Neil Magny defeated his Team Carwin teammate Bristol Marunde and Team Nelson’s Colton Smith got by Team Carwin’s Igor Araujo on episode 10 of The Ultimate Fighter 16.
Magny and Marunde went back and forth for two rounds but the judges gave both stanzas to Magny.
“It feels like I’m in a dream still, feels like I haven’t woken up from the dream,” Magny said after the fight. “I’ve seen this moment so many times, for me to be actually living it now; it just seems unreal for the moment.”
Even though he lost, Marunde felt good about his performance. “I feel great,” Marunde said. “I did exactly what Dana told us to do. Go for the knockout, go for the finish, and I just went for it. Maybe I’m out of the tournament, but I’m not out of the game.”
Watch new episodes of The Ultimate Fighter 16 every Friday night on Sportsnet and get weekly recaps on Sportsnet.ca.
The Smith-Araujo fight wasn’t quite as close, as Smith dominated most of the action en route to a two-round decision win.
“I remember back when I first auditioned for this show, something like 4,000 applicants, 500 people went to tryouts, 32 made it to fight, 16 made it into the house, and now I’m down to the final four — that’s amazing,” Smith said. “It feels great to be in the final four and to be in the semi-finals. Dreams are coming true right before my eyes. And whoever’s next, I’m ready to go.”
Araujo, the only Brazilian in the house, was disappointed in the way he fought. “I lost my fire,” Araujo said. “This morning I had a dream that my wife and my two kids were hugging me and telling me ‘it doesn’t matter what, we love you.’ Marianna, Renzo, David, I’m sorry, I gave my best but I’m nothing, nothing without you guys.”
With the wins, Magny and Smith advanced to the semifinals.
On the next episode of TUF 16, quarterfinal action continues as Team Nelson teammates Joey Rivera and Jon Manley fight and tension builds between Canadians Michal Hill and Mike Ricci before their fight.
Then UFC president Dana White will announce both semifinal matchups.
