After being defeated, brought back, and defeated again on The Ultimate Fighter 27, John Gunther managed to come out victorious in his UFC debut on Friday.
If any one fighter stood out on The Ultimate Fighter 27 beyond Luis Pena (a.k.a. Violent Bob Ross) in terms of character, it may just have been John Gunther. Gunther was that weird, wacky character who organized the house talent show — and it turned out to be a lot of fun to watch. Add in Alpaca calls and a raft built from water bottles, and Gunther may have been one of the zaniest characters to come out of the show.
On Friday, however, his focus was solely on TUF 27 cast mate Allan Zuniga. Their lightweight scrap was second in on the TUF 27 Finale’s televised preliminary card.
Gunther worked from the outside early, and when opportunity presented itself, pressed Zuniga into the fence, looking for a takedown. Zuniga would fight him off for a time, but Gunther would complete the double leg. He could not, however, make much happen; Zuniga muscled back up, only to be taken back down. That would repeat, but on the next takedown, Gunther was able to trap the legs and work in some ground n’ pound. He’d control the majority of the frame; back on the feet late, he’d add in a spinning back elbow for good measure.
Round two once again saw Gunther in control. By the ninety second mark, he had the back of Zuniga, looking for a choke. Zuniga would force his way to his feet, but was struggling to find an opening for any offense whatsoever. That would finally change with roughly two minutes left in the frame, as the pair exchanged briefly on the feet. Yet again, however, John Gunther initiated a clinch. Another takedown followed, and he again trapped Zuniga’s legs. Heading to the third, Zuniga clearly needed a finish.
Allan Zuniga opened round three with a body-head combination, and managed to slip a takedown attempt. Fatigue was likely to play a factor, however, and Gunther soon used a trip to drag his opponent to the canvas. They’d spend a little more time standing in the third, and Zuniga would swing away in the dying seconds, but ultimately, it would go the distance, and the winner was never in question. In fact the biggest surprise was a 28-28 score by one judge.
John Gunther def. Allan Zuniga by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
