Episode No. 6 recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians'

American Top Team (top) and the Blackzilians

Episode No. 6 of “The Ultimate Fighter 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians” opens with the fallout from Episode No. 5. Team ATT finally got its first victory of the season when Hayder Hassan stopped Andrews Nakahara with strikes in just 48 seconds.

The overall score in the competition currently sits at 100 points to 50 in favor of the Blackzilians, but morale on the team is low after the first loss. Blackzilian coaches try to encourage the team members as they prepare to enter the opposing team’s gym for the first time.

The Blackzilians gather to determine which fighter they will put in the octagon to rebound from the first loss of the season. Jason Jackson is selected to fill the role, and he embraces the idea of competing in the ATT gym and spoiling home-team advantage.

Focus shifts to team ATT. Dan Lambert is excited for the next few weeks of fights because, despite being down 4-1 in fight results, the team is just one victory away from tying the Blackzilians in overall points. Lambert and the rest of the ATT coaches believe Marcelo Alfaya can even the competition, and the Brazilian is selected to represent the team in the upcoming bout.

The official weigh-in follows, and Jackson and Alfaya learn they’ll be fighting each other. Both fighters successfully make the welterweight limit. An intense staredown follows, and the matchup is official.

The fighters attempt to cram as much physical and mental preparation as possible in the time between weigh-in and fight time. ATT’s Alfaya feels he has an advantage because his teammate Hassan fought Jackson earlier in his career and is able to provide helpful advice about strengths and weaknesses.

Fight day arrives, and the fifth tournament bout is underway.

Jason Jackson (4-2) vs. Marcelo Alfaya (16-7)

Round 1 – Jackson opens with a leg kick that Alfaya attempts to counter with a left hand over the top. Both men are hesitant until the referee breaks up the action to pick Alfaya’s mouthpiece up off the ground. Alfaya is given a warning for stalling, even though a punch knocked out his mouthpiece. They return to striking on the feet, where Alfaya is the aggressor. Jackson uses movement from the outside and attempts to counter Alfaya’s straight punches with timely hooks. Alfaya shoots for the first takedown of the fight and has Jackson against the cage. Alfaya pulls guard in hopes of landing a sweep, but both men return to the feet in a scramble. Alfaya goes for another takedown, but he’s unable to keep Jackson grounded. Jackson breaks free and begins to pump the jab from the outside. Alfaya gets wild with his punches, and Jackson uses good movement to escape. Jackson’s jab and left hook to the body are his best punch of the round. Alfaya is still the aggressor in terms of cage control and shoots for another takedown. Jackson defends well against the cage, and Alfaya pulls guard and goes for a leg lock. Jackson easily escapes, but Alfaya rushes him against the cage again. He can’t complete the takedown before the end of the round.

Round 2 – Jackson moves forward to start the round and is active with his jab and leg kicks. Alfaya counters a leg kick with a huge overhand right that knocks Jackson off balance. He stays upright and moves around the cage, but Jackson clearly felt Alfaya’s cleanest punch of the fight. Jackson’s jab continues to be his key weapon as he pumps it in Alfaya’s face and follows up with overhand punches or leg kicks. Alfaya’s striking output has reduced significantly, but he’s still controlling the center of the octagon and pushing forward. Jackson continues to land his strikes, essentially at will, as Alfaya stands right in front of him. Both men have low striking output. Alfaya spends about a minute chasing Jackson around the cage before he shoots for another takedown. He tries to complete a body-lock takedown, but Jackson breaks free and creates space. Jackson lands a hard body kick, his best strike of the round, in the final 30 seconds. Alfaya throws essentially no strikes in the latter portion of the round before the final bell.

Jason Jackson def. Marcelo Alfaya via majority decision (19-19, 20-18, 20-18)

Jackson wins the fight on two of three judges’ scorecards for the majority decision. He earns 50 points for the Blackzilians. The win quickly saps the momentum from ATT’s one-fight winning streak and gives home-gym advantage back to the Blackzilians, who lead 150-50 in the competition with five wins to ATT’s one.

UFC President Dana White calls the fight a “huge disappointment” and expected far more from the matchup. Jackson is ecstatic with his performance, however, and wants to fight again soon.

Lambert and the ATT coaching staff express frustration with Alfaya. Lambert realizes a significant change needs to be made to ATT’s approach to the competition in order to get back on track.

White reveals another change to the season. On the next episode, both ATT and the Blackzilians will have the opportunity to drop two fighters from the team and substitute two alternates. It remains to be seen if either team will use that option.

Also see:

Catch new episodes of “The Ultimate Fighter 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians” every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) on FOX Sports 1. MMAjunkie recaps each episode of the reality series.

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