The Ultimate Fighter kicked off its second episode with a bang this week, showing continued verbal sparring between coaches Cody Garbrandt and TJ Dillashaw. The arguments are going to be a prominent theme this season, and it’s getting old fast. Thankfully though, TUF is still ostensibly about the fighters. We get a solid match-up on this week’s episode between Tom Gallicchio and Eddie Gordon which we’ll look at later on in this week’s TUFtermath.
The Big Three Moments
1) A New Challenger – As the war of words continued between Cody Garbrandt and TJ Dillashaw, Team No Love‘s assistant coach, Urijah Faber, felt the need to interject and claim Dillashaw is lying about his departure from Team Alpha Male. “The California Kid” claimed that Dillashaw left the team, but still wanted to come back when ever he wanted to train, acting as if the former UFC bantamweight champ viewed Alpha Male as a proverbial “side chick.” This counter’s Dillashaw’s claim that he was given an ultimatum about picking one or the other. The truth is somehwere between the two, but Faber does shown he does not deal well with people who aren’t 100% loyal to him.
2) He does what?! – TUF 22 first rounder Tom Gallicchio had a somewhat startling revelation during his “Getting to Know You” segment. The Team Quest member owns a quarter candy business. You know those candy machines you see at various businesses that dole out bits of candy and nuts for $0.25 a pop? That’s right, Gallicchio provides, stocks, and maintains those. It’s hard out there for a fighter.
3) Child Care, “Truck” Style – I’m not sure if it was funny or depressing that Eddie “Truck” Gordon brings his 6 month old son to the gym with him. It’s funny, because it’s a baby in the gym and I can just picture Matt Serra going all “funny uncle” entertaining the infant. It’s depressing because Gordon can’t find affordable, reliable child care for his son while he goes out and trains. Again, it’s hard out there for a fighter.
The TUF 25 Stock Report
Stock Up – Julian Lane. Lane has been remarkably chill so far this season, a far cry from his original drunken “Just let me bang, bro!” shenanigans. He seems to have matured a great deal, and is being presented as a calm, attentive housemate thus far.
Stock Down – Urijah Faber. This is simply for Urijah seeming to try and put the focus on himself and taking it from head coach Cody Garbrandt. This could very well be an an editing thing, but it’s not making Faber look good.
The Fight
The 2 round affair between Tom Gallicchio and Eddie “Truck” Gordon didn’t last long. Gordon showed power on the feet, but was unable to prevent grappling ace Gallicchio from taking him down. While Gordon did a good job of keeping the Team Killashaw member from getting to mount, it was all for naught. Gallicchio would eventually take “Truck’s” back and work for a rear naked choke as Team No Love‘s representative rose to his feet. Gallicchio was able to backpack Gordon and eventually lock in the choke, causing Gordon to fall to the mat and tap out just before losing consciousness for the Round 1 submission victory.
After more verbal sparring Garbrandt and Dillashaw, the third match was made. On next week’s episode, Jesse “JT Money” Taylor will look to begin his path to redemption by taking on Mehdi Bagdhad. Stay tuned for next week’s episode and TUFtermath.
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