Episode No. 8 recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians'

American Top Team (top) and the Blackzilians

Episode No. 8 of “The Ultimate Fighter 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians” opens with a spotlight on the Blackzilians coaches and fighters. Assistant coach Rashad Evans provides an inspirational speech to the team, which has won six of seven fights thus far in the competition.

With one 50-point bout still scheduled, Blackzilians owner Glenn Robinson wastes no time assigning Felipe Portela to the vacant spot. Portela has been waiting all season for his shot to compete. He finally gets it in the eighth fight.

Focus shifts to ATT, and it’s a familiar scene within the team. The discouraged coaching staff is once again required to deal with the fallout from a loss and strategize the first step in completing a comeback.

Behind 200 to 50 in overall points, ATT owner Dan Lambert is very straightforward in labeling the situation “desperate.” Although a number of ATT fighters have yet to compete, Lambert suggests the idea of a quick turnaround for Hayder Hassan, the lone ATT fight that’s registered a victory.

Lambert asks Hassan how he feels about taking another fight so shortly after his last. Hassan is very receptive to the idea and is more than willing to step up and showcase his skills again.

“I don’t care if people think we are broken,” Hassan says. “Get in there with me and I’ll break the confidence out of your brains.”

The official weigh-in follows, and Portela and Hassan learn they’ll be fighting each other. Both fighters successfully make the welterweight limit. Some words are exchanged during the staredown, and the matchup is official.

The plot thickens when Hassan reveals he has history with Portela. The pair competed at a Titan Fighting Championship event in October 2014 and Hassan won by first-round TKO.

Hassan believes the past matchup favors him significantly and gives him a mental edge. Portela claims he’s excited about the situation because he wants nothing more than the opportunity to avenge the only knockout loss of his career.

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

Hayder Hassan (6-1) vs. Felipe Portela (8-2)??

Round 1 – Portela shoots for a takedown at the very beginning of the fight and has Hassan on the ground less than five seconds in. Hassan wall walks to stand back up, but Portela hangs on to a body lock from the back. Hassan looks to break the grip, but Portela keeps him trapped against the fence. Hassan finally frees himself and begins to wing big punches at Portela. Hassan works the jab and uses it to cover follow up punches. Portela works inside and gets a brief single leg takedown. Hassan scrambles back to the feet. Portela nearly completes another takedown, but Hassan blatantly grabs the fence to stop it. He only receives a warning from the referee for the infraction. Hassan continues his aggressive approach on the feet as he throws massive power shots. Portela covers up from absorbing serious damage. Portela gains some confidence in his striking when he throws a series of body kicks. Portela continues to sporadically shoot for takedowns, but Hassan easily anticipates and shakes them off. Portela’s leg kicks continue to be his best weapon, but Hassan shows little regard and pushes forward with wild combinations. Hassan is pursuing Portela all around the octagon before the round comes to a close.

Round 2 – Hassan’s jab forces Portela to fight from his heels. Hassan’s aggression is neutralizing a lot of Portela’s offense aside from the occasional leg kick and counter punch. Hassan works angles with his punches. He’s landing, but his biggest punches are falling just shy of targeted range. The fight begins to slip into a stalemate. Hassan pumps his jab with consistency, but his follow-up shots have clearly lost steam. Portela shows more aggression with his strikes and starts to land more. He hits Hassan with a counter right hook that’s easily his best punch of the fight. Hassan takes it and fires back. Portela secures a big takedown with less than 15 seconds remaining in the round. Hassan gets back to his feet quickly before the end of the round, but Portela scored important points.

Hayder Hassan def. Felipe Portela via majority decision (20-18, 19-19, 20-18)

Hassan wins again and provides ATT with its second victory of the season. The team and coaches are ecstatic over the result as they teetered on the verge of a blowout loss of a season.

With the win, Hassan earns ATT a significant 50 points in the competition and takes home gym advantage for the next fight. The Blackzilians still lead 200 points to 100, but with the next four fights rewarding 100 points each, there’s potential for ATT to make a comeback and possibly even win.

Also see:

• Episode No. 7 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians’
• Episode No. 6 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians’
• Episode No. 5 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians’
• Episode No. 4 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians’
• Episode No. 3 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians’
• Episode No. 2 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians’
• Episode No. 1 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians’

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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