UFC women's bantamweight champion Miesha Tate pays a surprise visit to a Team Claudia practice. One of the semifinalists struggles with a difficult weight cut, putting her fight future in jeopardy. Then, two strawweights face off in the Octagon with a spot in the finale on the line.
The last two semi-finals take place in this special two-fight episode. First, two dedicated strawweights face off in the octagon. Then, two friends go to war in an explosive light heavyweight matchup. Claudia and Joanna nearly come to blows after the fights.
Andrew Sanchez vs. Khalil Rountree and Tatiana Suarez vs. Amanda Cooper
The Ultimate Fighter is the reality series that launched the mixed martial arts explosion around the world in 2005. Through 12 weeks, 16 up-and-coming mixed martial artists fight to stay in the house while given world-class coaching by the UFC’s elite fighters. Each competes to be declared the Ultimate Fighter and win a six-figure UFC contract.
16 flyweight champions from around the world bring their belts to Las Vegas to compete in a single-elimination MMA tournament. Upon arrival, with their belts in hand, they head to the UFC training center where they meet UFC President Dana White and their coaches for the season, top UFC flyweight contenders Henry Cejudo and Joseph Benavidez.
As the fighters arrive back to the house after the fight announcement, teammates show solidarity towards the first two losing fighters. Meanwhile, the next two competitors, the #5 seed and the #12 seed, start concentrating on their upcoming matchup. Later that evening, tempers flare after a culture clash between an international fighter and a few Americans. During the next training session, Cejudo focuses on his next fighter. With the help of his coaching staff, Cejudo decides to focus on Jiu-jitsu and takedown defense training, fearing that the fighter is not experienced enough to take on a ground specialist. Nonetheless, the coach seems quite pleased with the fighter's stand up abilities. At the other team's training session, Benavidez seems quite impressed with his upcoming contender, who shows off solid all-around skills. The fighter is cautiously optimistic about the upcoming fight. He believes he needs to be careful on his feet and follow his usual game plan. A few days later, as the teams wait for the weigh-in to start, Cejudo and Benavidez start criticizing each other. Benavidez gets upset after Cejudo claims that he is not a good role model. Tensions start to rise and both coaches seem eager to face each other in the octagon in the finale. The day of the fight finally comes and the two competitors deliver a great battle in the octagon. Then, the next matchup between the #4 seed and #13 seed is announced.
Hostility breaks loose at the Fight Announcement as a fighter makes one of the coaches nervous. Fighters in the house talk about their fear towards the most reputable competitor of the competition as he gets ready for his first round fight. Team Cejudo trains with a surprising approach at taking out Team Benavidez's threatening opponent, hoping for an upset with a risky game plan. Coach Benavidez confronts Coach Cejudo about a previous argument. The two opponents have an unexpected moment before their fight, and in the tournament's fourth fight of round one, two veterans go head to head as a dangerous striker goes up against a well-rounded machine.
While relaxing at The Ultimate Fighter house, Eric Shelton of Team Benavidez talks with Matt Schnell about the challenges of becoming a father at the age of 15. Matt says that having children was the furthest thing from his mind at that age, and jokes that he was still playing with action figures when he was 15 years-old. Between training sessions, coach Joseph Benavidez sits down with his team and watches his past two fights against UFC champion Demetrious Johnson. He offers up tips on fighting the champ, and gets feedback from his fighters. Then, shortly after, Henry Cejudo sits down with his squad and watches his previous fight with Johnson, a first round knockout. Afterwards, Cejudo asks his fighters for their thoughts on how they think they can dethrone the world champion. Then, in the fifth fight of Round 1, the #2 seed faces the #15 seed, with a spot in the second round on the line.
One of the fighters gets emotional while talking about his family and humble upbringing. Dana White gives everyone the night off to relax and watch UFC 200 at the house. Ronaldo gets very excited watching his friend and Jiu-jitsu pupil, José Aldo claim the interim title in his fight against Frankie Edgar. As the main event plays out, Jaime is ecstatic watching his American Top Team teammate Amanda Nunes take the belt away from Miesha Tate. At training, Cejudo prepares an overly confident fighter for what he believes will be a very tough matchup against a ground specialist. Benavidez, on the other hand, is confident that his fighter has all the right skills to easily bring home the victory. As fight day approaches, Harley Davidson brings a special guest to the house and gives all the fighters the opportunity to participate in their Jumpstart experience. The time for the seventh fight of round 1 arrives. The #7 and #10 seeds step into the octagon and deliver a very exciting battle. Then, emotions run high immediately after the fight. Finally, the #3 and #14 seed square off in the fight announcement.
After the sixth fight of round one, members of Team Cejudo sit around the wall of belts as they visualize fighting the flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson. A Team Cejudo fighter stays confident with his fighting style during preparation for his first fight in the competition. He practices take-down defense in anticipation of his opponents deep wrestling skills and jiu jitsu skills, but would rather stay on his feet to showcase his quick and powerful combos. Before hitting the gym, Coach Benavidez takes his team out to Lake Las Vegas for a paddle boarding session. Well aware that his opponent wants to keep the fight standing, Benavidez's fighter prepares to counter his boxing and go for an immediate take down to hopefully move on to round 2 of the competition.
Dominick Cruz
Actor
Urijah Faber
Jon Anik
Host
Craig Piligian
Producer
Frank Fertitta III
