The TUF 28 TUFtermath
It’s week five of The Ultimate Fighter Season 28, and that means two more women will be throwing down! Team Whittaker is on a roll, and hoping to even the score to 3-3 when Leah Letson steps into the cage with Team Gastelum’s Bea Malecki. Will Team Whittaker tie it up? Let’s find out in this week’s episode of TUF 28.
The Big Three
#1) The Long Way – The episode started off with Leah Letson’s “getting to know you” montage, where she discussed coming back from losing her first fight to go on the winning streak that got her onto TUF. That winning streak culminated with a successful Invicta FC debut, where Letson knocked out Liz Phillips with a stiff head kick. She had initially been contacted to take a fight with Yana Kunitskaya for the UFC, but that fell through when Kunitskaya was pulled to fight Cris Cyborg. As a consolation, Letson was offered a slot on this season of the Ultimate Fighter. It’s been a long, strange road for her, indeed.
#2) Team Drama Continues – Team Gastelum fighters, most notably Maurice Greene and Justin Frazier, continued to try and court Leah Letson to switch team. Letson’s dissatisfaction with her Team Whittaker coaching had gotten to the point that she was doing additional training at the TUF house. However, the lines of communication seem to have opened now that it’s finally Leah’s turn to fight. It will be interesting to see where things go.
#3) All-Star Pedigree – Sweden’s Bea Malecki comes to Team Gastelum from the All-Stars Gym in Stockholm. This puts her in impressive company, as she trains with the likes of Alexander Gustafsson and Ilir Latifi.
The Stock Report
Stock Up: Leah Letson. This was Leah Letson’s first fight in approximately 18 months, owing to an Air National Guard Reserve tour of duty in Dubai, helping guide airstrikes on ISIS in Iraq and Syria. She did have some ring rust in terms of head movement, she was parrying a lot of of Bea Malecki’s low and middle kicks with ease. While she took a lot of superficial damage, Letson is definitely a contender to win the series if she is medically cleared for her next fight.
The Fight
Round one of Leah Letson vs. Bea Malecki started with a bang. Both fighters traded blows until Letson was able to bully Malecki up against the cage off of a failed takedown attempt. While against the cage, Malecki attempted a harai goshi takedown, but was unable to keep Letson down for even a moment. The fight returned to the center of the cage, with Letson using her deceptively long 71″ reach to somewhat befuddle the taller, lankier Swede. It was still relatively even on the feet, as Malecki was able to open up Letson with an elbow. The Team Whittaker representative eventually re-engaged the clinch at around 2:45, once again pressing Malecki against the cage. When the Team Gastelum fighter tried to break free and go back to the center of the octagon, Letson pulled her back in and scored a double leg takedown right into side control at the 3:32 mark. For about 30 seconds, Letson was able to brutalize and bloody Malecki, and was even able to control the Swede’s escape back to the feet. The round ended with Leah Letson in control against the fence, landing short,sharp shots on a battered Bea Malecki.
The second round saw Leah Letson start strong, landing the first strike. While Bea Malecki was still game, it was clear that the end of the prior round took something out of her. She was more cautious. It did pay dividends though, as Malecki was able to land another harai goshi when Letson clinched and backed her into the cage. This time, Malecki quickly jumped onto her American foe’s back and attempted a rear naked choke. She was not able to secure it, as a now-bloody Letson rose to her feet and broke free, once again pinning Malecki against the cage. At around the two minute mark, Letson secured a single leg, dragged Bea out from the cage, and transitioned into a successful double leg takedown. From there, Leah would begin to strike hard from inside the Swede’s guard. At 3:25, the Team Whittaker fighter was able to pass into half-guard and land short shots to Bea’s head while trying to smother her. The Team Gastelum fighter was able to regain guard with 45 seconds left in the round, and attempted to escape to the fence to try and rise to her feet. This did not work, as Letson continued to pummel Malecki with punches from guard until the bell.
Leah Letson was awarded the 20-18 Unanimous Decision victory, giving Team Whittaker their third win of the season.
Next week, Team Whittaker hopes to get ahead in the standings as Juan Francisco Espino Diepa will go to war with Team Gastelum’s Ben Sosoli in the fourth preliminary heavyweight bout. Keep it locked to MMASucka.com for the next TUF 28 TUFtermath!
