CAUTION: SPOILERS INCLUDED – Team Forrest’s Matt Brown will get his wish this week when he takes on his rival from Team Rampage, Jeremy May. Yeah, it’s a grudge match, but even more is at stake for Quinton Jackson’s squad, as they currently trail in The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs Team Forrest competition 3-0.
CAUTION: SPOILERS INCLUDED – Team Forrest’s Matt Brown will get his wish this week when he takes on his rival from Team Rampage, Jeremy May. Yeah, it’s a grudge match, but even more is at stake for Quinton Jackson’s squad, as they currently trail in The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs Team Forrest competition 3-0.
May continues to be a lightning rod for controversy as this week’s episode, as he appears to be drinking with Brandon Sene and Matt Riddle just a day before the weigh-in for his fight with Brown. May admits that he likes to play mind games though, pouring water into an empty bottle to make his opponent think he’s actually drinking.
The deception doesn’t stop there, and this time it even affects his teammates when he claims a knee injury that he later reveals wasn’t bad enough to keep him out of practice. The Floridian sits on the sidelines anyway, opting to “pace” himself.
The knee ‘injury’ is a topic of conversation back in the house, with May’s own teammate, Riddle, telling Brown of the injury, showing that even May’s own squad has grown tired of his antics.
Meanwhile, Brown trains for the bout as if it were a title fight, even getting into some heated sparring sessions with his coach Forrest Griffin.
Once the bout begins, Brown looks flat as May aggressively pursues him with wild haymakers, some of which land. Griffin is frustrated by Brown’s early performance, but as the round progresses, May’s lack of conditioning is evident. Then it’s Brown’s turn to go on the offensive and he finishes May off in emphatic fashion with a knee followed by a kick to the jaw.
Team Forrest is now up 4-0, and in this episode’s second fight, it sends the last man picked, Luke Zachrich, into battle against Dan Cramer to try to add another win to their ledger.
It isn’t meant to be though, as Cramer comes out blazing behind a wild striking attack. Zachrich eagerly answers back, and both teams and their coaches erupt, making the training center sound like a packed arena. By the end of the first round, Zachrich has apparently seized control, but in the second, Cramer takes down his tired foe immediately and pounds his way to a TKO win.
“These guys went to war,” said UFC President Dana White.
“That was the best fight I’ve seen in a long time,” added a jubilant Jackson, who finally saw his team get a victory.
After this week’s action, Team Forrest still leads 4-1, but with the win by Cramer, Team Rampage has control and will pick the next fight in the competition.
Here’s how the teams look:
TEAM RAMPAGE
Mike Dolce – Eliminated in week three by Jesse Taylor
Daniel Cramer 1-0
CB Dollaway
Paul Bradley – Eliminated due to medical issues
Matthew Riddle – Eliminated in week four by Tim Credeur
Gerald Harris
Jeremy May – Eliminated in week six by Matt Brown
Brandon Sene – Eliminated in week five by Dante Rivera
Pat Schultz
TEAM FORREST
Tim Credeur 1-0
Amir Sadollah
Jesse Taylor 1-0
Matt Brown 1-0
Cale Yarbrough
Dante Rivera 1-0
Nick Klein
Luke Zachrich
For weekly recaps of The Ultimate Fighter, as well as fighter profiles, stay tuned to UFC.com.
