Join us tonight for episode 2 of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn. The Ultimate Fighter airs on Fox Sports 1 starting at 10:00 p.m. ET. We'll have TUF discussion, right here at Bloody Elbow.
Who's ready to go to the TUF house? Last week, 32 fighters (well, 31 actually) were whittled down to 16 through the elimination round. Coaches B.J. Penn and Frankie Edgar have selected their teams, and we're now ready for the season to really get underway. The first night is always a bit dicey - will this be a cast who dives head first into those favorite TUF pastimes of drinking and fighting? We'll find out tonight.
Speaking of fights, we'll also get our first elimination fight. B.J. Penn made the fight call, choosing his 3rd pick Middlweight Cathal Pendred to take on Edgar's last picked Hector Urbina. Pendred received a bye to get into the house due to his opponent missing weight, while Urbina comes in with a first round submission win. Here's what I had to say about this fight in my Episode 1 recap:
Cathal Pendred (13-2-1) vs. Hector Urbina (16-8-1)
As I said, we didn't see Pendred fight on the show, but Urbina showed an OK wrestling game and a lot of determination in that game, doggedly fighting for a takedown and then transitioning to a successful choke. Despite getting the finish, I thought he looked pretty raw and sloppy in places. There's plenty of fight footage online of Pendred, and those videos show him to be a pretty similar fighter - a wrestler first and foremost who will shoot in, ground his opponent, and go for the ground and pound win. He also has pretty poor striking defense, but so does Urbina (and Urbina is probably not an explosive enough striker to take advantage.) Both of these guys have solid experience. Pendred has wins over David Bielkheden, Bruno Carvalho, and the one and only Che Mills. Urbina, an ATT fighter, has fought the likes of Lyman Good (back at Bellator 2), Mayhem Miller, and Tim Kennedy, but he doesn't have much in the way of notable wins. Head to head, this will be a matter of who is the better wrestler, and I like Pendred thanks to his superior technical skills and athleticism. Look for the Irishman to be more aggressive, put Urbina down and pound him out to put Team Penn up 1-0.
Join us tonight for The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn.