Episode No. 4 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia’

Episode four of “The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia” opens with the Team Australia fighters confronting Team Canada’s Nordine Taleb about comments that Canada will run the table for an undefeated season.

Taleb, who fights Team Australia’s Tyler Manawaroa later in the episode, says that is in fact what his team plans to do, but brushes off the potentially hostile situation and heads back to the “TUF” house.

At the next Team Australia training session, coach Kyle Noke prepares Manawaroa for this upcoming fight. Manawaroa says he got into MMA at age 15 and at only 19 years old is the youngest competitor to ever be casted on the reality show.

As Taleb readies for the upcoming matchup, he insists he is a level above any type of competition Manawaroa has faced and plans to prove it against the youngster once the cage door closes.

With training behind them, both fighters hit the 185-pound middleweight mark at the weigh-in, making the second quarterfinal matchup of the season official. An intense stare down follows the weigh-in.

TEAM CANADA’S NORDINE TALEB (8-2) VS. TEAM AUSTRALIA’S TYLER MANAWAROA (10-0)

Round 1 – Referee Yves Lavigne oversees the action. Manawaroa takes the center of the octagon immediately. Taleb throws first and lands two leg kicks. Manawaroa gets inside and connects with an uppercut, then a jab. Taleb with a hard body kick. They clinch and Taleb fires off a series of knees to Manawaroa’s body. Taleb with an inside leg kick and avoids the counter. Manawaroa momentarily wobbles Taleb and they clinch again. Manawaroa works hard for the takedown against the cage, but Taleb reverses him. A lot of back-and-forth action against the cage with both men firing elbows and knees from the close range. Taleb gets the better of the position and lands a lot of strikes from in close. They break and Manawaroa holds his hands by his side. Taleb begins to pick his shots on a wild and tiring Manawaroa. Taleb nearly connects with a head kick and they clinch again. Manawaroa catches a kick and drops Taleb with a counter as the horn sounds.

Round 2 – Wild exchanges to start the second stanza. Taleb presses forward but Manawaroa is getting more accurate with his counter shots. Manawaroa misses badly with a spinning back kick and Taleb tries to clinch. He accidentally lands an illegal knee to Manawaroa’s groin and after a brief break, the action resumes. Taleb is finding a home for his jab while Manawaroa is consistently landing his counter uppercut. Manawaroa drops Taleb with a stiff left jab, but the Canadian is quick to get back to his feet. Taleb instigates the clinch again where he throws more knees to the body. Both men are tired and the striking exchanges get increasingly sloppy. Taleb pins Manawaroa against the cage, but he breaks away. Taleb goes for a takedown as the round comes to an end, but he can’t get it just as the horn sounds.

The judges score the fight a draw after the two rounds and for the first time this season, a “sudden-victory” round will decide a winner.

Round 3 – Little action in the first minute as both men are visibly fatigued. Manawaroa circles the outside while Taleb takes the center of the cage. Taleb with a hard left hook to the body. Manawaroa walks into the clinch but avoids a takedown. Manawaroa misses on a spinning back-fist attempt. Manawaroa lands a knee down the middle and Taleb presses forward with a look of desperation. Manawaroa is connecting at a much higher rate this round, and stuffs another takedown. Manawaroa lands a big uppercut from the clinch, but has his back against the cage. Taleb finally drags the fight to the ground and moves to half guard. Taleb throwing knees to the body and elbows from top position as the final seconds wind down. Manawaroa presses off the cage for an unbelievable reversal into mount. Taleb gives up his back and Manawaroa nearly locks in a rear-naked choke, but time expires.

Tyler Manawaroa def. Nordine Taleb via unanimous decision

Four fights into the season and Team Australia finally gets their first win, bringing the record in head-to-head matchups to 3-1 in favor of Team Canada.

Team Australia takes control of fight selection for the very first time and in the third welterweight quarterfinal of the season, Team Australia’s Richard Walsh (7-1) will look to start a winning streak for his own team against Team Canada’s Matthew Desroches (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.