The TUF 28 TUFtermath
We’re on to the eighth week of The Ultimate Fighter Season 28, and that means it’s time for the final preliminary bout! With Team Whittaker coming back and winning four fights in a row to take the lead in the standings, Team Gastelum has one shot to make for even odds in the semi-finals. Will Macy Chiasson help Coach Kelvin Gastelum even things up? Or will Larissa Pacheco ensure that Coach Robert Whittaker gets at least one fighter into each of the finals? Let’s find out in this week’s TUF 28 TUFtermath!
The Big Three
#1) Flexibility – During the training montage for Macy Chiasson, one thing I noticed was her ability to throw head kicks at men a fair bit taller than her. I try and look for little things that stand out about fighters, and that’s one of them. Flexibility can pay dividends both on the feet and on the ground.
#2) Demon Alcohol – Team Gastelum’s Maurice Greene’s drinking has really become a problem for his other housemates. To the point that it’s scaring other fighters, in fact. Some of the footage shown during this sequence was reminiscent of David Hasslehoff drunkenly eating a cheeseburger. It was even worse seeing him talk smack before the Macy Chiasson and Larissa Pacheco fight, having pre-gamed with Justin Frazier over a boatload of tequila.
#3) Long Roads Back – TUF 28 is not Larissa Pacheco’s first crack at the UFC. Previously, she had an unsuccessful stint at bantamweight that culiminated in a loss to Germaine de Randemie that left her arm broken. It took two surgeries in order for Pacheco’s arm to be fight-ready again, and now she has worked her way back.
The Stock Report
Stock Up: Macy Chiasson. While her takedown defence may not be the strongest, Chiasson showed an ability to keep her composure and get back to her feet quickly. This bodes well for her moving on in the competition.
Stock Down: Maurice Greene.
The Fight
Round one saw Macy Chiasson start things off with a headkick on Larissa Pacheco. She was more aggressive with her striking until about 30 seconds in when Pacheco attempted a takedown against the cage. Chiasson was able to defend Pacheco’s takedown attempt and take it back to the center of the Octagon, but soon fell victim to a clinch. At the 1:58 mark, Pacheco was finally able to complete the takedown attempt, but was unable to hold Chiasson down. While Macy was able to get back to her feet, Pacheco was right on top of her, attempting a guillotine choke. This allowed Chiasson to take Pacheco down, working from half-guard to side control and eventually onto the UFC veteran’s back. A rear naked choke attempt ensued, followed up by a flurry of ground and pound from Chiasson to Pacheco. The strikes were not being defended, which led to the referee stopping the bout at 3:49. Macy Chiasson wins via first round TKO.
Each team has four fighters going into the semi-finals, two men and two women. For the men, Michel Batista (Team Whittaker) will take on Justin Frazier (Team Gastelum), while Maurice Greene will fight Juan Franciso Espino Diepa. For the women, Julija Stoliarenko (Team Whittaker) will take on Pannie Kianzad (Team Gastelum), and Macy Chiasson (Team Gastelum) will go to war with Lea Letson (Team Whittaker). Keep it locked to MMASucka.com for the next TUF 28 TUFtermath!
