If there is one thing many of us can agree upon, it’s that episode 6 of season 21 of “The Ultimate Fighter” featured a disappointing fight.
The Blackzilians entered the fight leading the competition in points 100-50. They had won four of the five fights, but American Top Team was coming off its first win and had home-gym advantage. ATT thought it would have all the momentum and that things had turned, but it was wrong.
The Blackzilians chose 24-year-old Jason Jackson to fight their sixth fight of the series. Their decision was largely made because of his attitude.
When the Blackzilians coaches asked who wanted to fight next, Jackson was the first to raise his hand. They described him as ready to fight, really angry, and eager to go into his opponent’s gym to be booed. He seemed focused and ready to kick some tail, which is exactly what they wanted.
Wanting to keep home-gym advantage and build on the momentum gained with a win in episode five, American Top Team chose one of its most experienced fighters to represent it. They went with Marcelo “Grilo” Alfaya, a 36-year-old Brazilian with a record of 16-7.
ATT described the Brazilian as a scary guy who comes to fight, and someone who is “as tough as he is crazy.”
Despite the rave descriptions, Grilo did not live up to his billing. For someone who promised “war and the end,” Grilo did very little fighting.
The first round between Jackson and Grilo featured a lot of standing around with little action in the first two minutes. Jackson was showing some good cardio by bouncing around and throwing punches, many of which landed. Grilo, a good jiu-jitsu guy, tried to take down Jackson on three occasions, but Jackson slipped out all three times. Jackson showed good takedown defense and striking ability in the round. Two of the judges gave it to him while a third awarded it to Grilo.
In the second round, Jackson dominated the action.
For the first two minutes, Grilo did nothing. And when I say nothing, I mean nothing. The guy just took punches, barely threw any, and the only thing he really did was try to showcase his ability to dodge and avoid strikes. He got hit plenty though, and all it did was lead to damage to his face and points to Jackson on the cards. Grilo finally tried for a takedown in the final minute of the round, but it was snuffed out and really too little, too late.
After the two rounds, they went to the judges’ cards, and Jackson won by majority decision. Two judges scored it 20-18 (two rounds to none) while the third had it 19-19 (one round apiece), giving Jackson the fight.
Grilo was so unimpressive that even his coaches couldn’t complain about the scoring and decision.
“[Grilo] came out flat,” ATT owner Dan Lambert said. “He did not respond well when Jackson fought back.”
Grilo’s lack of action was no doubt head-scratching, as was his explanation for the performance. According to Lambert, Grilo said he wanted to conserve his energy in the first round, which as Lambert said, was not a good idea for a two-round fight. They said that had they known that was going to be Grilo’s plan, they wouldn’t have put him out there.
Meanwhile, Jackson had a mission, and that was to prove he had what it took to beat ATT’s best fighter.
“They throw out their best fighter to keep it here (at their gym),” said Jackson afterwards. “I tell everyone I want to be the hero for the team. I felt like I was the hero today by bringing the fight back to our house.”
Now thanks to Jackson’s efforts, the fights will return to the Blackzilian’s gym for episode 7.
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Below is the NOS® performance replay from the fight:
