TUF 12 Recap: Episode 9 Personal
The episode starts off with all the fights back at the house and things are looking tense now that the quarterfinals are set.
Training session time comes and Georges St-Pierre tells his team that training will change with less sparring now, as if this was a training camp. At team Koscheck the team works with Sako Chivitchian, who is facing Jonathon Brookins in the first quarterfinals. They are showing him how to avoid letting Brookins get his back how he did against fellow Armenian and teammate Sevak Magakian.
Quarterfinals Fight #1 – Jonathon Brookins vs. Sako Chivitchian.
The two fighters touch gloves and paw at each other to open up the fight. Brookins goes for a takedown but is stuffed by Sako, which puts Brookins against the cage. Brookins reverses and takes the fight to the ground with a very nice throw on the judoka fighter. As if a mirror image of his last fight, Brookins quickly takes the back of Sako and forces the fight back to the ground. With Brookins having his back against the cage and one hooked locked him Sako is in survival mode. Sako is using wrist control but is unable to prevent Brookins from locking in the left hook. Brookins lays back and flattens out Sako and with 2:54 left in the fight Sako is force to tap.
Jonathon Brookins advances to the semi-finals with a first round submission (rear naked choke)
Once again Dana White is impressed with how quickly Brookins finished the fight. Josh Koscheck thinks he just had deja vu, as this fight looked exactly the same to the Brookins Sevak fight.
At the house Nam Phan tries to get a little insight on Cody McKenzie prior to their fight, but he doesn’t get much out of him.
Quarterfinals Fight #2 – Nam Phan vs. Cody McKenzie
The bell rings and McKenzie rushes and grabs but is only able to get Phan to one knee. Phan gets up and they strike for a bit until McKenzie gets Phan against the fence and scores a takedown. The fight doesn’t stay down to long and Phan gets back up but McKenzie again puts Phan against the fence. McKenzie is completely controlling Phan against the cage landing with some dirty boxing and just not letting Phan get away from the clinch. The two finally break and Phan begins to turn the tide in the fight with his solid striking. McKenzie is getting beat hit pretty good and stumbles down but Phan tells him to get back up. As the round comes to an end McKenzie lands a few good kicks and again looks for the takedown.
Round two begins and McKenzie is looking very tired, but surprisingly he is landing some good jabs. Phan escapes another attempt by McKenzie to get him on the cage, but pays on the way out with a high kick that barely misses his jaw. McKenzie is throwing a lot of kicks one at a time, nothing in combination. At the halfway point in the round Phan seems to have found his range and begins to tee off on McKenzie, who is looking hurt. Phan lands a hard combo to the body of McKenzie that drops him like a ton of bricks. He moves in landing a right hand to the head of McKenzie before referee Josh Rosenthal steps in to stop the fight.
Nam Phan advances to the semi-finals with a second round TKO
Koscheck celebrates like a 10-year-old and rubs it in (of course) and says that it was the best day of the day, Cody talked shit and…… “Down goes McKenzie”
Thinking Koscheck could lose 30 times in a row, finally wins and would celebrate like he was dominating.
Next week:
- The final two quarterfinal fights
- Dana White announces the Semi-final fights
