One of the great things about a show like The Ultimate Fighter is getting to watch dedicated athletes follow their dreams and that dynamic was on full display when Canadian Louis Fisette and England’s Davey Grant battled on episode five of TUF 18.
Winnipeg’s Fisette — an injury replacement for Tim Gorman on Team Tate — was looking to redeem himself after being submitted by Chris Holdsworth in the premiere episode.
“I’ve already lost one fight; I shouldn’t even be here, so this is my second chance at a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Fisette said before the fight. “I’m looking to make the best of it.”
Fisette, 23, is one of Canada’s best young bantamweights and compiled 6-1 record on the local circuit in Manitoba prior to his time in the TUF house.
“This fight and this show means everything to me. I’ve lost my job for this opportunity. I’ve put everything into this and I’m looking to make something come out of it,” Fisette added.
Watch The Ultimate Fighter 18 every Wednesday on Sportsnet 360 and get weekly episode recaps on sportsnet.ca
While Fisette sacrificed his job for a chance at UFC glory, Grant sacrificed time with his fiancee and two young sons who stayed home in England while Grant was competing on the show.
Grant, 27, said he “was on the road to nowhere” when he met his fiancee and owes much of his success in MMA to her.
“When we started realizing how good at fighting I was, she was the one going to work and looking after the kids while I just trained constantly and she just wanted me to follow my dream and I can’t thank her enough for that,” Grant said.
“To get the chance to actually follow your dreams, (there’s) not many people doing that. A lot of people are stuck in dead-end jobs and I’m following my dream. … I’m fighting for my family and I want to give them the best life possible.”
THE FIGHT
Grant opened with a thudding outside leg kick and pressed forward where he landed a solid knee to the body and continued to work Fisette’s midsection along the cage.
Fisette attempted a flying knee, but was taken down to the ground where Grant split him open with an elbow.
Grant attacked with some strong ground-and-pound, defended a kneebar before attacking with an armbar. After an exciting scramble Grant regained top control and rained down vicious elbows as the round came to an end.
As round two began, Fisette looked for a takedown but it was Grant who ended up slamming Fisette to the mat. After some more strikes from the top, Grant took Fisette’s back where he submitted the Canadian with a rear-naked choke.
“I had my second opportunity and I feel like I let it slip through my hands again,” Fisette said. “I feel like I let a lot of people down. I tried to put on a good fight; it was a one-sided beating and he was laying down the hammer this time.”
Grant has not lost since his pro debut in July 2009 and though he is known for his kickboxing the majority of his wins have come by submission.
“It was tough but I’m so pleased to get the win,” Grant said. “Family is my motivation and I feel as if I’ve done them quite proud now, but it’s not enough. I’m going all the way.”
As the two battled along the cage and on the ground, Grant’s size advantage was evident.
“David was just clearly way too strong,” Fisette’s coach Miesha Tate said. “(Louis) went out there and fought his heart out and unfortunately he lost … but he lost like a man and he should be proud of that.”
Grant’s coach Ronda Rousey believes her fighter has the potential to be very successful in the UFC.
“He really shows a lot of qualities of a fighter that’s going to do really well after the show is over,” Rousey said.
OUTSIDE THE OCTAGON
Mama Rousey drops by
In an effort to inspire her team, Rousey brought in her mom, Ann Maria DeMars, as a guest coach.
“She’s 5-foot-2 but she can look at a 6-foot-5 man in a way that will make that guy scared,” Rousey said.
DeMars became the first American to in a World Judo Championship in 1984. She means business and it quickly became evident where Rousey gets her intensity from.
Pennington opens up
Prior to a women’s division being added to the UFC earlier this year, there had never been an openly gay athlete in the promotion. Liz Carmouche — whom Rousey beat in the first-ever UFC fight between two women — and Jessica Andrade have competed in the UFC as gay athletes in 2013 and have opened the door for fighters like Raquel Pennington of Team Tate.
Pennington opened up to some of her housemates about being a gay athlete and some of the hurdles she had to overcome in order to find success in MMA.
‘Bored’ games
So, when you have a house full of bored 20-somethings that aren’t allowed to listen to music, watch TV or have any contact with the outside world, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a game of Truth or Dare broke out.
Canadian Josh Hill was dared to used a corny pickup line on Roxanne Modafferi and the fighters had a good laugh over it.
Also, Anthony Gutierrez ruffled some feathers during the game when he was asked which competitor he thought was the weakest and he didn’t shy away from calling out Fisette before his fight with Grant.
Fighters struggle with keeping weight down
Cutting weight is a big part of MMA and several fighters — namely Chris Holdsworth, Anthony Gutierrez and Cody Bollinger — admitted to having trouble avoiding unhealthy foods while in the house.
“It’s definitely hard to stay away from the crappy foods,” Holdsworth said.
Fight selection
With Grant’s win, Team Rousey retained control of fight selection and chose for Muay Thai specialist Jessamyn Duke to face Team Tate brawler Raquel Pennington.
On the next episode
Anthony Gutierrez annoys everyone while at a special event outside the house; Julianna Pena gives two female fighters their first makeovers; then, Raquel Pennington takes on Jessamyn Duke with a spot in the semis on the line.