The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 28 results, recap for ‘Whittaker vs Gastelum’ (Ep. 9)

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was back on FOX Sports 1 last night (Weds., Nov. 7, 2018) with episode nine of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 28, featuring a split cast of men’s heavyweights and women’s featherweights. Last week’s episode featured Team Gastelum’s Macy Chiasson stopping Team Whittaker’s Larissa Pacheco in women’s 145-pound action.

We kick things off with Maurice Greene being loud and belligerent and one of the assistant coaches is threatening to remove the booze from the house to protect Greene from himself. He’s already rubbed the rest of the heavyweights the wrong way and starts getting some lip from Anderson Da Silva. “Hennessy turns him ghetto,” according to Ben Sosoli. Greene has to be quarantined in a locker room to calm him down. Nobody wants to go back to the house because trouble awaits so Coach Whittaker brings dinner to the gym, help slow things down. Speaking of the house, Greene is gushing all over Marciea Allen and she’s in no mood for his drunken tomfoolery.

Coach Gastelum shows up at the house to throw a birthday party for Macy Chiasson, who got a bunch of balloons and a bottle of pricey tequila. Greene once again gets the “stop drinking and acting like an asshole” speech and Gastelum calls it a “bad representation of himself, as well as his team.” Good luck trying to reason with a drunk guy, though I reckon these replays will help sober him up. Greene starts getting weepy and then lumbers outside to start trouble with Da Silva. Some shouting ensues — mostly from Greene — but nobody leaves the hot tub to answer his call.

The next morning, it’s revealed that a bunch of fighters are going to get TUF 28 tattoos. They can’t seem to locate Allen, who is outside secluding herself from the group. She is starting to crack under the pressure and doesn’t want to be a part of the “unhealthy environment.” She threatens to quit the show and refuses to be around Greene. She even bought a ticket! He apologizes and promises to keep his distance and encourages her to stay and stick it out. After all her bellyaching, Allen decides to stay. The ink eventually gets done at Revolt Tattoos in Las Vegas. It says “TUF 28” inside an Octagon and is supposed to commemorate, as well as inspire.

Meh.

We finally get to some training and Batista is starting to work on his striking, which is kind of a waste since he’s an Olympian and wins his fights by way of superior ground game. The hope is that Team Whittaker will have a repeat of Cormier vs. Lewis at UFC 230. As for Frazier, he’s an outstanding wrestler in his own right, so he may be able to neutralize the attack or score some takedowns of his own. He also has power in his hands, which Team Gastelum believes will be the difference maker.

They have the weighs ins which is silly for heavyweights, but perhaps not as silly as the benches clapping for the poor schlub from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) who records the weights. Both guys easily make their mark.

Team Whittaker’s Michel Batista (4-0, 1 NC) vs. Team Gastelum’s Justin Frazier (8-2)

Round 1: Touch of gloves to get us started and Frazier is pawing the jab. Batista standing straight up with his chin high. Smart. Leg kick lands for Frazier, who taunts then lands another. And another. Batista doing nothing but walking backward and flinching. After about a minute of bobbing and weaving, Frazier rushes in with punches and lands clean. Batista collapses and the fight is called.

Final result: Frazier def. Batista by technical knockout

Here’s where we stand after episode nine:

Michel Batista vs. Justin Frazier
Julija Stoliarenko vs. Pannie Kianzad
Juan Espino vs. Maurice Greene
Leah Letson vs. Macy Chiasson

Stay tuned next week as Greene weeps and Julija Stoliarenko fights Pannie Kianzad!