The streak of dominance continued for the Blackzilians in last week’s episode of
The Ultimate Fighter. Kamaru Usman added another victory to his team and himself, handing veteran Steve Carl yet another defeat.
It’s do-or-die time for American Top Team as the Blackzilians are incredibly close to securing victory in the battle of teams. Looking to prevent their demise, ATT chooses to chooses another veteran in Nate Coy for this week’s fight. Squaring off against Coy is Valdir “Baby Monster” Araujo.
Prior to the week’s contest, fighters from both sides took field trips outside the TUF house. The Blackzilians headed to the Versace mansion as a reward for the team’s performance thus far in the competition. Later on, both teams are taken to the Harley Davidson showroom by former TUF contestant and winner, Michael Chiesa.
The Ultimate Fighter returned this Wednesday night and saw American Top Team looking to avenge their loss in the opening episode of this season.
Kamaru Usman utilized his wresting acumen to grind out a decision against Michael Graves to give the Blackzilians an early lead in the points standings. It was a rather uneventful fight that saw UFC President Dana White call for the next fighters to show a little something more.
Suffering his first loss as a professional, Graves talked with his teammates about concerns moving forward in his MMA career. Fans love to think as MMA fighters as the ultimate tough guys and Graves’ conversation about a drop in confidence was an excellent example of the mental strain fighters endure. While Graves struggled to maintain the same confidence level as before, his teammate Hayder Hassan was anxious to step in the cage. He attempted to play “mind games” with Usman but the Blackzilians member wasn’t having any of it.