September’s here and the time is right for more UFC reality TV as The Ultimate Fighter enters it’s 18th season on its new homes, FOX Sports 1 in the US and Sportsnet 360 here in Canada. As is the tradition, the first episode is a two hour special with 16 fights for the contestants to earn their way into the house. This means we start the show off with various shots of slowed-down action and talking heads, discussing the importance of the competition.

TUF 18 Report: episode 1

We start off with UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champ, Ronda Rousey, walking into the UFC Training Center in Las Vegas, NV, taking it all in until Meisha Tate walks in to greet her. This is where we get the much-talked about semi-freak out from Rousey, who would reveal in interviews that she was afraid she had been replaced as a coach due to issues between her new management at the William Morris Agency and UFC figurehead Dana White. “Uncle” Dana eventually makes his way into the facility as Ronda walks out onto the main floor with her personal head trainer from Team Hayastan, and explains the situation. Cat Zingano blew out her knee, Meisha Tate stepped up, and now they coach opposite each other.

The 32 hopefuls, 16 male and 16 female bantamweights, make their way out, and are given a motivational speech from White. They are then sent on their merry way until fight time the next day. Afterwards we get a monologue from Meisha about the importance of the season over footage of the fighters warming up. After that, it’s time for the fights and the video packages introducing them.

Fight 1: Jessamyn Duke vs. Laura Howarth

In a first for the show, family and friends of the fighters are allowed visit and watch the preliminary rounds. We first see Jessamyn Duke’s mother and sister come to visit her in her hotel room, while the the lanky former Invicta member discusses transitioning from modelling into martial arts, and her desire to win the competition.

Opposite “The Gun” is Laura “Hot Head” Howarth, a rising prospect in the UK’s MMA and kickboxing scenes. She talks about starting karate at age 8, and telling her mother at a young age she was going to be a fighter. She also says that the staredown at the start of the fight is best feeling in the world.

Round 1 of the first women’s bout in TUF history begins with the much taller and lankier Jessamyn Duke coming out and working her jabs and 1-2s, while Howarth evaded with decent footwork and head movement, landing the odd kick. The Sussexian striker lands a leg kick, only for the Kentucky native to fire back with a head kick. Howarth twice tries to close the distance with hooks, but is countered by Duke’s 4″ reach advantage. After the second attempt, Laura clinches up with a body lock and drives “The Gun” back into the cage as her taller opponent attempts to hip toss her way out of position. Both women exchange knees up against the cage as they pommel for position, with Duke eventually getting the better of it and moving around towards “Hot Head’s” side will giftwrapping her far arm. Jessamyn eventually got the takedown, landing in half-guard, but was swept before being able to do much with the position. Now inside Duke’s guard, the East Sussex resident’s posture was broken as the American fighter worked for rubber guard, eventually transitioning into a more traditional high guard before attempting an armbar. Howarth should good defense, though, not allowing her arm to be straightened as she eventually rolled out and jumped on “The Gun’s” back, firing off punches as soon as she got into a back-ride position. Duke managed to squirm her way out and re-guard before the self-proclaimed “ginger ninja” could get her hooks in and again – much to the boundless joy of Joe Rogan, I’m sure – went for her rubber guard-to-high-guard set up as she landed strikes from the bottom. Howarth, trying to be wary of the Kentuckian’s crafty guard game, judiciously fired off shots to the head and body of her opponent in retaliation. With about 2:12 left in the round, Jessamyn went back to a more traditional guard and started to guide Howarth around so her right side was up against the cage, eating short punches from “Hot Head” as she tried to subtly work her legs where she wanted them. At about 1:30, Laura tried to get to her feet, with Duke trying to climb up her back, and was pulled back down into the American’s trap. “The Gun” cinched in a triangle choke, with Howarth’s best defense, forcing down the leg draped across her neck to create space, cut off against the side of the cage. After that, it was all academic as the UK prospect tapped out.

After the fight, Dana White praised Duke for her physical gifts, complimenting her strength. Rousey noted her positional awareness, and that she feels Duke can became a very well-rounded fighter. Duke herself was happy, saying she wants to win “the whole f–king thing.”

Jessamyn Duke def. Laura Howarth via Submission (Triangle Choke) at 3:48 of Round 1.

Fight 2: Danny Martinez vs. David Grant

First, we meet Danny Martinez, an 18-4 natural flyweight and Team Alliance member and new father. He talks about how he thought living in the gym would make him stronger, but that it was nothing compared to what becoming a dad has given him. We see scenes of him with his spouse and daughter, as his wife encourages their toddler to say, “Bye Dada!”

His opponent, 8-1 David Grant of the UK, has kids of his own, and is hoping to secure a better future for them. He also wants his kids to be able to grow up and say he won The Ultimate Fighter.”

The first round sees Martinez come out aggressive, closing the distance on his taller foe and spamming him with long left hooks before backing Grant into the cage wall and changing levels for a takedown. The UK fighter defends well, landing some short punches and elbows before forcing his American counterpart to break off the attempt. They return to the center of the cage, with David landing a head kick before Danny starts in with the repeated long hooking, only to be countered with short strikes each time he closes the distance. “The Gremlin” ducks down and drives for the takedown, pushing Grant back into the cage. The Brit responds to this by defending the attempt for a few seconds before pulling a blatant foul and dropping a 12-6 elbow straight down into Martinez’ spine. This caused referee Herb Dean to halt the action to give Danny a chance to recover. Rousey, Tate, and Dana all commented on the obvious illegal blow, but were slightly surprised when Dean did not do what most people would have done, which was deduct a point for an intentional foul. Still, with Martinez recovered, the action resumed with the American southpaw trying to be aggressive, but still appearing to be a half-step flat. This allowed Grant to land with a variety of strikes, including a great knee in the center of the cage similar to the one Josh Barnett used to floor Frank Mir at UFC 164. “The Gremlin” eventually managed to drag the fight to the mat near the round’s end only to be caught in a sloppy triangle choke in the final 5 seconds. Grant landed more, which would give him the round 10-9, even though I feel it should be 9-9 for the foul. Tate claims during the break that Martinez was saved by the bell, even though many BJJ guys will tell you that Grant’s triangle choke wasn’t much of a finishing threat.

The second round (or “deuxième tour” for our French and French Canadian readers) saw a frustrated Martinez come out again, swinging wildly, only to be countered by the straight punches of the lengthier Grant. The Brit manages to knock down “The Gremlin,” and swarms on him with punches before sprawling out into a front headlock to stave off a takedown attempt. He transitions into a back ride, but Martinez stays with him, spinning into the taller fighter in an attempt to finish the takedown. Still sprawled out on a kneeling “Gremlin,” Grant launched a kneestrike into side of his grounded opponent’s head for another flagrant foul. Finally, Dean deducts a point a from the dirtiest player in this year’s TUF game to date, but doesn’t disqualify him. White and Tate think the strike hit the shoulder, but Herb, the man in the cage and in a good position at the time of the foul, says he saw it make contact with the head. Dana then mentions that David has to finish the fight in order to avoid either losing or going to a third round, and the man in the cage does just that. Grant increased the pressure, letting loose with vollies of strikes, eventually sprawling out on a Martinez takedown attempt, trying to pull guard for a guillotine, only to end up in guard, where he then inches in an armbar for the victory.

After the fight, Tate talks about Grant’s use of illegal techniques, but also his ability to not only win, but finish the fight under pressure. The replays going on during her critique show that both the elbow to the spine and the knee to the head were quite blatant, and both major fouls. Tate then says she would encourage him to read the rules. Dana notes that Ronda was very  focused during the fights, taking notes and analyzing, and not responding to his attempts to ease the tension.

David Grant def. Danny Martinez by Submission (Armbar) in Round 2

Fight 3: Jessica Rakoczy vs. Revelina Berto

When we first see former boxing champ Jessica Rakoczy, she’s on the phone, trying to get her young son, Jesse, to talk to her. He won’t, which she jokes about, but you can still tell she’s upset about it. “Ragin'” talks about how her son is very active, and that taking care of him has helped build her cardio. The natural flyweight and single mother says, tears welling in her eyes, that she’s competing in TUF not only for herself, but so she can provide a better life for Jesse.

Revelina Berto, daughter of early UFC competitor Dieuseul Berto and sister of mutli-time welterweight boxing champ Andre Berto, is the opposite of Rakoczy. When she first appears, she is bubbly and starts listing off her family’s combat sports accomplishments. Her brother Cleveland, a high school wrestling champ, says that her “Disney” looks and quirky attitude change when she gets into the cage, and that she turns into an animal.

While discussing the Bertos with “Uncle” Dana, Meisha Tate jokingly says she wouldn’t want to see what a family dispute would be like for them. The camera catches Rousey, whose mother (Dr. Ann Maria de Mars) was the first American woman to become a world champion in Judo, grimacing and shaking her head at Tate’s bad joke. Dana also notes Rakoczy’s accomplishments, which include a 31-3 pro boxing record, representing Canada as part of the national women’s basketball team, and playing on the boys baseball team in high school.

This fight is shown in clips, with the initial exchange ending in a takedown and armbar attempt from Berto shown, followed by highlights of her submission attempts and “Ragin'” Rakoczy’s escapes, including a massive powerbomb to try and escape a triangle choke. The Hamilton, ON. native’s submission defense was impeccable, as she managed to escape everything that the Floridian Berto would throw up and even land some serious-looking ground’n’pound. The finish came when Rakoczy dropped for an armbar from mount, only to have Berto try to roll through, and when doing belly-down didn’t work, “Ragin'” turned it into a bizarre kind of reverse omoplata for the victory.

Jessica Rakocy def. Revelina Berto via Submission (Reverse Omoplata)

Fight 4: Michael Wooten vs. Emil Hartsner

The battle between one of Britain’s top prospects of 2012 and the Swedish former hockey player turned out to be something of a snoozer, with Dana White outright saying the fight sucked. The clips shown mostly consisted of wall’n’stall. Wooten took this by decision after an overtime round.

Michael Wooten def. Emil Hartsner via Decision

Fight 5: Peggy Morgan vs. Bethany Marshall

An adjunct college professor in literature and the tallest woman in the competition, Peggy Morgan is definitely not the average fighter. A proud mother, whose 3 year-old son tells people she fights in “a lion cage,” “The Daywalker” is making the cut from featherweight to try and make the show.

Natural flyweight Bethany Marshall is coming to The Ultimate Fighter with the support of her boyfriend, whom she got into mixed martial arts with. She notes that he was sidelined for 2011 and most of 2012 due to cancer, but has now beaten it and is back training.

This fight, also clipped, was ugly. Morgan swarmed Marshall, forcing her onto her back when the smaller woman attempted a takedown, and began raining down the strikes from top position. Tate, with what sounded like a hint of fear in her voice, noted that “The Daywalker” was the largest 135 lbs. woman she had ever seen, and was unsure of how she cut the weight. Rousey, in a cut-away, noted that Morgan was very aggressive, stating multiple times that, “Peggy don’t give f–k!” It was a vicious beating that was stopped later than it should have been by referee Steve Mazzagatti.

Peggy Morgan def. Bethany Marshal via TKO (Strikes)

Fight 6: Roxanne Modafferi vs. Valerie Letourneau

“The Happy Warrior” Roxanne Modafferi is a legend in women’s MMA, who comes into the competition off an extremely rough patch, losing her last 5 fights and bringing her record to 15-10. Still, the bookish Modafferi, who spent the last eight years teaching English and training in Japan, feels that this is her shot to right her ship. She talks about starting martial arts as a high school student, inspired by the Power Rangers to go out and kick butt. She also mentions that, to the shock of no one, people are surprised to find out she is a fighter.

Montreal-based Valerie “Trouble” Letourneau, who calls Tristar her main gym, is shown with her husband and school-aged daughter in their hotel room. The Quebecois fighter states that her family encourages her in her MMA career, and that she’s living her dream. She hopes that her daughter will be proud of her for competing in this season of The Ultimate Fighter, but says it will be hard to be away from her family for 7 weeks.

The fight begins with Modafferi landing a leg kick, only to be pushed away by a theep from Letourneau. “The Happy Warrior” keeps up the pressure with her jab, eventually forcing the Quebecois up against the cage. Modafferi lands a knee and determinedly works for the takedown, eventually dragging “Trouble” to the mat with a single leg takedown. After eating a couple of elbows from inside Letourneau’s guard, Roxanne passes guard, takes the back, and patiently works in her hooks before getting the finish with a rear naked choke.

Post-fight, Meisha Tate gives Modafferi her well-deserved props as she breaks down the fight. Outside of the cage, Roxanne showed off her personality (and probably won over the majority of the viewing audience), proclaiming, “I feel outstanding! No stopping me! I’m happy! Okay, that was pretty lame… That’s okay!” Letourneau is shown embracing her daughter, looking crushed.

Roxanne Modafferi def. Valerie Letourneau vis Submission (Rear Naked Choke)

Fight 7: Tim Gorman vs. Lee Sandmeier

Hailing from the home of Miletich Fighting Systems – West Des Moines, IA – Tim Gorman (8-2) talks about how this is his dream, and what he put all the hard work over the past 11 years into. He says he was a fan of the UFC even from it’s early NHB days, and that he’s there to hurt people. He claims he loves the streetfighter mentality, would fight with a broken leg.

Fellow Iowan Lee Sandmeier starts off talking about how he’s had challenges. He was born hearing impaired, and was bullied due to his hearing aids. He learned to read lips, and went to college and even got a job with out special help. Sandmeier says he doesn’t need to hear everybody on the outside, just him and his opponent.

From the bell of the first round, Gorman shoots in and takes down Sandmeier. He passes guard and starts looking for a solid side-control, but is not bringing his weight down effectively on his hearing-impaired foe. This allows Sandmeier to regard, but this only results in him losing position. Gorman eventually takes Lee’s back, punishing him with ground’n’pound and continuing the onslaught when his opponent rolled over and gave him mount. Sandmeier rolled over once more, giving up his back, and was pounded on until referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped the fight.

Tim Gorman def. Lee Sandmeier via TKO (punches)

Fight 8: Raquel Pennington vs. Tonya Evinger

Raquel “Rocky” Pennington is introduced to us as she greets her family at her hotel room. She talks about how she is family-oriented, and how her mother always supported her. Pennington also discusses growing up around male cousins, which influenced her decision to enter combat sports. “Rocky,” who mentions that she recently made her pro boxing debut, feels that she’ll have the edge in the striking and will run right through her opponent.

One of the funniest fighters on Twitter and a regular in our Tweetstars here at MMASucka.com, Tonya “Triple Threat” Evinger got into MMA through wrestling. She mentions that it’s better than punching people in the face on the street, and in joking around with her partner, says she plans to “whoop that ass with some hammerfists.” “Triple Threat,” who went into this bout with an injured shoulder, also states that she wants to put all the other women in the house in a bit of fear by making a big statement with a win.

Before the fight even starts, Meisha Tate took the opportunity to say that Pennington is a tough brawler, and that Evinger tends to lose because she surrounds herself with too much relationship drama with her girlfriends. The fight itself was shown in highlights, with the initial batch showing Evinger putting a beatdown on Pennington. Dana talks about how tough she looked tough. This transitions to Tate, who talks about “Rocky’s” toughness and contrasts that by saying Evinger lacks heart. The second set of clips show Pennington taking over on offense, and eventually tapping Evinger out with a guillotine choke. White notes that it appears that “Triple Threat” gassed out in the second round, and Pennington took advantage to win.

Post-fight, Evinger admits she may have too many distractions in her life.

Raquel Pennington def. Tonya Evinger via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in Round 2

Fight 9: Chris Beal vs. Sirwan Kakai

Undefeated at 7-0, “The Real Deal” Chris Beal starts off talking about how he was diagnosed with cancer in his leg after his second fight. He discusses the difficulties he went through, and how he is glad he’s able to fight again, 5 victories later.

Sirwan “Zohan” Kakai moved from Sweden to Florida to pursue his dream of becoming a UFC champion, joining up with the monsters at American Top Team. He believes his dreams will come true due to his drive and self-determination.

“The Real Deal” came out swinging, taking it to Kakai through the first run of highlights, putting him down early and trying to to pound him out. Rousey noted that he’s a competent striker from most any position, and noted during the second set of highlights that while Beal could improve a bit, he appears to be comfortable working off his back. Meisha Tate noted Beal’s composure in fighting off a guillotine choke attempt from “Zohan,” and mentioned that he was fearless. With all this said and done, Chris Beal took home the dominant decision victory.

Chris Beal def. Sirwan Kakai via Decision

Fight 10: Josh Hill vs. Patrick Holohan

The next bout skipped the introductions, and went straight to Canadian vs. Irish action, such as it was. Hill won the fight via unanimous decision, using tactics that Dana White described as a “wrestlef–k” and Meisha Tate called “Lay and pray.” In the end, though, Hamilton, Ontario’s Josh Hill made it into the house.

Josh Hill def. Patrick Holohan via Unanimous Decision

Fight 11: Colleen Schneider vs. Shayna Baszler

Collen “Bisquit” Schneider said that when she wanted to get into MMA, her father questioned why he’d helped pay for her to get her physics degree at UC-Berkeley if she was going to start fighting. However, her family did come around once they saw how dedicated she was to mixed martial arts. Schneider also mentions she is excited to be fighting Shayna Baszler.

Grappling ace and metalhead “The Queen of Spades” Shayna Baszler was introduced talking about how she wasn’t sure her father was going to make it out to watch her fight to get into the house. Of course, he surprised her with a knock on the door, and told her he would walk to get there if he had to. Baszler points out, quite rightly, that she has beaten some of the women currently in the UFC, and is ranked higher than many of them. Baszler also talks about the grittiness that her generation of WMMA fighters has, saying, “It’s easy to be hungry when the feast is at the table now. I was hungry when all we were being fed was crumbs.”

Before the first round even starts, Baszler’s father tells her to impose her will. She does just that, landing hard leg kicks on Schneider as the lankier fighter tries to jab. Shayna eventually forces a clinch, but is pushed back against the cage by “Bisquit.” “The Queen of Spades” pommels and gets underhooks, reversing the position and sucking the former physics major in for a double-leg against the cage. Baszler then easily takes Colleen’s back, getting her hooks in and looking for the choke. The catch wrestler releases one of her hooks and appears to be looking for a Twister, but ends up letting Schneider up as she tries to go back to a traditional back mount. With the fight back to its feet, “Bisquit” once again pushes Baszler up against the cage only to be reversed, dragged out to the center of the cage, and have her takedown attempt countered by a whizzer from the “Queen of Spades.” Baszler takes knee-on-belly on Schneider, goes for the armbar, and after several different attempts to break the grip, finishes and gets the tap.

Post-fight, Tate talks up Baszler’s veteran status and runs through the fight. Rousey praises Shayna’s ground’n’pound and transitions, and says she did a very good job finishing a very tough opponent.

Shayna Baszler def. Collen Schneider via Submission (Armbar)

Fight 12: Louis Fisette vs. Chris Holdsworth

Winnipeg, Manitoba’s Louis Fisette was pleasantly surprised to see his dad at the door of his hotel room. Fisette’s father is rather taciturn, but does take a moment to tell the camera that Louis lives in his home, rent free, because he can’t find a good enough job since due to spending all his time in the gym. Father and son do embrace, though, and Fisette says if he wins, he will plans to pay back his dad for the “couple of years I’ve been cheaping him out on rent.” Fisette showed his ego in a cutaway though, talking about how he’s gifted and doesn’t train hard, saying he fights to beat people and cash cheques. Those comments do not appear to bode well for him.

Chris Holdsworth, a Team Alpha Male member, talks about how fighting is in his blood. His grandfather was a boxer, his father has a black sash in kung-fu, and his mother is a breast cancer survivor. Holdsworth’s mother talks about how Chris lost his older brother to gang violence just before he turned 8 years old, and feels it’s good to see her surviving son achieving his dreams. Holdsworth himself talks about how he fights to make his brother happy, eventually getting his black belt in BJJ. Before the fight, you can see that both Urijah Faber and Duane “Bang” Ludwig are there to cheer their teammate on.

The first round begins with Fisette pressuring Holdsworth up against the cage, then trying to catch inside and outside trip takedowns to no success. The cocky Canadian manages to catch a bodylock on the Team Alpha Male member and succeeds in getting the takedown, landing in half-guard. Holdsworth re-guards after getting his butterfly hooks in with his feet, and takes a few shots as he transitions into a more traditional guard, followed by a shoulder-lock attempt off of a high guard. Fisette lands some more punches from the top, and now Holdsworth shifts his hips and looks to be in position for an armbar. He goes for the armbar, but after realizing he won’t finish it up against the cage, transitions beautifully into a triangle choke. He holds on for a long time, peppering in some short elbows and punches, but eventually lets it go with about two minutes left in the round. Sensing he’s in trouble, Fisette goes into berserker mode, lunging back in to try and finish Holdsworth, only for the Team Alpha Male to escape the flurry and take him down at around the 3:30 mark. Fisette tries for a hail-mary kimura as Holdsworth drives forward and is forced to let go with 1:10 left as Holdsworth takes mount. Holdsworth then easily sinks in the arm-triangle choke, transitions off to the side, and gets the tap.

Post-fight, Tate could not stop talking about the losing fighter’s toughess, while Rousey noted Holdsworth’s composure under heavy ground’n’pound and overall fight IQ. Tate then mentioned that she feels Holdsworth has the best BJJ in the house.

Chris Holdsworth def. Louis Fisette via Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 4:07 of Round 1

Fight 13: Gina Mazany vs. Julianna Pena

We meet Gina “Danger” Mazany as she greets her father and brother in a restaurant. She talks about being a figure skater and doing ballet in her younger days, but eventually falling in love with BJJ, and then MMA, through the influence of her brother, Dave. She feels that having a brother who competes helps her, by giving her someone to talk to about her training.

Her opponent, Spokane, Washington’s “The Venezuelan Vixen” Julianna Pena, started off talking about how people told her that she should be a model or a lawyer. Pena, however, decided that her passion was mixed martial arts. Her coach, Richard Little of Sikjitsu, talks about training her from when she was a teenager and praises her mental strength.

The fight highlights showed Pena going straight to work, battering Mazany with strikes and landing a big takedown. Ronda talks about “The Venezuelan Vixen’s” fast pace, and noticed that Pena likes to go for ground’n’pound positions instead of submissions. Dana White talked about how Pena dominated, and was impressed by her desire to do damage. Tate talks about having trained with Julianna, saying that she’s tough and has a bright future. When the smoke clears, Pena takes a very dominant decision.

Post-fight, Pena says she hopes that house considers her a force to be reckoned with, and that they should be scared of her.

Julianna Pena def. Gina Mazany via Unanimous Decision.

Fight 14: Matt Munsey vs. Anthony Gutierrez

A Florida native and 9th grade dropout, Matt Munsey describes himself as a “gator-rasslin’, tree-climbin’, c–k-strong country boy.”

His opponent, Anthony “Sharkbait” Gutierez of Lee’s Summit, Montana, at least finished high school. He elected, however, not to go to college upon turning 18, and has spent the past four years dedicating his life to MMA. He feels that appearing on The Ultimate Fighter is giving him the opportunity to make something of his life.

Neither Rousey nor Tate had much to say, mentioning that the bulk of the fight was spent jockeying for position against the cage. Meisha felt that neither man really showed what they could do, while Ronda complimented Gutierrez’ movement from top position and attempts to finish. When it was done, “Sharkbait” moved on to the house.

After the fight, “Sharkbait” was not impressed with his own performance, saying that he fought to his opponent’s lower level, and will not make that mistake again.

Anthony Gutierrez def. Matt Munsey via Unanimous Decision

Fight 15: Tara LaRosa vs. Sarah Moras

Another long-time veteran of women’s MMA, Tara LaRosa talks about how she never thought she’d have the opportunity to be in the Ultimate Fighter house, and now she’s confronted with that.

Kelowna, BC’s Sarah “Cheesecake” Moras starts out talking about how LaRosa was ranked at the top of her weight class when she first started fighting, and considers this a huge fight.

When asked by Dana who they liked for this bout, Ronda noted that it would be interesting to have Tara in the house due to her experience level. What she did not mention was the fact that having LaRosa in the house would be a source of constant antagonism for Meisha Tate, as the two have feuded for years. Tate, of course, says that she doesn’t think Tara can finish Moras.

The highlights start with LaRosa hitting a powerful jab on Moras at the onset of the fight, then landing some solid combinations. Tate, doing her best to sound unbiased, talks about Tara’s grappling skills and how she’s never been submitted as a clips of “Cheesecake” landing a takedown, some punches from guard is shown, and then executing a triangle choke are shown. Moras was able to dictate where most of the fight took place, using her takedowns to put the veteran on her back and do damage from every position, earning her the decision victory.

Post-fight, an emotional Moras says she wants to win every fight at the house, win in the finale, and take Ronda out. She says it’s her thing, her sport, what she loves to do, and that it’s finally taking off.

Sarah Moras def. Tara Larosa via Unanimous Decision.

Fight 16: Rafael de Freitas vs. Cody Bollinger

Rafael “Barata” de Freitas is one of the leading competitors in BJJ today. The man known as “Cockroach” for his frenetic pace on the mats is one of Gracie Barra’s lead instructors in Albequerque, New Mexico. He, like so many Brazilians before him, is in this for his family. Rafael, who created the Baratoplata shoulder lock, believes that winning the competition will allow him to earn the money to gives his mother a proper retirement, and a comfortable one at that.

Cody “Bam Bam” Bollinger is introduced without much fan-fare. He’s sitting on the bed, playing with his young daughter. Turning pro at age 15 during the wild west days of MMA in California, the Millenia MMA product has fought his way up through the same Gladiator Challenge circuit that gave us fighters like Rampage Jackson, Tyson Griffin, and Urijah Faber. He feels like he’s finally ready, and feels that the support of his family, his wife and daughter, gives him the motivation he’ll need to win.

The first round started with Bollinger landing some solid jabs, even connecting a counter off of a leg kick from de Freitas. However, after a second leg kick, “Bam Bam” saw fit to take it to the ground with the world champion BJJ black belt. Bollinger showed great submission defense, forcing “Barata” to try for an inefficient inverted triangle choke. From there, “Bam Bam” powered up to his feet, and slammed the Brazilian down to break the hold. After letting the black belt up to his feet, the Californian began checking de Freitas’ leg kicks and then scooped him up for a slam, only for “Barata” to latch onto a guillotine choke. Rather than slam down and risk either TKOing himself or letting the choke tighten, Bollinger stood up, pressured de Freitas against one of the pillars along the cage wall, but soon started sinking to his knees. Once he had de Freitas’ back to the ground, “Bam Bam” pulled his head out of the choke and started going for ground’n’pound. “Barata” threw his legs up for a triangle choke, but was powerbombed for his trouble. Back on the ground, de Freitas switched sides on the triangle, hoping for a tighter grip as Bollinger gave the referee a thumbs up. “Bam Bam” pushed forward, slightly relieving pressure on his neck, then sat up with Rafael still holding the choke, punching him in the ribs before setting him back down. With the Brazilian still hanging onto the choke, Bollinger got to his feet, drove forward, and continued to throw punches till the end of the round.

The second round saw Bollinger land first with a reverse uppercut, then hit a hard body kick. “Bam Bam” started beating on the body of de Freitas, landing a hook and a solid theep. Soon, “Barata” was stuck up against the cage, at the mercy of a sustained assault of punches, kicks, knees, and elbows. The final barrage, a series of elbows followed up with short punches as the Brazilian fell, sealed the deal. Cody’s brother, Frankie, and his wife began celebrating and shouting for joy as the fight was stopped, with Frankie Bollinger dropping off the bleachers, thanking God, and nearly tackling his sister-in-law with a hug.

Cody Bollinger def. Rafael de Freitas via TKO (Elbows and punches) in the 2nd round.

With the fights all done, it came time to pick teams. Dana brought everybody together, explained the stakes and bonuses, and then did the coin toss to determine who got to choose first fighter or first fight pick. Ronda won the toss, and opted to choose the first fight.  The rosters are as follows.

Team Tate

• Julianna Pena
• Sarah Moras
• Raquel Pennington
• Roxanne Modafferi
• Cody Bollinger
• Chris Holdsworth
• Josh Hill
• Tim Gorman

Team Rousey

• Shayna Baszler
• Jessamyn Duke
• Peggy Morgan
• Jessica Rakoczy
• Chris Beal
• David Grant
• Anthony Gutierrez
• Michael Wooten

In a cut-away after the Team Tate picks were finished, Tim Gorman said that he didn’t really know who Meisha Tate was, and didn’t care that she picked him last because of that. Michael Wooten was happy to end up on Team Rousey, even if he was picked last. He said it was his job now to show them why he should have been picked first.

With the teams picked, Dana told Rousey that it was time to pick for the first match-up. Ronda and her coaches from Team Hayastan – including Gokor Chivichyan and Manny Gamburyan – decided it was best to go big or go home, pitting Shayna Baszler against Julianna Pena in a battle of top picks. In a cut-away, Meisha Tate talked about how Ronda likes to make bold moves, but feels that this one is risky. She says that neither Ronda nor Shayna know what Julianna is capable of, and that she will surprise them both.

I enjoyed the flow of this season’s debut, and while I could sense that Meisha was holding back some of her abrasiveness, I still have a feeling that she could resort to the kind of “mean girl” antics she and her boyfriend/assistant coach Bryan Caraway have developed a reputation for. I will say, though, that she did a fairly good job stocking her team, adding a crafty vet in Modafferi and one of the best prospects in North America in Moras to her women’s side, while both Cody Bollinger and Chris Holdsworth are top contenders to win it all this season. As for Rousey, I can see why she made the picks that she did. She has a strong leader for the women in Baszler, the two lengthiest fighters in the tournament in Morgan and Duke, and a Kelvin Gastelum-type underdog in Rakoczy. On the male end, Chris Beal is likely the only person who will match Cody Bollinger in striking ferocity, Anthony Gutierrez may just be crafty enough to deal with Holdsworth on the ground, and Michael Wooten can be the counter to “lay’n’prayer” Josh Hill. Picking David Grant, however, was a choice I don’t understand. The guy stands a good chance of getting himself disqualified based on his actions in the preliminary fight, and quite frankly, shouldn’t even be there.  We will have to see what happens as the season progresses, but as for the next episode, I expect Baszler to beat Pena. Both fighters came to the preliminaries off of losses, but there’s a huge gap in terms of quality of competition. Pena’s last loss came to a rookie flyweight named Deanna Bennet, while Baszler’s defeat came at the hands of top UFC contender Alexis Davis.