UFC president Dana White calls a meeting with Michael Bisbing and Dan Henderson to decide what the semi-final match ups will be.
TUF Semi Final Fight Announcements
White asks them what they think of having the teammates fight each other, thereby ensuring the finals are one US fighter versus one UK fighter. Both coaches object strenuously.
The semi-final fights are announced. The welterweight match ups are Nick Osipczak vs. Damarques Johnson, and Andre Winner vs. Cameron Dollar. In the lightweight division, Ross Pearson will take on Jason Dent, while James Wilks and Frank Lester will have a rematch.
During training the next day Henderson confronts Jason Pierce about rumours that he is sharing training secrets with Team UK and reminds Pierce that he is still a member of Team US. Pierce denies the allegations. Osipczak confirms during an interview segment that Dave Faulkner is giving him information on Johnson’s training, which came from Pierce.
Osipczak Vs Johnson
The match begins with both men trading punches and kicks. Johnson lands a hard left-right combo, and gets the better of the exchanges as they lock up in the clinch. Johnson takes Osipczak down but he gets up again after some decent offense, and the two are back to trading on their feet.
Osipczak misses with a kick to the face. Johnson, overall, is busier and landing more blows. Just under the three minute mark the fight goes to the mat. Osipczak prevents Johnson from gaining control and lands some good elbows.
Both fighters are back to their feet with 30 seconds left in the round. Osipczak rocks Johnson with some good punches and the two finish the round trading blows back and forth. Johnson’s face is bloody as the horn blows.
Round two starts with both fighters standing and trading. Osipczak is rocked by a knee from Johnson. Both fighters look tired, but Johnson is still controlling more of the fight.
Osipczak takes Johnson down but Johnson gets the side mount where he lands some good punches and elbows. He looks for full mount but Osipczak does a good job preventing him from gaining full control. Johnson goes back to side mount, then looks for full mount again, this time successfully. Osipczak fails to guard and Johnson again lands elbows and punches, with Osipczak only covering and turning to give Johnson his back.
After two “back of the head” warnings, referee Herb Dean threatens to stop the match as Johnson continues to land unanswered blows. Osipczak is saved by the horn.
Johnson continues to look stronger as round three starts off, though Osipczak does land some good kicks and punches. Johnson staggers Osipczak and follows up with some strong punches and a knee to the head.
With Osipczak looking very tired, Johnson catches one of his kicks and takes him down just under the three-minute mark. While Johnson still cannot pass guard, Osipczak in not busy enough from the bottom and Johnson lands more elbows and punches.
Osipczak uses the cage to flip himself over, but just winds up giving Johnson his back again, though he quickly recovers and gains full mount. Osipczak fails to press the advantage, allowing Johnson to answer his shots from the bottom to the end of the round. The match is awarded to Johnson by unanimous decision.
“It’s What Fighting is All About”
After the match, Bisbing goes over to congratulate Johnson, and praises Osipczak for putting up a good fight. “(After the second round) he took some punishment. As we’ve seen, to get up after a beating like that and go out for a third round can be difficult. Not naming names.”
Dana White said, “Nick literally rocked Damarques, has him hurt bad. Damarques snaps out of it and these two literally stand toe to toe and start just banging each other at the end of (round one). I’m jumping up out of my seat; the fighters are all going crazy, the crew that works on this show is going crazy. It’s one of those moments in a fight where two guys are just doggin’ it out, going at it. The end of that round is what fighting is all about. It was awesome.”
Lainee Hayward - Lainee writes in many genres, including poetry, short fiction, novels and films, as well as editing the works of others. She started ...
