Another Monday means another episode of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 4. As always every Tuesday, here’s a recap of the latest from the TUF franchise.
What Happened:
Team Shogun’s Nazareno Malegarie finished Team Nogueira’s Andre “Dede” Ricardo late in the second round to advance to the lightweight semifinal, and the next bantamweight quarterfinal, between Team Nog’s Bruno “Bulldog” Silva and Team Shogun’s Dileno Lopes.
The Fight:
Nazareno Malegarie (27-3) had his way with Andre “Dede” Ricardo (3-1) throughout the fight, eventually putting Ricardo away with strikes late in the second.
In both rounds, Malegarie was able to score takedowns with little trouble, stay in the top position and landing ground and pound, specifically elbows. Prior to having success with his wrestling, Malegarie looked comfortable on the feet, pawing at Ricardo with a jab.
With less than a minute in the second round, Malegarie began to unload a flurry of ground strikes from half-guard and eventually back control until referee Jerin Valel stopped the fight.
It was a dominant, clear victory for Malegarie who looks to be one of the favorites to win the lightweight bracket. Both Ricardo and Malegarie were the first two lightweights drafted.
Next Week’s Fight:
The victory improved Team Shogun’s record to 2-0, and Rua maintained the right to pick the next fight. Shogun pitted his own bantamweight Dileno Lopes (14-1) against Bruno “Bulldog” Silva (8-2).
Other Notes:
– Andre Ricardo had his share of struggles on the episode. Firstly, he continued to deal with losing his pre-TUF training partner and mentor Anderson Silva as a coach on the show, and secondly, he had a tough weight cut. Still, Ricardo was able to make the lightweight limit thanks to Nogueira providing motivation by visiting the house and pushing him at the gym.
– The ring card girl for the episode’s fight was Cindy Laura. She’s 23 years old, Cuban and a model.
– Last episode, Team Shogun won the labyrinth challenge, so on this episode, they were able to enjoy their winnings. The fighters, along with the aspiring ring card girls, visited Mount Charleston and had fun in the snow. The highlights of this bit was Shogun Rua getting wiped out by a ring card girl as he went tubing down a hill, and Bruno Korea hitting it off with Jennifer Giacatto, one of the ring card girls, despite the fact that they don’t speak the same language.
– After the loss, Team Nogueira had a team meeting and resolved to be a better by team by being more enthusiastic, loud and supportive during fights.