This week's episode kicks off on a sentimental note as Kyacey Uscola, who was awarded a wild-card spot with fellow Team Ortiz fighter Kris McCray in the previous episode, learns he's the father of a new baby boy.
A phone call with his wife has him on the verge of tears.
"It's an awesome day for me," says Kyacey, who says the birth of Charles Champ Uscola won't distract him from the following day's fight with Kris.
Back at the house, Kris says it's unfortunate he has to fight a teammate, especially when that opponent is considered the favorite in their fight.
Both competitors soon head to the gym, where coach Tito Ortiz tells him he'll be watching the fight from the stands without showing favoritism to either.
"The best man will win," Tito says.
After brief introductions and some obviously bittersweet encourage from Team Ortiz members, we jump right into the wild-card fight. It features:
(Team Adam's) Kyacey Uscola VS. (Team Jen's) Kris McCray Kyacey opens with a nice combo, blocks a punch and leg kick, and then snaps a nice leg kick of his own. Kris answers with a low kick and ducks under a counter punch. Kris throws another low kick and apparently wants to keep distance. Kyacey, though, moves in and throws a front kick to his opponent's shin, and Kris briefly drops a knee and winces in pain as he returns to his feet. Although his opponent backs away to try to regroup, Kyacey immediately moves in and clinches but struggles to get the fight to the mat. Kris briefly takes the action to the mat, and he then clinches and pins Kyacey against the cage to deliver punches to the face and knees to the legs. Kyacey tries to defend, but Kris won't break the hold. Kris throws more knees to the legs. They're not exceptionally powerful, but a strike to groin earns Kris a warning, and Kyacey gets a restart.
With two minutes remaining in the first round, the fighters take the center of the cage. The fighters trade punches, but little lands until Kris gets through a right. Kris follows with some low kicks, throws a right and shoots, but neither fighter can get the advantage as they tumble to the mat, and both quickly return to their feet. Kyacey delivers a nice knee to the midsection on the way up, but Kris counters with a few quick uppercuts to the chin. Kris remains aggressive with a front kick and then shoots, picks up his opponent, and slams him to the mat. Kyacey ends up on his knees, and Kris rains down a dozen punches. Kris finally secures a rear-naked choke in the final seconds of the round, but with neither the position nor the time he needs, the frame comes to a close. 10-9 for Kris.
Round 2: Kyacey quickly moves in and pushes his opponent against the fence. The fighters jockey for underhooks as Kyacey delivers knees to the body. Kris, though, pops off the fence, wraps his arms around Kyacey's waist, and slams him to the mat. Kris drops into side control and immediately delivers punches to the head. Kris patiently improves his position to assure there's no escape, grabs an arm, and torques the kimura. Kyacey tries to fight it off and grunts as his arm is bent badly, and he's finally forced to tap from the painful submission.
-
(Team Jen's) Kris McCray def.
(Team Adam's) Kyacey Uscola via Submission (Kimura) in Round 2 for
9pts.
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Team CJ, Team Jen, and
Team Jon each earn
1pt for having
Tito Ortiz as their coach.
"I was settled down this time," says Kris, whom Josh Bryant defeated in the prelims. "I was a little more technical."
Kyacey quickly leaves the cage with his head down. In a confessional, he says he had a lot on his mind but that it's no excuse for what he called an expletive-laden performance.
"I don't have anything else to say," he says.
With the wild-card spot determined, Tito and fellow coach Chuck Liddell sit down with Dana White in a private meeting to discuss the quarterfinal round. As with past seasons, the teams are now a thing of the past, and it's every man for himself as more teammate-vs.-teammate fights are possible, Dana says.
Dana asks Chuck who are the best four fighters among the remaining eight. Chuck says he doesn't know. Tito, though, quickly surmises the list includes
Kyle Noke,
Brad Tavares,
Nick Ring, and
Jamie Yager. Dana says he agrees.
Chuck, though, isn't sold and said
Court McGee could have beaten Nick if given another round.
Dana says he agrees that there should have been a third round but that it's now in the past. Tito suggests a rematch. Chuck says he'd like to see Josh against Nick. Tito disagrees, and tempers escalate until Dana finally relents and agrees to the rematch.
"So he gets what he wants because he yells about that fight?" Chuck asks in disbelief.
The bickering continues, and both coaches feel like they're getting cheated.
"All right, go to your teams, psychos," Dana jokingly tells them. "It's been fun."
After a commercial break, the fighters meet up in the training center to learn their fate.
Dana says he had to make the final decision since there was so little agreement among the coaches, and he makes the announcements:
- (Team CJ's) Nick Ring vs. (Team Adam's) Court McGee
- (Team Jen's) Kris McCray vs. (Team Tammy's) Kyle Noke
- (Team Roxanne's) Seth Baczynski vs. (Team Roy's) Brad Tavares
- (Team CJ's) Jamie Yager vs. (Team Jon's) Josh Bryant
"Dana finally agreed with me, once," Tito says of the Nick vs. Court matchup. "It put a smile on my face."
Chuck admits he's not really that bent out of shape.
"I didn't really care," he says. "I just didn't want Tito feeling like he won anything. That's what kind of pissed me off.
"I was just having fun with him."
In the end, the teams remain in tact, and we have four Team Ortiz vs. Team Liddell matchups.
Chuck says his team could win all four matches, and he asks the camera guy if they'll send Tito home if that happens.
"Could you do that?" he asks while smiling. "Could you do that for me?"
Back at the house, the original "TUF" winner, Forrest Griffin, shows up to play some "UFC Undisputed 2010" with the guys. The product placement gives the fighters some time to relax before the show's upcoming quarterfinal round.
The segment ends as James Hammortree (playing as coach Tito) knocks out Forrest (playing himself). He lets out a "Team Punishment" rally cry after the win.
We then head to a nearby bone-and-joint specialist, who's working with Nick on his bum left knee. An MRI shows that Nick has little tissue in his knee and that a third ACL reconstruction will be required.
The doctor says Nick may be able to deal with the aches and swelling now and get the surgery after the competition. Regardless, the news hits Nick hard.
"It's just hard having to keep picking yourself up and dusting yourself off," he says.
Nick sees two options: continue fighting, maybe squeeze in another fight or two with the threat of permanent damage – or pull out of the tourney now and get the surgery he needs.
After heading back to the house, the fighters are soon joined by Dana. And as any longtime "TUF" viewer knows, that usually means some big news is on the way.
Dana grabs Nick and says he needs a private conservation. Speculation runs wild among the other cast members. In the backyard, Dana asks Nick if he plans to quit.
Nick says he can't continue.
"You know you're possibly the favorite to win this thing," he says with a mix of encouragement and disbelief.
Nick says he has no other options but to pull guard in a fight and that he can't really compete that way. Dana remains shocked, but Nick isn't backing down from his decision.
"I feel like I'm losing a real big opportunity, and I am," he says in a confessional. "But your body tells you when you need to stop."
Dana then announces the news to the rest of the house. Court is disappointed for Nick since he worked so hard to be there, and he's disappointed for himself since he was looking forward to the rematch.
But before Dana announces a replacement, he says he needs to meet with the coaches to determine who will fight Court in the first quarterfinal fight.
In a confessional, Team Liddell's Joe Henle says just about everyone else is hurt and thinks the fight is his. He seems genuinely excited about the possibility.
James, though, takes matters into his own hands and follows Dana outside the house. James, who was knocked out of the competition with a decision loss to Brad, tells Dana a training injury that recently sent him to the hospital resulted in no broken bones and that he wants the spot.
"I feel like I needed to come out here and tell you that," he says.
Dana seems impressed.
Moved by James' eagerness and drive – especially when so many other past "TUF" cast members have turned down second opportunities – Dana returns to the house and makes an announcement: James is getting the fight.
The cast sits in a bit of disbelief.
Joe then grabs Dana and says he wanted the spot and any future spots that open.
"If I thought me going out there and telling him would have made a difference, I'd have been the first one out there," Joe says. "Hell I would have tripped Hammortree on the way out."
Dana says he appreciates the passion and to stay ready.
Back in a training center's dressing room, Nick breaks the news to Tito, who's understandably disappointed.
Outside the room, the fighters weigh in. Court weighs 186 pounds, and James weigh 185, and the fight is good to go.
After some final prep work, the first quarterfinal-round competitors are introduced, and we have:
(Team Adam's) Court McGee VS. (Team Jen's) James HammortreeRound 1: After some circling, James lands first with a lunging right. Court paws a jab but eats another punch after leaving his chin up. Court then shoots, but James stuffs it, clinches and delivers a knee to the body. After separating, Court lands a leg kick, counters with a straight left, and pops another jab when James fakes a shoot. Court then catches a body kick, fires off three quick punches to the face, and then chases after James as he tries to circle away. Court takes his back from the standing position, but James won't allow him to sink in his hooks. Court, though, drags the fight to the mat, takes his opponent's back after kneeling, and follows James to the standing position after he escapes. The fighters reset after the quick exchange.
With three minutes remaining in the opening frame, Court throws a low kick, pops his opponent with a left, but then eats a combo after closing the distance. James gains some confidence with the exchange, takes an inside leg kick, and then lands the second part of a left-right combo. Court, though, closes the distance and takes the fight to the mat and lands in side control. Court tries to grab his back as James gets to his feet but comes up short. After resetting, the fighters trade and miss wildly from the standing position. Court lands a left, shoots, and puts James against the cage. James, though, defends against the takedown and escapes. Court tries a spinning back kick, but James rushes forward, takes his back, slams him to the mat, and then works a rear-naked choke. Court quickly rolls to the seated position and then puts James against the cage to take a dominant top position before the round ends.
Round 2: James strikes first with a combo. He then uses another to set up a takedown attempt, but Court stuffs it, slaps on a guillotine, and forces the quick tap-out. The strong submission leaves James woozy, and he drops to a knee. Luckily, there's no permanent damage, and the underdog Court can celebrate the win.
-
(Team Adam's) Court McGee def.
(Team Jen's) James Hammortree via Submission (Guillotine) in Round 2 for
9pts.
-
Team Adam, Team Roxanne, Team Roy, and
Team Tammy each earn
1pt for having
Chuck Liddell as their coach.
Chuck is really satisfied that Court's hard work and eagerness to learn are paying off.
Tito knows James just made a simple mistake.
"His inexperience cost him," he said.
Dana says Court looks better every fight and has a well-rounded game.
"He's the darkhorse of this thing," Dana says.
And with the first ticket to the semis punched, tonight's episode is in the books.
