TUF 12 Episode Seven Recap

After the official announcement of the Dane Sayers-Sako Chivitchian bout, it is revealed that Team GSP’s Spencer Paige is out of the running for the Wild Card bout after breaking his right hand in his loss to Nam Phan. The injury and his subsequent surgery will keep him in a cast for three months.

“It sucks that I’m out,” said Paige, “but everything happens for a reason.”

That leaves Team Koscheck’s Jeff Lentz, Marc Stevens, Sevak Magakian, Andy Main, and Aaron Wilkinson as the current candidates for the Wild Card bout.

Meanwhile, back in the gym, Koscheck continues his poking and prodding of Team GSP, now turning his attention to team medic Brad Tate, but then it’s off to the baseball diamond at Las Vegas’ Cashman Field for the traditional Coaches’ Challenge. This time, it’s a batting contest between Koscheck and St-Pierre for $10,000, with each member of the winning team earning $1,500.

Koscheck blasts out of the gate fast, with seven runs in the first inning to GSP’s three. Kos is even more impressive in inning number two with nine runs, but GSP, who had never swung a bat before this competition, puts seven runs on the board, closing the gap to 16-10 with one inning remaining. Koscheck closes the show in style though, with 18 runs to St-Pierre’s 0, and he emerges victorious 34-10.

“Georges, what happened today on this baseball field, get used to it,” said Koscheck. “Because come December, you’re gonna have the same feeling. Swing and a miss, swing and a miss again, BAP, I crack a home run. Lights out.”

Now it’s time for Koscheck’s win to translate to his team, and Chivitchian is motivated to do the job. It’s Sayers who draws first blood though as he sinks in a guillotine choke after a Chivitchian takedown attempt. After a few moments, Chivitchian escapes and starts firing ground strikes at his foe. Sayers fights his way back to his feet, but he remains pinned to the fence. With 3:25 left, Sayers breaks loose, but Chivitchian remains the aggressor with the exception of a late takedown attempt from the Team GSP member.

Chivitchian opens the second with a throw to the mat, some striking when Sayers gets up, and another takedown followed by ground strikes, making it clear that he wants to finish the fight strong. With three minutes left, Sayers is able to scramble to his feet, but Chivitchian continues to pressure him and keep him locked up against the fence. Eventually, Sayers reverses position and almost gets a takedown, but Chivitchian grabs the fence, drawing a warning from referee Josh Rosenthal. From there, Chivitchian simply keeps Sayers pinned, securing the unanimous decision win for the Armenian battler.

Sayers is still alive in consideration for the Wild Card bout, and now it’s time for GSP, Koscheck and UFC President Dana White to decide who will get a second shot at staying in the competition. And the winners are…Aaron Wilkinson and Marc Stevens.

With Chivitchian’s win, Team GSP finishes up the prelims at 6-1. Here’s how the teams look:

Team GSP
Michael Johnson 1-0
Jonathan Brookins 1-0
Spencer Paige – Eliminated on episode five by Nam Phan
Alex Caceres 1-0
Kyle Watson 1-0
Cody McKenzie 1-0
Dane Sayers – Eliminated on episode seven by Sako Chivitchian

Team Koscheck
Marc Stevens – Eliminated on episode six by Cody McKenzie
Sevak Magakian – Eliminated on episode six by Jonathan Brookins
Sako Chivitchian 1-0
Andrew Main – Eliminated on episode four by Kyle Watson
Nam Phan 1-0
Aaron Wilkinson – Eliminated on episode three by Michael Johnson
Jeffrey Lentz – Eliminated on episode two by Alex Caceres

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