Episode No. 7 recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate'

Episode No. 7 of “The Ultimate Fighter 18: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate” opens with the fallout from the previous week’s fight between Raquel Pennington and Jessamyn Duke, which Pennington won after three hard-fought rounds.

UFC President Dana White congratulates Team Tate’s Pennington on the victory and advises her to let her hands go more in upcoming fights.

Ronda Rousey visits the house on Father’s Day with gifts for all the fathers living in the house, including Team Tate’s Cody Bollinger, who dearly misses his family.

At a Team Tate training session, Josh Hill prepares for his upcoming matchup against Michael Wootten. Coach Tate wants to see Hill use his punches to open up wrestling and grappling attacks in the fight.

After the training session, Tate and her coaching staff post insulting photos of Rousey and assistant coach Edmond Tarverdyan around the “TUF” gym. Not fond of the prank, White enters the gym and takes down the photos, saying the coaches should focus less on jokes and pay more attention to training the fighters.

At the next Team Rousey training session, a leftover photo is discovered and finds its way into the hands of Rousey, who is extremely offended by the situation.

At weigh-ins, Hill and Wootten successfully hit the 136-pound bantamweight limit, making the third men’s quarterfinal bout official.

TEAM TATE’S JOSH HILL (9-0) VS. TEAM ROUSEY’S MICHAEL WOOTTEN (6-0)

Round 1 – Hill quickly shoots for a takedown and gets Wootten’s back up against the cage. Hill has a body lock but struggles to take the fight to the ground. He switches to a double leg, picks Wootten up off the ground, walks across the cage and slams the Brit on his back. Wootten attempts a guillotine choke from the bottom, but Hill escapes. Wootten gives up his back, and Hill begins to work for a rear-naked choke. Hill briefly secures the choke but Wootten peels off the hands and escapes. Wootten stands up, and Hill again presses him against the cage. Wootten throws knees and elbows but fails to land anything significant. Referee Herb Dean breaks the action to return Hill’s mouthpiece, which fell out during an earlier exchange. Hill continues to work for a single leg takedown and occasionally breaks to throw strikes. Wootten reverses the position, and the round ends with both men throwing strikes against the cage.

Round 2 – Wootten presses forward with a leaping right knee that lands flush on Hill’s chin. Hill is down but grabs one of his opponent’s legs and manages to return to a standing position. Wootten takes Hill down with a double leg. Hill attempts a kimura but Wootten escapes. Wootten throws punches and elbows from the guard with Hill’s head pinned against the cage. Hill escapes to his feet and presses Wootten against the fence. Wootten breaks away from the position and throws a front kick that grazes the face of Hill. Wootten shoots for a double-leg takedown that is stuffed. Hill then grabs the neck and drops for a guillotine choke, but Wootten escapes. The Englishman fires with strikes from the guard, forcing Hill to give up his back. Hill reverses position and is now in Wootten’s guard throwing strikes. Hill ends the round on top.

The judges declare the fight a draw after two rounds, and a third “sudden-victory” round will take place to determine a winner.

Round 3 – Hill opens the round with a spinning backfist that misses. Wootten is unsuccessful on another takedown attempt but gets Hill against the cage. Both men throw strikes from the clinch position, and Hill then gets Wootten’s back to the cage. After several more reversals of position, Hill establishes control. Wootten breaks the position, and the fighters are at striking range. Hill attempts a wild spinning backfist and falls to the ground. Wootten jumps in the guard, where he throws strikes. Wootten closes the round with an onslaught of ground strikes that nearly finish Hill before the final bell rings.

Michael Wootten def. Josh Hill via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Wootten gets Team Rousey back in the win column and evens the competition at three wins for each team through six quarterfinal bouts.

With only two male and two female fighters remaining, Team Rousey’s advantage of fight selection disappears as the final two matches are made by default.

In the final women’s quarterfinal, Team Rousey No. 3 pick Peggy Morgan faces Team Tate No. 2 pick Sarah Moras. In the men’s bracket Team Rousey No. 3 pick Anthony Gutierrez takes on Team Tate No. 1 pick Cody Bollinger.

Catch new episodes of “The Ultimate Fighter 18: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate” every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) on FOX Sports 1. MMAjunkie.com recaps each episode of the reality series.