The Ultimate Fighter 29 Episode 3: What Did You Miss?
The Ultimate Fighter 29 aired its third episode on Tuesday night. The third fight of the season was a middleweight bout between Ryder “The Rhino” Newman and Tresean Gore. A classic striker versus wrestler matchup, this fight was sure to be entertaining.
Newman’s fight prep was focused on striking to open up the takedown, and many of his combinations would lead to takedowns, either single or double-legged. You might think Gore’s fight prep would be based on striking only, but it was not. Gore and his coaches focused a lot on grappling, which they hoped would give him an advantage in the fight. If you think about it, a striker that defends wrestling well would beat a wrestler almost every time.
We also got to hear the stories of Gore and Newman. Gore tells the story of sleeping in his car outside the gym in the dead of winter, just hoping to get a shot to escape poverty and make the UFC roster. Newman, a Las Vegas native, has been a wrestler his whole life and was elite in high school and college before transitioning to the MMA scene and putting his skills on display there.
The Fight
Round 1: The fight began as I expected, as Gore was trying to set up some power shots and Newman was throwing overhand rights. In the first round, Gore ripped up Newman’s legs with beautifully placed outside leg kicks, and it was evident that Newman was feeling them. Gore defended the takedown well and won the round 10-9.
Round 2: Newman started Round 2 by shooting for a double-legged, but Gore was equal to the challenge and stuffed it. Gore controlled the round and landed some clean right hands, mixing up his strikes between hooks and jabs alongside additional outside leg kicks. Gore won both rounds and took the victory by unanimous decision, securing himself a spot in the semifinals.
Takeaways:
The Ultimate Fighter 29 episode three told me two things. First, Gore is an absolute monster inside the octagon. His striking is ridiculous and his wrestling is better than I expected. Two, Newman can take a shot. He took some clean right hands on the chin and did not blink. Overall, the fight was entertaining, but there was not nearly as much action as I predicted. Fight number four will be a bantamweight bout between Dustin Lampros and Vincent Murdock. Read the episode 1 recap here! Tune in next week for my recap of the episode!
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