The first episode of The Ultimate Fighter 19, a season that pits Frankie Edgar against BJ Penn, kicked off with the preliminary round of middleweights and light heavyweights winning to get into the house.
Former Cage Warriors welterweight champion Cathal Pendred (13-2-1), who is competing at middleweight on the show, was the lone fighter that got a bye into the house because all of his potential opponents were either injured or missed weight.
The first fight was a 205 pound bout between former NFL offensive linemen Tyler King (6-1) and four-time Bellator fighter Daniel Spohn (8-3). Spohn got the quick win, knocking out King in under ten seconds with a powerful right.
Up next was a middleweight fight that saw Hector Urbina (16-8) submitting Adrian Miles (14-5) in the first round with a guillotine choke. From the sound of the bell, Urbina pressured Miles, scored with a takedown on his second-effort, and eventually finished him.
Light Heavyweight Todd Monaghan (8-2) pulled off a come-from-behind victory over Jake Heun (5-3). After being beaten up by Heun for the majority of the first round, Monaghan was able to lock on a fight-ending armbar from his guard late in the first.
A pair of middleweight bouts took place next as Roger Zapata (4-1) earned a spot in the house by TKO’ing Tyler Minton (5-1) after controlling much of the fight, and inaugural Bellator welterweight champion Lyman Good (15-3) lost a convincing decision to Ian Stephens (4-0) after being dominated from a wrestling standpoint.
Chris Fields (8-4-1) joined his teammate Cathal Pendred in the house thanks to Josh Stansbury (4-2) suffering a freak injury. After Stansbury won the majority of the light heavyweight match-up, he injured his knee during a takedown. The injury ceased the bout.
Sticking in the 205 pound weight class, Anton Berzin (3-1) made short work of Cody Mumma (5-1), tripping him down to the ground, obtaining his back, and then transitioning into an armbar that elicited a tap from Mumma.
In the two middleweight fights that followed, Tim Williams (8-1) took advantage of a tired Bojan Velickovic (8-2) in the second round and eventually finished the fight on the feet early in the third, and Eddie Gordon (5-1), a teammate of Chris Weidman, flaunted his powerful striking against Matt Gabel (8-3), winning a two round decision.
John Poppie (3-1), who would have to quit his day job if he made it into the house, did in fact make into the house. The light heavyweight concluded a back-and-forth contest with Josh Clark (5-1) by submitting him in the third frame with an armbar.
One of the most intriguing light heavyweights, Doug Sparks (7-2), was unsuccessful. Patrick Walsh (4-1) cleaned him up fairly easily, ending the fight in the first with a kimura. Sparks was interesting because he is constantly wearing these polar bear ears because he believes that his mother was a polar bear.
Matt Van Buren (6-2) advanced to the next round of the light heavyweight bracket when he finished Daniel Vizcaya (7-2) in the first with elbows. Van Buren landed the barrage of elbows while Vizcaya attempted a takedown against the cage.
In a match-up of two light heavyweight wrestlers, Corey Anderson (3-0) outpointed Kelly Anundson (6-1) to win a decision. Although he was taken down in the early moments of the first frame, Anderson was able to battle back and score takedowns of his own to secure the victory.
Middleweight contestant Dhiego Lima (8-1), the brother of Bellator welterweight Douglas Lima, showcased his striking en route to winning a decision over Adam Stroup (5-1).
At 185 pounds, Nordine Taleb (9-2), who was on TUF Nations and actually won on the TUF Nations Finale earlier in the day, was in the last fight of the night against Mike King (5-0). King edged out Taleb after three hard fought rounds to win a close decision.
The show ended with Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn picking their teams, and Edgar won the coin toss and elected to pick first.
The light heavyweights that Edgar drafted (in order) were Corey Anderson, Patrick Walsh, Matt Van Buren, Daniel Spohn, and Todd Monaghan, and the middleweights that he chose (in order) were Ian Stephens, Dhiego Lima, Eddie Gordon, and Hector Urbina.
Penn’s picks at light heavyweight were Anton Berzin, Josh Clark, Daniel Spohn, and Chris Fields, and his middleweight selections were Mike King, Tim Williams, Cathal Pendred, and Roger Zapata.
Penn makes the fight selection, and the first middleweight quarterfinal will pit Cathal Pendred against Hector Urbina.