Episode No. 2 recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter 22: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber'

Urijah Faber and Conor McGregor

Episode No. 2 of “The Ultimate Fighter 22: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber” opens with coach Conor McGregor meeting with his team of European fighters after they won their respective bouts to earn a place on the show.

McGregor addresses the team and reveals his strategy for the season. The interim featherweight champ says he doesn’t feel a responsibility to coach anyone, but rather provide the team with the best mental and physical conditions possible to win fights.

“You are all on your own journey in this, but find comfort with the situation you’re in.” McGregor says. “The Europeans have had it tougher. We’ve had a harder road to get here.”

Fighters from both teams arrive at the “TUF” house for the first time and begin the process of moving in.

Within just hours, a rivalry between the U.S. and European teams begins to form. Athletes on both teams say they’re not impressed with the depth of the other side and are already confident ahead of the upcoming bouts.

On the first day of training, Team U.S. head coach Urijah Faber takes a different approach than McGregor. He plans to be more hands-on and says everyone on the team must contribute in order to find successful results.

UFC President Dana White visits the “TUF” gym for a special announcement. He reveals each coach will be granted the opportunity to bring one fighter back who was nixed in the elimination round of fights to make the “TUF 22” cast.

Artem Lobov, a good friend and training partner of McGregor in his native Ireland, is unsurprisingly selected to join Team McGregor. Team Faber opts to add Johnny Nunez because of his grit and wrestling ability.

White also reveals another twist. With two new athletes joining the show, there will be nine quarterfinalists instead of the usual eight. As a result, one winning fighter whom White determines has the worst performance in victory will not move to the next round.

Team Faber has control of fight selection for the first matchup after winning the coin toss on the season debut. Faber picks Ryan Hall, who won his first bout by submission in less than 30 seconds, to face Team McGregor’s Frantz Slioa, who also won his fight by first-round submission.

Both fighters finish preparation and discuss their respective triumphs and hardships that led to a potentially life-changing opportunity to compete on “TUF” and, perhaps eventually, in the UFC.

Hall and Slioa come in under the 156-pound lightweight limit at weigh-ins, and the first quarterfinal matchup of the season is official. A routine staredown follows the weigh-in.

Fight day arrives, and both coaches are confident their fighter will win the first bout to take an early lead in the competition.

Team Faber’s Ryan Hall (4-1) vs. Team McGregor’s Frantz Slioa (4-0)

Round 1 – Slioa opens with a hard inside leg kick. Hall throws a right hook that’s countered by a straight right hand. Slioa throws a front kick to the face that’s short and follows with a body kick that lands. Hall gets tagged again as he comes in and attempts to close the distance. Slioa works to counter-strike and keep his space on the outside. Hall suddenly dives for a heel hook and uses it to pull guard. He attacks the leg and rolls for submissions, but Slioa temporarily escapes danger. Slioa steps over and attempts to pass into guard, but Hall isolates the leg again. He secures the heel hook and forces Slioa to tap out.

Ryan Hall def. Frantz Slioa via submission (heel hook) – Round 1

Hall gets another quick first-round submission win and says he feels very positive about his performance. He claims no other cast member can stop his grappling and says he’s going to “break them one by one.” Hall also mentions that only a limited amount of his game has been revealed so far.

Team Faber takes a 1-0 lead in the competition with Hall’s victory. They keep control of fight selection for the next bout, and Team Faber’s Chris Gruetzemacher is selected to fight Team McGregor’s Sasha Sharma.

Also see:

• Episode No. 1 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 22: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber’

Catch new episodes of “The Ultimate Fighter 22: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber” every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. MMAjunkie recaps each episode of the reality series.