For the first time in UFC history, there will be a Canadian winner of The Ultimate Fighter.
London, Ont.’s Chad Laprise had won his semifinal bout with a vicious knockout of teammate Kajan Johnson and if Team Canada’s Olivier Aubin-Mercier beat Australia’s Richard Walsh in the other TUF Nations welterweight semifinal, we’d be guaranteed a Canada vs Canada finale.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Watch TUF Nations every Wednesday at 10 p.m. EST on Sportsnet 360 and visit sportsnet.ca for weekly recaps and blogs
Mercier is 4-0 as a pro and considered one of the top prospects fighting out of Tristar Gym in Montreal. He controlled Jake Matthews in the quarter-finals en route to a unanimous decision win and a berth in the semis.
Walsh, like many of the Aussie’s that came to Quebec for the filming of TUF Nations, is a tough, aggressive fighter that has room to improve on the ground.
With a spot against Laprise in the finals on the line, the two 24-year-olds let loose.
THE FIGHT
Walsh backed Mercier up early, landing some impactful leg kicks and firing off his straight right hand. Mercier stayed poised and shot in for a takedown 90 seconds into the first round. Walsh attempted to defend along the cage, however Mercier took his back and quickly locked in a rear-naked choke — the same move he has finished all four of his pro fights with.
“Everything went pretty well but he exploited my knee,” Mercier said after the fight. “He hit me a lot on the knee, so that’s why I choked him out. To avenge myself and to make him suffer.”
Despite the dominant win, Mercier kept a cool head because he knows he hasn’t reached his goal yet.
“Yes I won. Super. But the thing is, I see it as the first step to winning the big show,” Mercier said. “I still have a lot more to do. I actually have more homework now than I had before.”
The result didn’t surprise the members of Team Canada.
“When he put one hook in, we were like ‘maybe it’s just a matter of time’ because when he takes the back he’s really, really, good and that’s exactly what happened,” Canadian coach Patrick Cote said. “He got the rear-naked choke and that’s his signature move.”
Speaking of choking, that’s how Walsh described his performance.
“I choked. That’s it,” a disheartened Walsh explained. “He was one-dimensional. That’s what I knew what he was going to do. I relaxed too much and took my foot off the gas for a second and got caught. I was thinking about something else. It was a matter of being stupid. I didn’t defend the choke; I didn’t scramble up to my feet; I got too comfortable. Credit to him, he’s good at jiu-jitsu. I just got caught.”
Barring any injuries, Mercier will fight Laprise at the live finale April 16 in Quebec City where one of them will be crowned the first Canadian TUF winner. It’s expected to be announced within the next week or so whether or not Walsh will also compete on the card.
OUTSIDE THE OCTAGON
Coaches turn outdoorsmen
In the traditional TUF coaches’ challenge, Patrick Cote and Kyle Noke went head-to-head in a lumberjack competition with $20,000 on the line.
Cote won an axe throw contest, Noke was the better crossbow shooter, but it was Cote’s wood-sawing ability that earned him the win and the money.
On the next episode
Canadian Sheldon Westcott takes on Vik Grujic in the second middleweight semifinal. The winner will move on to fight Elias Theodorou at the live finale.
Also, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre makes a guest appearance much to the delight of fighters on both teams.