American Top Team was already in trouble going into episode 7 of season 21 of “The Ultimate Fighter” after losing all but one of the first six fights against the Blackzilians. Things did not get any better in their seventh fight.
Before the fighters of the episode were selected, each team had the chance to make a substitution on its roster. They both decided to make a change.
The Blackzilians replaced Andrews Nakahara because he was on a 30-day suspension after being knocked out by Hayder Hassan in episode five of the show. They had Alexandre Pulga Pimentel take his place. Likewise, ATT replaced Creepy Steve Montgomery who had a seizure and substituted him for Cristiano “Soldano” Souza.
Neither one of the replacements would fight in episode 7, however, as that came down to young Brazilian Vicente Luque and veteran Nathan Coy. Though this one went three rounds, it was Luque who came out on top.
The 23-year-old who was born in New Jersey but grew up in Brazil entered the fight with experience in Muay Thai. His kicks are so good that his coaches say he could even be a kickboxer. Luque describes himself as very dedicated to fighting and says he doesn’t drink or party because of his desire to become a champion.
Luque was well prepared entering his fight because the Blackzilians seemed to have 36-year-old Coy pegged before the fight.
“I’m not impressed by Nathan Coy,” Blackzilians owner Glenn Robinson said prior to the fight. “He’s going to come in for the takedowns and he’s a grinder.”
Luque also thought it was a sign that Coy was nervous because of how much he was talking at their weigh-in. He might have been right.
ATT also could not have been more wrong about Luque, saying “he’s probably the weaker guy they had on their list,” prior to the fight.
The bout went three rounds, and Luque won all three rounds in my eyes before winning by submission in the third.
In round one, Coy did exactly what the Blackzilians expected and went in for an early takedown, but he did not get it. Instead he came out with a nasty cut above his right eye that began bleeding. Still, that didn’t slow Coy, who aggressively went for a second takedown. Luque continued to defend himself by landing shots against Coy, and Coy continued to try for takedowns that were well defended. Luque consistently hit Coy with strikes and definitely won the first round.
In the second round, Coy changed his strategy. He no longer went for takedowns early and was kept at a distance by Luque, who threw punches and kicks. Coy finally got a takedown and had Luque up against cage. Luque looked tired but got back up to his feet before Coy took him down again at the end of the round. Luque changed his strategy from being a striker against Coy to using his jiu-jitsu, which his coaches believed was a strategical error.
The second round was close and I would have given it to Luque to give him the win, but officials had them go a third round. That was bad news for Coy.
It didn’t take long for Luque to finish Coy. Luque hit Coy with a brutal kick for the sternum, and Coy responded by going for a takedown. That was it for Coy as Luque defended the takedown and got him into an anaconda choke hold. Once he locked it, Coy tapped out about 10-20 seconds later during the middle of round three.
The victory gave the Blackzilians a 6-1 record against American Top Team on the show and 200-50 point lead. ATT also finally admitted that they were completely wrong about young Luque, who really was in charge and control of the fight.
“That kid was good. He was better than we thought,” ATT’s Dan Lambert conceded.
With only five fights left in the series, the margin of error for ATT is getting smaller and smaller, and the Blackzilians are looking like they’re just much better.
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Below is the NOS® performance replay from the fight:
