While Episode 5 of The Ultimate Fighter 30 was entitled Face the Boogeyman, Tony Ferguson was nowhere in sight.
That was instead a reference to Eduardo Perez, set to face Bobby Maximus on the show.
“I’m bigger, I’m badder, I’m stronger, I’m more capable,” 43-year old heavyweight Maximus proclaimed during the show’s cold open. It was Maximus (real name Rob MacDonald), an Ultimate Fighter 2 veteran, taking center stage in the episode.
Kathryn Paprocki, who fell short on the women’s flyweight side last week, showed the first sign of dissent on either team when she questioned the approach of her coaches. While saying she admired Amanda Nunes and her assistant coaches, “they don’t work with me,” said Paprocki. With her coaches telling her not to throw knees, or kick, in certain situations, “I’m also like scared to do things.”
“I just don’t like that the game plan focused on her, and you can’t fight well when you’re focused on somebody else,” she added.
Eduardo Perez, up against Maximus this week, chuckled when he learned that Bobby Maximus was choked out in his last UFC fight. “Are you serious?”
Ahead of his showdown with the much older veteran, Perez said that he wants to show “what I can do in the UFC, and what I’m made out of.” He’s the heavy favorite, given Maximus was picked last when teams were selected.
Maximus, meanwhile, explained why he walked away from fighting in 2009. “I didn’t feel I could be the father I wanted to be, and fight at the same time,” he said, noting that his son was born that same year. He made the choice to be a father, and that’s still his number one job. But he’s back to give the UFC another go, and believes his age is actually an advantage. “I’m anything but your typical 43-year old. I’m one of the fittest guys on the planet, and I’m ready for this.”
Maximus also spent time working with some of the show’s flyweights, sharing his sports psychology knowledge. Unfortunately, he’s helping fighters on the other team, which has earned him the scorn of teammate Juliana Miller.
Chandler Cole, a teammate of Perez on Team Nunes, suffers a bicep tear during training — but the doctor says he should be able to fight, though he’ll need to take it easy in terms of the injured arm.
The Ultimate Fighter 30 Episode: Perez vs. Maximus
You knew from the outset that this fight wasn’t going the distance, given it kicked off with all of about 10 minutes left in the episode. The question was, could Maximus defeat both “The Boogeyman” and Father Time?
In short, no, though Maximus made a go of it.
Maximus scored first, landing an early takedown, but it didn’t take long for the much heavier Perez to get back up. When they went down again, Maximus was again on top, in mount and landing ground n’ pound. Maximus threatened with a choke, but didn’t have his hooks in, and Perez made it back up. He landed a punch in the clinch, then a knee, as they worked against the cage. A heavier knee to the body had Maximus shooting wild, and he ate a couple of shots upstairs. Perez sprawled on the next takedown attempt, and landed a few punches while in control. Back on the feet, Maximus was bloodied, but closed the distance again.
On his next takedown attempt, a clearly winded Maximus gave up his back. Perez made it to half guard, and began dropping ground n’ pound. Maximus fought hands for a bit, but too much was getting through, and the ref called it!
Official Result: Eduardo Perez def. Bobby Maximus by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 1, 3:58
Next week, it’s Juliana Miller up against Claire Gutherie. The girls have history: Gutherie has a win over Miller. It was Miller’s first loss as a pro, and she feels Gutherie might be underestimating her.
