'TUF 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians' blog: Michael Graves on episode No. 7

Michael Graves

Thank you for checking out the most recent installment of my blog for “The Ultimate Fighter 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians.” I really appreciate your interest and time!

One step forward and two steps back — that’s how it felt for my American Top Team teammates and I since Hayder Hassan scored his first-round KO over Andrews Nakahara.

After Hayder made his debut, which came on the heels of four straight ATT losses, the whole energy of the team changed, really. After dropping our first four fights, I think everyone saw Hayder’s statement win as a major turning point. I’m not sure if it was caught on camera, but it was almost like a weight was lifted off our shoulders, the mood lightened and a ray of sunshine came through the clouds.

Hayder’s personality alone – if you’ve spent any time at all with him, you’ll know – really works to energize you and get you going. When somebody like that got our first win — coupled with the brutality of his first-round KO, which he’ll likely do many more times in his career — I could feel the energy shift.

If you’ve been watching the season, you know that much-needed energy shift hasn’t so far done us much good, at least in terms of wins-and-losses.

Marcelo “Grilo” Alfaya didn’t fight his fight and fell short in an underwhelming decision against Jason Jackson the week after Hayder’s win. And last night, Nathan Coy lost via third-round submission to Vicente Luque.

Losses, as any fighter will tell you, can be devastating in this sport — from individual and team standpoints. As tough as it was to see Nathan fall short in his fight, I feel like it didn’t negatively affect the energy of my teammates and I too much. I’m not sure why, but that’s what I remember from South Florida.

This was a back-and-forth fight that was a ton of fun to watch. It was a ton of fun until the end. The energy in the room, as always, was incredible. It’s hard to describe the energy that I’ve felt watching these fights in person this season. I’ve been a spectator at a ton of regional fights and have attended bigger shows. FOX Sports 1 has presented the fights extremely well. If you aren’t a part of American Top Team, I’d think they’d be really great to watch. But nothing compares to being there — and last night’s fight was no exception.

Like I said, losses can be devastating. But Nathan’s loss last night was the result of a great, back-and-forth fight. He didn’t get blown out or injured, and I think the team will respond to it well.

Nathan, too, will be back. He’s a veteran’s veteran who means an awful lot to American Top Team. The show has done an excellent job showing how important he is to the team — especially the younger guys, I feel — but there are dozens of more subtle, very encouraging things that he does every training session to make us better fighters. He’s an asset to the team and a lot of what he brings to the table — his intensity, the look in his eye and some of his encouraging words and actions — don’t always get caught on film.

Speaking of assets, it was really great to see Cristiano “Solider Boy” Souza pegged as a replacement for my great friend Steve Montgomery. Cristiano is a great guy and an unsung hero of American Top Team. He’s a legitimate black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and also a black belt in Capoeira. Capoeira is actually what brought him to the United States a few years ago in the hopes of achieving something great. He’s definitely capable of doing just that. And I think you guys are really going to fall in love with him as the season progresses.

He’s a great guy and we’re all really excited to see him get his shot. He told me before the season started that the show is in his blood. I think we’re going to see that this season.

And then there’s “The Ice Cream Man.” Well, we’ll see how that goes.

Also see:

• ‘TUF 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians’ blog: Michael Graves on episode No. 6
• ‘TUF 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians’ blog: Michael Graves on episode No. 5
• ‘TUF 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians’ blog: Michael Graves on episode No. 4
• ‘TUF 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians’ blog: Michael Graves on episode No. 3
• ‘TUF 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians’ blog: Michael Graves on episode No. 2
• ‘TUF 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians’ blog: Michael Graves on episode No. 1

Michael Graves (4-0), an American Top Team fighter on “The Ultimate Fighter 21,” blogs about the season each week exclusively for MMAjunkie. Follow him on Twitter at @gravesmma.

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ATT and Blackzilian fighters discuss their rivalry:

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