The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber: Episode 11 Review‏‏‏

Last week, Artem Lovov KO’d Chris Gruetzemacher and Saul Rogers outpointed Ryan Hall to advance to the semifinals.

This weeks episode will see Marcin Wrzosek (10-2) take on David Teymur (3-1), and Abner Lloveras (19-7-1) face Julian Erosa (14-2) to decide the last of the semifinal spots.

First up, it’s Wrzosek and Teymur.

Marcin Wrzosek (10-2) vs. David Teymur (3-1)
After a minute or so of range-finding action, the fighters begin to throw strikes with a bit more purpose. Right on the two minute mark, Teymur lands a left high-kick to the head of Wrzosek, but Wrzosek eats it and immediately counters with a crushing right hand that sees Teymur hit the deck. Teymur looks dazed and Wrzosek moves in for the finish. The Polish Zombie gets to side-control and starts landing strikes to Teymur’s head. The strikes are ineffective, however, and Teymur regains his senses and tries to scramble back to his feet. Wrzosek dumps the Swede back to the canvas, though, and works his way back to side-control. Teymur gets back to his feet only to immediately double-leg Wrzosek back to the mat. Some scrappy ground-and-pound ensues with both fighters landing shots. Wrzosek stands back up, and Teymur swings at him wildly with punches and knees, none of which land properly. There is a minute remaining now, and Teymur lands a stiff front-kick. The Swede then throws a high-kick that Wrzosek catches and uses to execute a takedown. Teymur stands back up, and there is some scrappy striking to see the round out.

A cagey opening 45 seconds is followed by a well-timed double-leg takedown from Teymur. Wrzosek almost springs back to his feet, but the Swede does well to hold him down. The Polish Zombie sits up and almost sweeps Teymur. He doesn’t quite execute the sweep but uses the space he created to back away. As Wrzosek backs out, Teymur grabs his head and tries to roll as if he’s going for an Anaconda choke. The move doesn’t end well for Teymur, as Wrzosek winds up on top in side-control and works his way to mount. After working from on top for a few seconds, Wrzosek gets swept. Teymur is in Wrzosek’s guard now but, as in the first round, neither fighter seems to have much to offer from this position. They are both landing scrappy strikes, and the action grinds to a halt, so the referee stands them up with two minutes remaining. Wrzosek takes it straight back to the mat, but Teymur works his way back to his feet again. A minute remains and they battle it out on the feet until the final seconds when The Polish Zombie executes one final takedown.

One judge scores it 19-19, the other two have it 20-18 for Wrzosek. The Polish Zombie becomes the third fighter to advance to teh semifinals.

Next up, it’s Lloveras and Erosa.

Abner Lloveras (19-7-1) vs. Julian Erosa (14-2)
The first minute of round two sees a fairly even battle on the feet. Lloveras has the cleaner hands and is throwing the harder shots. There is real power behind the Spaniard’s strikes and he is throwing his shots with accuracy. A little over a minute into the round, Lloveras shoots at Erosa’s legs. It takes him a few seconds, but he gets the American to the mat and establishes full mount. Lloveras spends about 90 seconds on top before ‘Juicy’ manages to kick off the cage and get back to his feet. Lloveras presses him against the fence, and unloads with elbows. Erosa moves away from the fence, but he is struggling with the aggression of Lloveras and is coming off second best in most of the stand-up exchanges as Round 1 comes to a close.

In the opening stages of Round 2, Erosa is using good movement and Lloveras appears to have slowed. Erosa’s unorthodox striking is beginning to outland his more seasoned opponent. The American is mixing up his striking nicely and is having success with the jab and the lead uppercut now. Lloveras is making use of his crisp Muay Thai technique to keep himself in the round. When Lloveras lands he is landing the harder strikes. Lloveras appears to be stinging the American, but then ‘Juicy’ lands a strike that has the Spaniard on queer street. Erosa moves in to finish and puts a beating on Lloveras over the final portion of the round. Lloveras survives, but we are almost certainly going to a decider here.

In the third and final round, ‘Juicy’ appears the fresher of the two fighters. He’s still moving well and is outlanding Lloveras in the early part of the round. Lloveras is throwing single strikes, as McGregor cries out for combinations from the side of the cage. Erosa is demonstrating impressive stamina as he continues to push the pace. Lloveras is landing the occasional jab which is keeping the American honest, but the tide has definitely turned in Erosa’s favour. By the final 90 seconds, Lloveras is desperate for the takedown but he is exhausted. ‘Juicy’ is defending the takedown and looking for space to tee off on his opponent each time. As the bell sounds, both fighters raise their hands, but that was definitely Erosa’s round.

One judge scores the deciding round for Lloveras, but justice is done as the other two officials give Erosa the nod. ‘Juicy’ advances and Faber breathes a sigh of relief; at least he has one dog in the fight entering the semifinals.

Dana White announces the semifinal matchups and they are as follows:

SF1: Saul Rogers (10-1) vs. Marcin Wrzosek (10-2)
SF2: Artem Lobov (11-10-1) vs. Julian Erosa (14-2)

Check back in with SevereMMA.com next week to see which two fighters make the finale.