By TUF 31 Contestant Cody “The Renegade” Gibson
The sixth episode of The Ultimate Fighter Season 31 proved to probably be the most contentious episode of the season yet. Team McGregor’s #1 seed Lee Hammond, who was painted as a kind of protégé to Connor McGregor, fought Team Chandler’s gritty veteran Kurt Holobaugh. The fight itself was pretty one sided. Lee was by far the biggest lightweight in the house. His weight cut, even with the help of a full time nutritionist that McGregor brought with him, was brutal. His jiu jitsu game and top control was very good. You couldn’t see it very well on TV, but the very first strike of the fight was a low kick by Kurt that landed on Lee’s knee and split it open. The strike led to an easy takedown for Lee and he remained in top control for the majority of the round.. The cut on his knee was a deep and wide gash. Because of where it landed, it didn’t bleed, but he couldn’t walk for a couple of weeks after the fight and I commend him for fighting through it because it looked pretty bad. Lee’s top grappling control, knee slices, pressure, and sheer size advantage made it difficult for Kurt to get off of his back or mount any substantial offense. Lee also did a really good job picking his shots and making them count. He landed several thudding elbows that eventually cut Kurt over his eyebrow.
The second round saw more of the same. I remember watching the fight from the stands and thinking it was all but over. It seemed like Lee was going to walk away with a clear cut decision and give Team McGregor their first victory of the season. Kurt, however, had other ideas. With about a minute and a half left in the fight, a scramble ensued and Kurt was able to latch on a mounted guillotine in transition that forced Lee to tap and secured the 6th straight victory for Team Chandler. McGregor was visibly upset at the outcome. When the fighters came to the center of the cage to announce the winner, Connor and Chandler began chirping at one another and things heated up very quickly. As you all saw, McGregor pushed Chandler’s face and for a moment there it looked like all hell was about to break loose. Ryan Bader, an assistant coach on Team Chandler, looked like an NFL linebacker moving a practice dummy across the field as he drove a Team McGregor coach across the cage who was trying to get involved in the conflict. Roosevelt Roberts and myself both ran to the cage. I remember thinking in my head that a brawl between both coaching staffs was about to ensue and I instinctively felt a need to be there with my coaches if it did in fact develop into a frenzy. Luckily it did not, but tensions were high and words were said and the proverbial pot of water finally boiled over.
The episode also dug into the backstories of each fighter. Kurt was a great guy. He had been through a lot in his life. From fighting for custody of his children (and eventually getting full custody) to getting remarried and joining families together you could sense that he had been through the ringer in life and come out the other side a better person. His love for his wife and five children stood out to me. Lee, a native of Dublin and longtime training partner of McGregor, was pretty quiet and reserved in the house. He talked to his teammates a lot, but he was probably the fighter in the house I had the least amount of interactions with. \
Next week, the audience will get introduced to one of the funniest characters of the show, Jason Knight. I’m excited for fans who might not know him to learn about him and for those that do know about him to get a more complete picture of who Jason Knight is. Jason will square off with Landon Quinones, a prospect out of Florida who is the current Titan FC champion and had a lot of hype around him coming into the show. It should make for a great episode. As always, appreciate you guys reading and following along this journey with me. Until next time,
Cody “The Renegade” Gibson
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