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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The Ultimate Fighter 17 moves on to the quarterfinals tonight with an all new episode on FX, as the first two of the four fights this round will take place. Things are picking up as the show heads into the home stretch, with the Finale event just two and a half weeks away. Join me right here tonight for another running thoughts blog as the broadcast takes place beginning at 9PM ET!
-Bubba McDaniel isn't thrilled with the quarterfinal draw he got, and he's mentally bothered by the image of Uriah Hall's KO over Adam Cella. That would stick with anyone, but it clearly weighed on McDaniel after the fight announcement.
-First quarterfinal we'll get will be between Kelvin Gastellum and Colin Hart. Gastellum doesn't think people believe he's got boxing. Jon Jones thinks Hart is "ok" everywhere, but "extraordinary" in his jiu jitsu.
-Hart admitted his last fight was kind of boring, and that he held his opponent down, so he feels he's got something to prove into this fight.
-Sonnen said he's not sure why Gastellum is pegged as a wrestler, as he sees him more as a brawler. Gastellum has confidence in his boxing.
-UFC Women's Champ Ronda Rousey joins a training session of Team Sonnen, following up on her word to do this after Gastellum won his fight over Bubba McDaniel. He said it was "awesome getting handled by her."
-This is why I'm interested in seeing Rousey as a coach in the next season. Now, whomever she coaches against? Probably not so much.
-Rousey gave a speech to Team Sonnen. She said fighting is about respect and respecting your opponent, but it's also about not respecting them at all, because they don't have a right to walk out of there with a win over you.
-Quick to the weigh-ins for the first fight. Clint Hester sees the fight hitting the third round. Zak Cummings sees the fight staying on the feet, and takes his teammate Gastellum in the bout. Sonnen says Gastellum never stops working. Jones expects Hart to pick up a submission off his back in the fight.
-Gastellum echoes the statements from Rousey, saying Hart "doesn't deserve to beat me."
FIGHT ONE: KELVIN GASTELLUM VS. COLIN HART
ROUND ONE: Gastellum landed an early left as Hart closed distance. They briefly clinched, but Gastellum backed out. They exchanged strikes and each landed in a wild flurry. Gastellum then knocked Hart down with a big combo, and he landed a vicious series of strikes on the ground and went out cold before getting knocked back to. Ouch.
Gastellum moves on to the semifinals with a first round TKO
-Hart congratulated Gastellum on the win and hoped he won the whole show.
-After break we're on to the training for the next fight. It's the first overall pick, Team Sonnen's Luke Barnatt, against the last pick of the season in Dylan Andrews. Sonnen said Andrews was misjudged, and he's not to be taken lightly, but he thinks the height and reach advantage for Barnatt is huge.
-Barnatt said he loved going to the ground despite being taken for a standup fighter, and he wants to break Andrews down before beating him on the ground.
-For Andrews, Team Jones wants him to make Barnatt "pay to be tall." Jones brought in his original Muay Thai coach, Stone Horse, for this season, and he said Andrews really clicked with him. Andrews talked up their relationship, and said they both got each other and that he saw Stone Horse as a father figure.
-Mike Tyson came in to watch this quarterfinal fight, and both Barnatt and Andrews were excited to have him their watching them compete.
-Barnatt called his home country of England a "horrible place," and said he felt he's sacrificed more than others. Andrews said he didn't want to settle for a "normal" life and instead wanted to be great at something.
-Andrews said the fight will end when Barnatt makes a mistake, and it's just a matter of time until that happens. Barnatt sees a tough fight coming, but he expects to win.
FIGHT TWO: LUKE BARNATT VS. DYLAN ANDREWS
-Side note: Forgot Barnatt is only 24. Looks much older than that.
ROUND ONE: Andrews came straight ahead and fired off some strikes, landing a decent combination before scoring a takedown. Barnatt was quick to work off his back, trying for a triangle and landing some elbows and strikes off his back. He worked up to his feet with an landed a couple knees. Andrews pulled off a nice takedown and worked to side control. Barnatt continued attacking from his back. Andrews defended well, and as Barnatt kicked him up he dropped back into guard. Barnatt landed some nice strikes off his back. Barnatt got up and Andrews went for a guillotine choke. He used it to roll Barnatt down, then transitioned to the back in a nice sequence. Barnatt tried to get up but Andrews kept him on the ground. Barnatt got out and to his feet. He landed a solid knee. He got in a a strike as well. Andrews scored another takedown into guard. He landed some strikes from the top, getting in a few elbows as well as punches. Barnatt tried to attack with the triangle again, but Andrews stayed out and rode out the round on top. Solid round, but Andrews takes it. Barnatt was winning off his back, but the last half was all Andrews.
ROUND TWO: Barnatt landed a few strikes early as Andrews came forward. Andrews fired back with a few hard strikes. He landed a big right hand. He got in another as he came in and clinched. Big power strikes there from Andrews. They battled in the clinch before Barnatt broke free. Andrew landed a couple more strikes as they clinched again. Barnatt landed a knee and regained position. He pulled off an excellent trip right to mount, but Andrews quickly got it to half guard, then tried to scramble. He then turned that into a takedown of his own. Huge sequence for him to get on top. Barnatt went for an omoplata, but Andrews got out. He tried to drop down with strikes but got stuffed. He passed to half guard. Barnatt kicked him off and got to his feet. Andrews landed a strike and clinched. Barnatt went for a kimura as Andrews took him down but couldn't' complete it. Andrews tried to go back to work from the top. Barnatt landed a nice forearm. Andrews stood up and passed briefly to side control. In a scramble he looked to take Barnatt's back. He grabbed a choke very high on Barnatt and Barnatt got out as the round ended. I'd imagine Andrews won the fight, but there could be a third round. And there is.
-Dana White was happy Barnatt got credit for his work from the bottom.
ROUND THREE: Andrews immediately pressed in with the clinch. They jockeyed for position and Barnatt fired off a few knees. Andrews tagged him with a right after they separated. He got in a left, and a few more punches behind it. He landed a nice body punch. and continued pressuring. Barnatt landed a knee, but Andrew fired back with a combo. Barnatt got his back standing, but Andrews got free and walked forward. Barnatt threw a jumping knee that was blocked. A very tired Andrews continued moving in and pressuring. He landed a huge flurry of punches against the cage. He finally knocked Barnatt down and landed a punch on the ground that forced Herb Dean to stop it. He was tired, but he sucked it up and finished that fight off in style. Very nice. That was a really nice finish from Andrews.
-Barnatt knew it was going to be a war, it was, and he ended up suffering his first loss. He got a pick-me-up from Tyson after the fight.
-Stone Horse told Andrews how proud he was after the fight, and Andrews reveled into the win.
Next week: The quarterfinals conclude with Josh Samman vs. Jimmy Quinlan and Uriah Hall vs. Bubba McDaniel.
Final Thoughts: Really solid fights tonight to put Gastellum and Andrews into the semifinals. I was especially impressed by that third round from Andrews. He was worn out from a grueling two rounds, but he kept the pressure on and was the better fighter in the third. He relied too much on his takedowns the first two rounds, not giving his striking enough credit, because that's where he was having the most success in that fight. I'm intrigued by both, and look forward to the other two quarterfinals next week.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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