Two fights. That's the way to do it.
Last night's episode of The Ultimate Fighter concluded with two more fighters advancing and completing the last half of the semifinals.
Corey Hill looked like he was going to overwhelm Team Pulver teammate Nate Diaz early on. Hill's reach and aggression looked like that would give him the edge, but Diaz regrouped on the ground and was able to sink in the triangle choke from his back in the first round.
The second fight featured Team Pulver's Manny Gamburyan vs. Team Penn's Matt Wiman. Like his first fight against Noah Thomas, Gamburyan came out looking to press the fight. The cameo by Karo Parisyan, Gamburyan's cousin, seemed to strengthen the Team Pulver fighter.
"No excuses," Wiman said, "but we didn't have the hammer the whole time. So for four weeks we just had to keep our weight down and we couldn't train because we were on three days notice...We couldn't train the way we wanted to, and I came ready to fight that day to the show. So basically, I tried to keep my peak for like four weeks. I was the last fight of the first round so I had to re-fight three, four days later, and 'Manvil' had three, four weeks to prepare for his next fight."
With Gamburyan earning top position and continually pushing the fight, the judges unanimously decided on Gamburyan as the winner.
"I had a bunch of opportunities to beat him," Wiman said. "I obviously didn't fight my fight and he did, so hat's off to him."
Here's where the teams stand after Episode 9:
Episode 1: Cole Miller caught Allen Berube with a triangle choke in the first round. (Team Pulver, 1-0)
Episode 2: Manny Gamburyan caught Noah Thomas with a kimura armlock in the first round. (Team Pulver, 2-0).
Episode 3: Nate Diaz defeated Rob Emerson via rear naked choke in the second round. (Team Pulver, 3-0).
Episode 4: Brandon Melendez defeated Andy Wang via unanimous decision. (Team Pulver, 4-0).
Episode 5: Gabe Ruediger eliminated due to a failure to make weight. (Team Pulver, 4-0).
Episode 6: Joe Lauzon defeated Brian Geraghty via rear naked choke in the first round. (Team Pulver, 4-1). Corey Hill wins by decision against Rob Emerson (Team Pulver, 5-1).
Episode 7: Gray Maynard wins by referee stoppage against Wayne Weems in the first round. (Team Pulver, 5-2). Matt Wiman defeated Marlon Sims via rear naked choke in the first round. (Team Pulver, 5-3).
Quarterfinals
Episode 8: Joe Lauzon defeated Cole Miller by referee stoppage in the second round. (Lauzon advances to the semifinals).
Episode 9: Gray Maynard defeated Brandon Melendez by submission due to a guillotine choke in the second round. (Maynard advances to the semifinals).
Episode 10: Nate Diaz defeated Corey Hill by submission due to a triangle choke in the first round. (Diaz advances to the semifinals). Manny Gamburyan won by unanimous decision against Matt Wiman. (Gamburyan advances to the semifinals).