this is just one step closer to the ultimate goal.”
Walsh is the first welterweight from his team to advance to the semifinals; he joins Canadians Chad Laprise and Kajan Johnson.
“[Walsh] was a bit nervous. He held back a little bit and you could tell it made him a bit stiff and a bit tense,” Team Australia coach Kyle Noke added.
OUTSIDE THE OCTAGON
Elias teaches the Aussies about snow
Sportsnet’s resident TUF Nations blogger Elias Theodorou taught Team Australia a thing or two about living in Canada, as “The Spartan” schooled the Aussie’s in a snowball fight outside the TUF house.
Sheldon suffers injury
During a Team Canada training session, Canadian middleweight Sheldon Westcott hurt his knee. He was grappling with Theodorou when he landed funny on his knee and heard a pop. He was unable to train fully afterwards, but it’s not expected to prevent him from fighting in the tournament.
On the next episode
Since Team Australia won for a second straight week, they retained control of fight selection. Noke selected four-time Judo Olympian Dan Kelly to face Maximum Fighting Championship veteran Sheldon Westcott in the third middleweight matchup.
