The lightweight semifinals continued on the latest episode of The Ultimate Fighter 31, which arrived Tuesday night following the debut of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 7.
The eleventh and penultimate episode of the season had Jason Knight fighting Kurt Holobaugh, a pair of UFC veterans who sounded game to face off, and share a beer after. The pair were supposed to fight ten years back, Knight revealed early in Tuesday’s episode, but the bout fell through.
We’re recapping each and every episode of The Ultimate Fighter 31 this year — this is your chance to turn back if you’re not up-to-date with the show!
Coach Michael Chandler is calling this fight “The Battle of the Bayou.” Holobaugh hails from Louisiana, while Knight is originally from Mississippi. Once again this week, Chandler says there’s going to be minimal cornering, since it’s teammate versus teammate.
“It’s never a dull moment when Jason Knight’s inside that octagon,” Knight says ahead of his semifinal fight.
Chandler sees the fight as being “so close,” calling it one of the most evenly matched fights they could have on TUF 31. Close on the ground, close on the feet. He notes Holobaugh’s power, however.
We then arrive at the coaches challenge, which is “cold plunge trivia.” Coaches Chandler and Conor McGregor have to sit in a cold plunge (ice bath) while answering trivia questions, in a competition hosted by Bruce Buffer. The contest is three rounds, with a fourth round in the event of a tie. Round one is general UFC history, round two is TUF trivia, and round three consists of questions pertaining to the coaches themselves. That round is worth double points; if anyone quits due to the cold, they lose.
Conor and Chandler both flub the first question (who did Mark Coleman beat to win the UFC 10 tournament?), they both nail the second question. Overall, McGregor’s UFC history proves sharper, and he wins the round 5-3. After round two, Conor is up 10-8, and the ice bath is starting to take its toll. Points are doubled in the final round, and it comes down to the final question for Conor: he either wins, or they go to the fourth round. Conor gets it! It might have been a guess, but he accurately selects the number of TKO wins on Chandler’s record.
Winning the coaches challenge, and getting his guys paid, McGregor is upbeat. Weigh-ins arrive, and Knight leads a little prayer in the face-off. He then gets to call home and announce that he’s in the semifinals.
When the semifinals arrive, it’s Team Chandler vs. Team Chandler, with McGregor watching as a spectator. Holobaugh presses the action, and right away, there are some really crisp exchanges. These two came to fight. A clinch sees Knight reverse along the fence, but he eats an elbow off the break, and Holobaugh backs him up to the other side of the octagon. Knight goes down off a caught kick, but Holobaugh opts to remain standing. A whole lotta action, and we’re just a minute in. Holobaugh connects with a right hand; Knight is already bloodied. Holobaugh mixes in a shot to the body. Another fierce exchange plays out. The only one doing any coaching is McGregor, who actually calls out to both guys at times. But for the most part it’s dead silence besides the time being called out.
As the round wears on, Holobaugh is pouring it on. Knight is taking a drubbing, but rips a high kick. The exchange that preceded it draws a warning from the ref for Knight having his fingers extended. The longer this goes on, the more you wish it was in front of a crowd.
No question, Holobaugh won the opening round. His corner is a little more reserved. “You probably won that round. Not by a lot, but you probably won,” they tell him. In the second, Holobaugh is right back on the attack, taking it to Knight, who fires a low kick. Then goes higher. Holobaugh’s accuracy is just plain better; Knight is hitting air, Holobaugh is hitting the mark. Knight starts ripping kicks from both sides, but Holobaugh has him hemmed in against the cage. He gets a clinch on, fires knees, but has to cover up as Knight returns fire. Near the midway mark, Knight is having a bit of a resurgence. But Holobaugh comes back, unloads, mixes in a knee, and tees off on Knight, who his backed up to the cage! Knight finally goes down, and a couple more strikes, punches and elbows, seal the deal for Holobaugh!
Calling the TKO win a dream come true, Holobaugh heads to the finals to take on Austin Hubbard. As for Knight, he needs a CT scan after taking some serious damage in the fight. “I’m not too upset about it, I lost to my buddy. I’m going back to the UFC with or without a win tonight,” says Knight.
One more TUF 31 episode to go!
