‘TUF 25’ Recap: Episode 2

Episode 2 begins with coaches Cody Garbrandt and T.J. Dillashaw in each other’s faces during last week’s fight announcement for Eddie Gordon and Tom Gallicchio. The hostility continues into the hallway when Garbrandt’s real-life head coach Urijah Faber joins in with “No Love” in Team Dillashaw’s warm-up room. Faber and Garbrandt accuse Dillashaw of being a traitor for leaving for Duane Ludwig’s gym in Colorado and they nearly come to blows. Dillashaw gives his side of the story and Faber calls him a liar. Needless to say, these guys won’t be exchanging Christmas gifts anytime soon.

After the opening scene concludes, it’s time for Gordon and his redemption story. “Truck” won Season 19 of “TUF” and highlights of his triumph over Dhiego Lima are prominently shown. However, things turned sour for Gordon as soon as his Ultimate Fighting Championship career began as his first post-TUF 19 fight against the late Josh Samman was a disaster; he was head-kicked into oblivion. Two more losses followed and Gordon was out of the UFC, so here he is, back in the house, looking to redeem himself.

Up next, Team Dillashaw is out at Mexican restaurant Lindo Michoacan for Lima’s birthday. TUF 22’s Gallicchio is happy about the food but he has to watch what he eats because he’ll be fighting by show’s end. From there, Gallicchio’s highlights from his show follow, which relive his disappointing loss to Marcin Wrzosek. From there, his home videos from Temecula display him struggling to start his motorcycle and he chronicles the surgeries he’s had and how crummy his post-TUF life has turned out. He’s sick of being broke but he seems to enjoy the work he does with his candy vending machine business that he owns called KO Kandy.

After a commercial break, it’s back to Gordon and his home videos. In it, he’s changing diapers, cooking dinner and detailing how he was a Jamaican immigrant who moved to New York at age three. He owns a weight-loss coffee business and he’s able to work from home and train more than most struggling fighters, which is a blessing.

Both men weigh-in on point after their respective training segments. UFC President Dana White is intrigued to see how Gordon does because of how high he and the rest of the UFC brass were on him when he torched Lima in the TUF 19 finals, only to see him lose three straight and be released.

Finally, it’s fight time and both men are pumped up; Gordon says it’s the best he’s ever felt going into a fight. “Big” John McCarthy is the ref for this battle. Gallicchio opens the duel with a kick to the body, but Gordon is more than willing to bang with him. A sweeping overhand right from Gordon finds its mark, but Gallicchio shrugs it off. A pair of hard rights to the jaw rattle Gallicchio, but he recovers quickly and fires back. Twice the Californian tries to clinch, but Gordon shakes him off easily and pops him with punches to the grill. At the midway point of the frame, “Da Tank” shoots in and scores a single-leg, eventually moving toward the base of the cage. “Truck” rolls over to stand up, but Gallicchio is on his back in the blink of an eye, fishing for the rear-naked choke. Gordon stands up against the cage, but his taller foe remains attached to him. Gallicchio slinks his left forearm under Gordon’s chin and it’s deep. Gordon panics and begins prying the arms away but he can’t, so he does the unthinkable and begins trying to pry Gallicchio’s feet, which is a recipe for disaster. It’s not long before Gallicchio falls onto his back and locks up the choke, forcing the surprising tap and pulling off what might be the biggest upset of the season.

After the usual yin-yang of emotions for the winning and losing teams, both units are back in the hallway. As expected, “No Love” and Faber are mouthing off to Dillashaw ahead of the next fight announcement. The whole scenario of how Dillashaw left Team Alpha Male for Ludwig is the genesis of the bickering again, but Dillashaw cuts it short by announcing that his own Jesse Taylor will be fighting Garbrandt’s Mehdi Baghdad next week.