Team Jones’ Collin Hart grinded out a unanimous decision win over Team Sonnen’s Kevin Casey on episode four of The Ultimate Fighter 17.
The bout was in stark contrast to the two previous weeks as the fighter were still reeling from highlight-reel knockouts from Uriah Hall and Luke Barnatt over Adam Cella and Gilbert Smith, respectively.
At the start of the fight, Hart immediately charged in and secured a huge double-leg takedown that saw him slam Casey and land in side control. While attempting to lock up an arm-triangle, Casey, a long-time friend and pupil of the famed Gracie family, regained full guard and began working for a guillotine from his back.
Casey got back to his feet and the two went back and forth, battling for position along the fence. As the two men went to their respective corners, Jon Jones was encouraged with Hart’s round one and Casey was seen breathing heavily while listening to advice from his coach Chael Sonnen.
In the second round, Casey came out the aggressor, pushing forward and landing a few decent left hands. However, during an exchange, Hart cut Casey’s forehead open with an accidental head butt.
Hart began wearing down a fatigued and bloody Casey along the cage and eventually tripped him to the ground where he landed short shoulder strikes, elbows and punches. Hart remained in top position for the remainder of the round and ended up winning a unanimous two-round decision.
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There were high expectations for Casey heading into the bout and some were surprised at the result.
“Even when Kevin had his first offensive attack — he had him up against the cage, landed some good shots and then stopped and then just went up against the cage again — it almost feels like Hart broke him in this fight and he was never really in it the second round either,” said UFC president Dana White after the fight.
“He came out and looked like he was going to mount some kind of an offence and just shut down again and stopped. It’s almost like this guy quit and didn’t try to win the fight.”
Sonnen was also confused by Casey’s performance.
“I don’t know what happened, but we just never started fighting tonight,” Sonnen said of his fighter.
Despite the loss, Casey is still eligible for a wild card spot following the seven preliminary fights.
Meanwhile, Jones was thrilled about his fighter’s performance.
“The thing I was most excited about in this fight with Collin was he listened to the corner so well,” Jones said.
The win was Team Jones’ first of the season and gave Jones the ability to select the next matchup. Jones picked his Greg Jackson teammate Bubba McDaniel to take on Kelvin Gastelum.
On the next episode of TUF 17, McDaniel and Gastelum square off, Sonnen gives his fighters a lecture on why fighting with emotion does not help you win and he visits the TUF house to bond with his team.