Episode No. 1 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia’
“The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia†opens with a fresh introduction package featuring UFC TUF Nations: Team Canada v Team Australia Media Day PortraitsPresident Dana White and the season’s contestants discussing the importance of not only winning the show, but representing their respective countries well.
The fighters from both teams, as well as Team Canada head coach Patrick Cote and Team Australia leader Kyle Noke, enter the “TUF†gym for the first time. The brand new facility is located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
Coach Noke flips the traditional coin toss to start the season and determine which team will pick the first matchup of the season. Team Canada wins the coin toss, and Cote states the fight announcement will come later in the episode.
Per the norm, $25,000 bonuses will be given out at the end of the season for the best fight, knockout and submission. Moreover, any fighter to earn a finish during the eight-man welterweight and middleweight tournaments will be awarded a $5,000 bonus.
In the locker rooms, both coaches give motivational speeches to their respective teams. As former contestants on the reality show, Cote and Note are able to call on previous experiences to provide advice.
The fighters depart for the “TUF†house for the very first time. The house has a distinctly Canadian feel, as the structure is made almost entirely of wood and is located in a remote area of Quebec City.
Later on, Team Canada coach Cote announces the first fight of the season: Team Canada’s Kajan Johnson, who coach Cote says requested to take part in the first fight, will go to battle with Team Australia’s Brendan O’Reilly.
At the next Team Canada training session, coach Cote applauds his team’s cohesiveness and stresses the importance of representing Canada in a positive light throughout the season.
Johnson claims he has several injuries going into his upcoming match with O’Reilly, but emphatically states, “Even injured, I’m more dangerous than anybody else here.â€
We move on to weigh-ins, where Johnson and O’Reilly come in under the 170-pound welterweight limit, making their fight official.
TEAM CANADA’S KAJAN JOHNSON (19-10-1) VS. TEAM AUSTRALIA’S BRENDAN O’REILLY (5-0)
Round 1 – Referee Yves Lavigne oversees the fight. O’Reilly comes forward with an early takedown attempt that is briefly avoided by Johnson. O’Reilly continues his pursuit and gets the Canadian’s back pushed against the cage, where he completes a takedown. Johnson returns to his feet, but O’Reilly switches to a body lock and proceeds to take Johnson for a ride. Johnson is quick to work for a leg lock from the bottom that has O’Reilly in trouble. Johnson turns the submission attempt into a sweep to get back to his feet. Johnson now takes O’Reilly to the ground and transitions to the back. O’Reilly is bleeding badly as the result of an elbow, but he stands up and moves to the cage with Johnson on his back. Johnson lets go of the position and moves back into striking distance. Both men are throwing heavy shots, and O’Reilly shoots for another sloppy takedown. Johnson sees it coming from far away and again takes O’Reilly’s back. Johnson works for another rear-naked choke, and this time he has his hooks in. After a brief struggle, O’Reilly has no choice but to tap out.
Kajan Johnson def. Brendan O’Reilly via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1
Johnson celebrates the victory with his teammates and takes time to reflect on his performance, which moves him into the semifinal round of the welterweight bracket.
Team Canada retains control of fight selection going into the next round. Coach Cote wastes no time announcing the fight. In the first middleweight fight of the season, Team Canada’s Elias Theodorou (8-0) will look to keep his team undefeated against Team Australia’s Zein Saliba (4-0).
Catch new episodes of “The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia†every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) on FOX Sports 1. MMAjunkie recaps each episode of the reality series.
