The theme of opposing contestants on the show bonding after fighting one another continued at the start of the sixth episode of The Ultimate Fighter Nations with Australia’s Richard Walsh and Canada’s Matt Desroches discussing their fight.
Team Canada’s Chad Laprise then put up open challenge on the refrigerator for Walsh. He penned a faux-UFC contract challenging the Australian to a match-up int he semifinals. Walsh declined the offer, passively, because he was more interested in fighting Laprise’s teammate, Kajan Johnson.
Sheldon Westcott, who fought Australia’s Dan Kelly, later on in the show, had his banged up right knee checked on prior to his fight, and he received approval to compete.
What followed that was a quick segment on Jake Matthews, a promising, 19-year-old welterweight prospect on Team Australia. Matthews was sluggish in one of the training sessions because of a stomach bug, and Israel Martinez, a coach for Team Australia, tried to get the “young buck” fired up and toughen him mentally.
Then a pair of profiles on Sheldon Wescott and Dan Kelly were shown to hype up their bout and familiarize the audience with the two middleweights.
Wescott talked about how he was trying to maximize each day while he’s in this competition. A tiny bit was also shown of Wescott working on his jab with Canadian coach Fabio Holanda.
Dan Kelly’s story was a bit more personal. The four-time Olympian at judo discussed his competitive spirt and also went into one of the biggest inspirations in his career, his son. Dan Kelly’s son is suffering from stenosis, and Kelly talked about how it his responsibility to provide for his son and that this sport could be a perfect avenue for his goals both inside and outside the realm of competition.
Both fighters made the weight limit for the middleweight bout with no issues.
Before the contest, the fighters were treated to a viewing of UFC 167 at The Ultimate Fighter house. A lot of Canadians train George St. Pierre and Rory MacDonald, so they had a vested interest in watching their training partners and fellow countrymen compete.
The fight between Sheldon Westcott and Dan Kelly didn’t take long. Wescott immediately grabbed the back of Dan Kelly, wrestled him down from the clinch, and locked on a fight-ending arm triangle submission.
After the fight, Kelly was dejected and injured. His right knee was aggravated in the fight, so he went to the hospital following the bout. No more information on how significant of an injury that Kelly suffered was released on the episode.
Also following the contest, some of Team Australia heard a few of the Canadian fighters saying unsportsmanlike comments about Kelly such as saying that he was “done.” Zein Saliba ended up confronting Elias Theodorou, but the situation was resolved as Theodorou was apologetic.
Finally, the last welterweight fight in the opening round was announced. Team Australia’s Jake Matthews will take on Team Canada’s Olivier Aubin-Mercier on the next episode of The Ultimate Fighter Nations.