‘TUF 20’ Recap: Episode 2

The second episode of “The Ultimate Fighter 20” opened with the women of Team Pettis taking a shot to celebrate Randa Markos’ victory over Tecia Torres in the season’s opening bout.

Anthony Pettis and his assistant coaches arrived at the house to celebrate with Markos and received “friendship bracelets” from Felice Herrig, who then went on to describe Sergio Pettis as cute but only 20 years old. Joanne Calderwood hit mitts with the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight titleholder and received some one-on-one time with her head coach. Pettis implored his fighter to compete more technically in her upcoming bout and make the fight come to her.

Jessica Penne became upset with the way Team Pettis practices were going, as she does not work well with being over-coached. Mainly focusing on the stopping and starting that goes on during training sessions, Penne voiced her concerns to Pettis, who understood where she was coming from and discussed it with her personally, resolving the issue.

Elsewhere, Heather Clark seemed to get on the nerves of some of her housemates. Bec Rawlings and Rose Namajunas discussed the situation with her, and Clark claimed she would work on it. Clark later requested that her teammates not talk with Team Pettis about what goes on at Team Melendez sparring sessions.

Gilbert Melendez told Emily Kagan to make her bout with Calderwood a dirty fight by staying in her face and utilizing her wrestling. Towards the end of training, Namajunas and Clark accidentally overshot the mat while grappling, opening a cut on Clark’s head and a creating a mouse underneath Namajunas’ eye. Melendez does not think the injuries will cause any problems when it is their turn to fight.

Herrig suggests a team meeting for the Pettis squad, as she, too, wants to address the idea of over-coaching. The women see having six coaches as a little bit of an issue. Pettis hears the team’s concerns and promises to evolve to create a more conducive learning environment. The women of Team Pettis then decide that every day a different team member is going to hang her panties on the Team Pettis sign. Herrig described this as a “bonding of the sisterhood.”

After all the shenanigans, attention turned to the fight between the No. 2-seeded Calderwood and 15th-ranked Kagan.

The opening round began slowly, with Calderwood taking the center of the Octagon as Kagan circled on the outside. Each time, Calderwood nullified the reach of her opponent. The scrap moved inside clinching distance, and Calderwood’s technical striking paid off with the judges as she scored regularly with stiff elbows and knees. The round seemed to be clearly in favor of the Scottish competitor.

Knees from Calderwood up along the fence made up the most significant early offense in the second round. Kagan managed to brush off a takedown attempt, but Calderwood shot again and took the fight to the mat. Calderwood went back to her elbows, but Kagan sensed danger and escaped. Calderwood transitioned to an armlock submission attempt, forcing Kagan to lift the 27-year-old Scot over her head and slam her to the mat; Calderwood continued wrenching the arm. She then moved into a triangle choke submission, with Kagan desperately trying to free her head. The round came to a close with Calderwood in control. The fight did not require a third round.

Calderwood was awarded a majority decision, giving Team Pettis control to pick the third fight of the season. Pettis chose Penne to face Lisa Ellis. The two women fought previously inside the Invicta Fighting Championships organization in 2012, with Penne stopping Ellis on third-round punches.