Eduardo Perez took care of business against the oldest competitor in the history of The Ultimate Fighter.
Team Amanda Nunes’ No. 1 pick showed off his all-around game against a gutsy Bobby Maximus, eventually putting him away with fierce ground-and-pound before the end of Round 1.
Early on, Maximus controlled the larger Perez with his wrestling (there was a near 30-pound weight difference with the 6-foot-5 Perez coming in at the heavyweight limit of 266 pounds and Maximus coming in at 237 pounds) and landed plenty of ground strikes of his own, but Perez stayed patient and worked his way back to the feet until he could create separation. Perez sliced Maximus up with his jab and later reversed a takedown attempt before going to work with heavy strikes from top position. Referee Mike Beltran gave Maximus time to fight back, but had to wave off the bout at the 3:58 mark.
It was an impressive performance for Perez (4-1), an American Kickboxing Academy product that is one of the favorites to win the TUF 30 heavyweight tournament. He advances to the semifinals with the win.
At 43, Maximus (5-4)* set a record as the oldest fighter ever to appear on TUF. The Canadian fighter expressed frustration following the loss, his first fight since 2009. Maximus stated that he had been satisfied with the experience and wanted to show that he can still fight at the UFC. He went 1-2 in his first stint with the promotion back in 2006, scoring a first-round submission win over Kris Rotharmel.
With the loss, Julianna Pena’s team sees their lead in the series drop to 3-2. Pena chose Pena as her No. 2 flyweight pick Juliana Miller (2-1) to fight Team Nunes’ No. 1 pick, Claire Guthrie (3-1). This matchup is full of drama, as Guthrie has previously lost Miller to professional losses. Miller was also concerned about Maximus’ friendship with Guthrie, her teammate Brogan Walker, and this led to Miller becoming worried that Maximus might share Team Pena secrets.
Also on this episode, Team Nunes heavyweight Chandler Cole suffered an elbow injury in training. The injury to his elbow was confirmed as a UCL tear (ulnar collateral ligament). However, he was advised that it would take some time for the injury to heal and that he can compete if he has been cleared by medical.
Here’s the first round :
Zac Pauga def. Nyle Bartling via unanimous decision
Kaytlin Neil def. Helen Peralta via split decision
Mohammed Usman def. Mitchell Sipe via unanimous decision
Laura Gallardo def. Kathryn Paprocki via majority judgment
Eduardo Perez def. Bobby Maximus via TKO (strikes) (R1, 3:58)
On next week’s episode, Team Pena’s Juliana Miller fights Team Nunes’ Claire Guthrie in a flyweight bout.
(*TUF fights are treated as exhibitions. The )
results do not affect fighters’ records.
Season 30 of The Ultimate Fighter is being coached by UFC bantamweight champion Julianna Pena and UFC featherweight champion Amanda Nunes. Pena defends her title against Nunes in a rematch that serves as the main event of UFC 277 on July 30 in Dallas.
The finalists of the TUF 30 heavyweight and flyweight tournaments will compete for a six-figure UFC contract at a finale event with a date still to be announced.
Exclusively on ESPN+, every Monday at midnight new episodes air.
Here is the TUF 30 roster divided by team:
Team Nunes
Heavyweights
Nyle Bartling
Chandler Cole
Eduardo Perez
Mitchell Sipe
Flyweights
Claire Guthrie
Kaytlin Neil
Kathryn Paprocki
Brogan Walker
Team Pena
Heavyweights
Jordan Heiderman
Bobby Maximus
Zac Pauga
Mohammed Usman
Flyweights
Chantel Coates
Laura Gallardo*
Hannah Guy
Juliana Miller
Helen Peralta
*replacement for Chantel Coates
Advancing to semifinals: Pauga, Neil, Usman, Gallardo, Perez
Eliminated: Bartling, Peralta, Sipe, Coates, Paprocki, Maximus
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