UFC TUF 21 Episode 4 live results & blog: ATT vs. Blackzilians
By Steve Juon for WrestlingObserver.com
It’s American Top Team vs. The Blackzilians. It’s a whole new format – not just rival coaches – rival GYMS. Tonight we’ll be covering what happens between those gyms LIVE as the show airs. ATT is already down 50 points after the first two fights and Dan Lambert is sick of eating crow from defector and hated rival Glenn Robinson. How will they respond this week? Join us at 10 ET to find out! You can refresh as often as you like while the show is in progress for updates.
Brief summary of the action so far:
The Blackzilians have taken a 75-0 lead, with last week’s fight being the most shocking loss so far, as veteran fighter Steve Carl almost missed weight and then ended up getting submitted via guillotine in R2.
ATT is looking for answers to open week four. Dana White: “Dan Lambert’s pissed. He should be pissed! He needs to get his team fired up.” Lambert wants either “Creepy” Steve take the next fight, not to be confused with “Uncle Creepy” Ian McCall.
We go to a video package for Steve “The Creepy Weasel” Montgomery, who vows he wants to be one of the most watchable and memorable fighters on the show. He said he tries to bring his Southern manners and composure with him into each and every fight he takes.
Meanwhile the Blackzilians seem to think that ATT is going to go with Nathan Coy next. They ask Carrington Banks if he’s be comfortable fighting Coy and he says yes, so that’s their pick to make it four in a row. Banks say he’s born in Georgia, raised in Illinois, and that he wrestled in Iowa. “Outside the cage you would never know I’m a fighter. I’m a chill dude, I like simple things.”
Back at the house with two days until the fight Hayder Hassan is screaming SOMEBODY HELP and CALL 911 HE’S HAZING A SEIZURE as we go to commercial – Steven Montgomery is in bad shape and choking on his own tongue. Yikes.
Firetrucks and paramedics have arrived when we come back. Nathan Coy: “I thought he was going to do. He was turning purple.” Hassan: “One of the scariest and most helpless things I’ve ever seen.” The ambulance rushes him away and we go to the ATT gym.
Dan Lambert says he believes that Montgomery was “water loading” and that his electrolyte balance got out of whack, all as part of his weight cutting process. Dana White: “Huge huge blow to American Top Team, and they’ve got to make some tough decisions right now.” Lambert is leaning toward Coy or Sabah Homasi as a replacement – ultimately going with the latter.
Homasi: “Outside of fighting, I have a night job – I’m a male entertainer – for women okay?” He says fighting is no different – either way you have to go out and perform with a lot of people watching you. He vows to make it exciting and not let a @%!$ wrestler hold him down. Lambert: “He gets a lot of grief for how he pays his bill outside of the gym, but at the end of the day Sabah is a tough guy. He comes in and that kid trains hard.”
WEIGH-IN TIME. Dana White calls it a “pick ’em” fight because Carrington Banks hasn’t fought in 18 months, and Homasi was not originally scheduled to fight this week. Homasi is 171 and Banks is 170 so nobody needs the sauna this week. Commercial.
Montgomery blames himself for what happened, saying he didn’t put electrolytes in the water and his sodium balance got out of whack, noting that he didn’t suffer any brain damage, but that they’re not going to let him continue on the show after what happened. Dana White says they’ll give him another shot in the UFC down the road if he can stay healthy.
Rashad Evans is giving guidance to the Blackzilians as we come back, saying nobody knows better than him what it’s like to keep training even when you’re bumped up and bruised up. Banks: “I’m gonna figure out how big (Homasi’s) heart is and I’m going to test it.” The fighters are stepping into the cage at the Blackzilian gym right now.
* Carrington Banks (Blackzilians) vs. Sabah Homasi (American Top Team)
Homasi is in the blue trunks and Banks is in the black. Banks shoots for a double 40 seconds in. Homasi responds with knees to the body and a widened stance. Banks switches to a single and gets Homasi off his feet for a a few seconds and couple of times, but can’t quite pull him all the way down. He resorts to throwing knees at his left instead. Homasi gets free at 2:11. He lands a hard leg kick that momentarily puts Banks off balance. Homasi stops the next takedown attempt with his hands and he’s finding his range more and more frequently. Banks pushes him to the fence to shut that down. He gets a takedown at 3:44 but Homasi is immediately posturing up on his hands again and he’s out at 3:55. Banks can barely get him down and can’t KEEP him down. Banks goes for another takedown with 18 seconds to go and eats knees and elbows. Homasi is even trying to snag an arm to take home as a trophy at the horn. 10-9 Homasi.
Banks is chasing the takedowns again. He’s complaining about a kick to the cup but Dana White says it’s BS and the ref doesn’t stop the action. Homasi is being the aggressive fighter and Banks is circling on the outside looking for a point of entry. Dueling chants for both teams. Banks puts Homasi on the fence at 2:10 but the takedown isn’t there and he’s burning a lot of energy – so much so that he tries to take the back and he slides right off from the sweat! Homasi knocks himself off his feet trying to land a spin kick but Banks doesn’t pounce. With almost 20 minutes left in the show we are going to a sudden victory round.
It’s official when we come back from break – five more minutes (or less) to determine a winner. Both fighters are striking hard, though Homasi is also getting in the body and leg kicks. Banks is at least staying closer to the center for the first couple of minutes, though by the two minute mark he’s back to circling on the outside. Homasi snaps off a BIG head kick but Banks eats it like Wheaties. Banks shoots at 2:44 but Homasi makes him pay with a knee. He gets Homasi down for a little bit but at 3:20 he’s standing and swinging again. Banks seems unable to block the left hook. It’d help if he wasn’t so tired – his hands are down around his waist. Homasi’s fists are up and cocked. Banks has managed to tag Homasi a few times though – his nose is red. I’ve got Homasi 29-28.
The judges have a decision. Will ATT finally get in the win column? Did the Blackzilians take a 100-0 lead?
WINNER BY DECISION: BANKS.
Homasi drops to his knees stunned. Dan Lambert is appalled by what he heard. Naturally each coach believes their fighter won both of the first two rounds. Lambert says the third round was “razor thin” and he didn’t know which way the judges would go. I’m really surprised ATT didn’t get this one. Banks: “I kept the momentum going for my team, which is exactly what we needed.” Banks says he’s got a lot of respect for Homasi. Meanwhile Homasi is outraged in the locker room. Lambert says you have to get a knockout or a sub. Homasi says there’s no f#@%ing way he lost. Lambert: “Sit here and bitch about it for five minutes but then we gotta think about the next one.” That’s where the show ends!