It’s time for the final episode of the Team vs. Team Round of 16, and coach Randy Couture’s two remaining fighters now have the chance to pick their battles from the limited remaining selection. Will AJ Matthews and Cristiano Souza make it to the quarter-finals, or will Team Warren’s Evan Cutts and Team Jackson’s Eric Bradley play spoiler?

Bellator Fight Master episode 7 recap

Fight 1: Cristiano Souza (Team Couture) vs. Evan Cutts (Team Warren)

In the pre-fight interviews, Evan “The Butcher”Cutts talked about how he was glad that “Soldier Boy” Souza – who he believed was a higher-ranked fighter in the tournament – chose to fight him, as it will allow him the chance to beat a tough fighter before he’s taken any real damage. His coach, Joe Warren, feels that he needs Cutts to win, but that “The Butcher” has the ability to pull the trigger and be the lone member of his team to advance. The 6-0 Souza’s interview had him discussing his well-roundedness, and how he was here to sacrifice and to win. Coach Couture mentioned the dichotomy of “Soldier Boy’s” personality, how he can be very gentle outside the cage yet so explosive inside it.

We cut back to the day Souza and his Team Couture coaches watching footage of Cutts preliminary fight. Souza comments that part of the reason he chose to fight “The Butcher” was because he does not feel the American’s striking is on his level. “The Natural” agrees, saying that all his pupil needs to do is draw the Team Warren member in and land the finishing blow. Coach Joe Warren then says that he feels Cristiano picked his last fighter because, “he looks smaller, younger, he thinks we’re gonna have a rough time.” The self-proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet” told his charge that while his wrestling and jiu jitsu are good separately, they work great in combination. The game plan for “The Butcher,” according to his coach, is to use short punches and keep the Brazilian up against the cage. Team Warren’s assistant coach Mark Montoya pitched in, telling Cutts that he has to believe that he is better than Souza, and to prove it to the world.

In training, Cutts talks about how his style differs from Joe Warren’s, but that he appreciates the technical improvements in his wrestling that has come from his new coach. Warren helps him to improve his control and takedowns against the cage, showing more efficient methods that rely more on using one’s own body weight instead of power. Randy Couture takes the opposite tact with his training of his charge, helping him with his wrestling defense and regaining the center of the cage. Cristiano proves to be an eager pupil, taking advantage of his time with the multi-time UFC champion to learn as much as he can.

In the final portion of the build-up, we find Cutts writing in his journal, talking with teammates how most of it is about how he misses his wife and how excited he is to have a child with her. He also talks about how everything he does is for them. Teammate Eric Scallan voices his concern to the camera about how he feels Souza is a bad match-up for “The Butcher,” and that Warren’s coaching method of constant positive reinforcement may just be setting him up for disappointment. He also mentioned that Cutts’ striking disadvantage will be the difference in this fight. We cut to cageside, and see Randy Couture talking about Warren’s drive and determination being caused, in part, by his status as a currently active competitor. Warren mentions how he’s excited to coach and compete against Couture. Finally, Souza talks about how is dream is to be a Bellator champion, and that he will make it come true.

Round 1 began with both men touching gloves, before exchanging jabs. When Cutts would get too close, Souza would fire off a short combination of slightly wild, but heavy punches. Almost 30 seconds in, “The Butcher” shoots in for the takedown, forcing the Brazilian fighter against the cage only to eventually be shoved off and back into the center of the cage. After landing a body kick, a counter jab, and a right straight, Souza backed his American opponent back against the cage wall, and began teeing off with a barrage that brought to mind a more measured Vitor Belfort. Cutts eventually moved forward a little, could do little but eat the stinging jab of “Soldier Boy” before getting backed into the cage again and punched down. You could feel Joe Warren cringing off-screen as Souza continued the assault, landing nearly every punch he threw as he passed Cutts’ guard and took his back. The Team Warren fighter managed to recapture guard, only to be passed again while attempting a submission and forced to receive more punches from the Team Couture wrecking machine. Eventually, Cristiano took the opportunity to rest inside Evan’s guard before allowing a stand-up, landing uppercuts as “The Butcher” regained his vertical base. “Soldier Boy” basically toyed with Cutts until the final 30 seconds of the round, allowing his opponent to land some strikes while blocking and avoiding others, and stuffing a takedown attempt. With 30 seconds left in the round, Evan hit a takedown, managed to get Cristiano’s back on his way up, only to be rolled down into a potential calf-slicer to end the round. Souza easily took this round 10-9.

Round 2 saw Souza start landing punches again, but eventually allowing himself to be backed up against the cage where Cutts took control with a clinch and knees. “Soldier Boy” appeared tired, and was unable to shrug the Team Warren fighter off of him, unable to do much of anything. That is, until “The Butcher” attempted a takedown after nearly two minutes of wall’n’stall “action,” only to be countered and tripped down by the Brazilian. Souza was gassed, but still passed guard and attempted an arm triangle choke before allowing his opponent to stand up. With the both men back on their feet, Souza went to work, landing a right straight and a spinning back kick before attempting an ill-advised double leg, only to be stuffed and pushed back against the cage. With a little over a minute left, Cutts took his tiring opponent down and got his back, only to have the Brazilian pop out and turn into his guard. Souza, however, took too long to rest, and when he tried to posture up, was caught in a triangle choke, rolled onto his side, and forced to tap his palm on Cutts’ face to signal his submission.

After the fight, Warren was ecstatic, Couture was dejected, and Cutts shared a tender moment with Souza. Randy mentioned that he doesn’t like to lose, while Warren was nearly leaping out of his skin from the joy of the moment. Evan says his face hurts a bit, while Cristiano is disappointed in himself but feels he will come back stronger.

Evan “The Butcher” Cutts def. Cristiano “Soldier Boy” Souza by submission (Triangle Choke), 4:21 R2

Fight 2: AJ Matthews (Team Couture) vs. Eric Bradley (Team Jackson)

Going straight to the pre-fight interviews, “Sideshow” Eric Bradley talks about how he let an opportunity slip through his hands the last time he had one, but is setting his sights on dominating the tournament. His coach, Greg Jackson, says that he is one of the best wrestlers he’s ever seen, and that he was even the best in the nation for a moment. Randy Couture feels that his charge, AJ Matthews, has the skills, the drive, and the athleticism to take the bout home. Matthews himself states that he doesn’t believe anybody in the tournament can defeat him, and that it’s his for the taking.

The 4th-seeded Matthews goes off to Bradley to make the fight, noting that he wants a test of his skills that will bring out the best in him. “Sideshow” agrees that he’ll be a good test, as he doesn’t believe the Team Couture member’s skillset matches up well against his.

In the Fight Master house, we see Bradley talking with teammate Tim Welch about going to jail, and advises him against doing anything for it. “Sideshow” went to jail with another member of his university wrestling team for a series of extreme pranks against fraternity houses, initially being sentenced a term of between 1 and 2 years before earning himself early parole at 8 months due to good behavior. He tells Welch how it screwed his career up, and how he is now looking for redemption.

Coach Greg Jackson, during training, mentions that the key to his pupil’s victory will be in his wrestling, noting the high rate of speed that Eric achieves on his shots. Assistant Coach Joey Villasenor echoes those sentiments, noting that Matthews is no slouch on the ground either. Coach Couture talks about having trained with Bradley both in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and he feels that it will help him to give his team member, AJ Matthews, the edge in the upcoming bout. During the tape study, “The Natural” sees that Bradley’s stand-up is still under-developed, and hurting him on the feet will lead to him reaching for takedowns, allowing AJ to land more strikes on him. Matthews also notes that his shoulder is still recovering from a nagging injury he suffered in his preliminary bout, with Coach Couture noting there’s a tear that may or may not affect AJ’s abilities in the cage.

Round 1 of the fight starts off with both men tentative, dancing around each other for over 30 seconds before “Sideshow” lunges in with a jab and gets hit with a glancing counter from Matthews. Bradley shoots for a single leg, and gets it the takedown with it after an initial sprawl from Matthews. Eric moves into position for a back ride as AJ crawls towards the cage wall and attempts to get back to a standing position, taking knees and punches as he works his way up. Matthews attempts to explode up, but the wild-haired Team Jackson member forces him back down. The shaven-pated Matthews is able to to get out of Bradley’s grip, but not for long, as a takedown attempt forces him back against the cage. AJ tries for a kimura off the stalled shot, forcing Eric to break off and allowing the Team Couture fighter some space to establish himself in the center of the cage. Both men trade single strikes, with Matthews backing his opponent up, only to be taken down when he attempts a right straight. Bradley takes the back again as AJ gets part way up, and begins to assault the Team Couture member’s thigh with a series of knees. Bradley manages to keep position, transitioning into a single leg, then a double leg, to the back, and back again until the end of the round. It wasn’t pretty, but the Team Jackson fighter is up 10-9 on the scorecards now.

While “Sideshow” is getting worked on between rounds, Greg Jackson tells him to start landing punches to the head every time his opponent leans forward. Couture gives similar advice, telling Matthews to let his hands go. When the second stanza officially begins, it’s more tentativeness from both fighters again, until AJ starts doing as he was told and letting his hands go a little bit. Unfortunately, he’s taken down after landing an uppercut on his foe. Bradley again on the back, kneeing the legs of the 4th seeded fighter before transitioning into a single leg attempted. Matthews eventually gets to his feet, but eats a left hook from “Sideshow” Eric for his troubles. Both men back in the center of the cage, AJ on the circling on the outside. Bradley shoots for a single leg, has it stuff, transitions to the double, gets stuffed again, and then eventually loops around to his opponent’s back once again, forcing the fight back against the cage. Bradley gets a single hook in, lands a shot, and gets seatbelt control, staying glued to his opponent even he gets back up. With desperation setting in, Matthews attempts an back elbow – which is illegal in the early rounds of this tournament – and is warned for it. Still, he’s able to get Bradley off his back, only to be pressed into the cage by a tenacious single leg attempt. Matthews is getting almost no offense, only landing the occasional punch or hammerfist while “Sideshow” Eric presses him against the cage in an attempt to take him down. AJ finally lands a knee with a little over 30 seconds left in the round, along with some punches, but it’s not enough to detach the lamprey-like Bradley who makes a case for 10-8 round with his dominant wrestling.

After the fight, Jackson talks about how he feels that if Joe Riggs doesn’t win the tournament, Eric Bradley will. “Sideshow” then mentions that he was doing best to put Matthews down, but that the Team Couture member was very determined and kept crawling towards the cage. Matthews states that his shoulder held up, and that even in defeat, he does not regret choosing to fight Bradley. Back in the locker room, Matthews breaks down into tears, expressing his sorrow for letting down his team.

“Sideshow” Eric Bradley def. AJ Matthews by Unanimous Decision

The Sweet 16 Team vs. Team round is done, and now we look ahead to episode 8 and the quarterfinals. Dark horse coach Frank Shamrock is on top of the standings so far, with 3 fighters going into the next round, followed by Teams Couture and Jackson with 2 each, and Team Warren bringing up the rear with 1 fighter moving on. The overall standings are below.

Team Couture (2-2)