Thank you, once again, for checking out my weekly MMAjunkie blog for “The Ultimate Fighter 21: ATT vs. Blackzilians,” which airs Wednesday nights on FOX Sports 1.
As was mentioned in the introduction to last night’s episode, American Top Team came into last night’s action with our backs against the wall and had to dig deep to get ourselves out of this hole we’ve fallen in to.
I don’t think it’s been made clear in the broadcasts, but overcoming adversity is really a central theme of training at American Top Team – really from the minute you step in the door and strap on the gloves.
I mean, we didn’t have our first UFC champion until last year after years and years of climbing that ladder, getting within spitting distance, then falling short on the biggest stage of MMA.
When Robbie Lawler won his welterweight belt last year, you should’ve seen the smiles of everyone at our gym when he brought his belt home for a well-deserved victory lap. And Robbie, I should mention, played a big role behind the scenes as a coach for American Top Team this season, though he hasn’t seemed to get a ton of screen time for his efforts, which were immense.
That’s not just from a motivational standpoint, though his success definitely has that affect on the team, especially a lot of us younger guys on this season. Robbie is a humble, hands-on mentor who’s more than happy to share what he’s learned over his amazing career.
Early in last night’s episode, Nathan Coy, who was submitted in last Wednesday’s action, said it’s not over yet.
Reality TV takes a lot of heat for not always portraying the truth on screen. But that was perfect. Despite Nathan’s loss, which was obviously shocking to, I think, everyone there, he made it clear to our team that it wasn’t the end, that we weren’t done, that it’s a long season, and that we’re all trained and conditioned to overcome this kind of adversity.
As I said in the past, Nathan is an asset to American Top Team – an academy that’s home to many of the best fighters on the planet. He’s a veteran’s veteran and what he brought to the table this season, on and off camera, really helped keep team morale from dipping too low.
But nobody played a bigger role in lifting American Top Team morale more than my man Hayder Hassan, who scored a first-round KO in his octagon debut and beat up on Felipe Portela last night (for the second time).
The whole team knew with everything that Hayder was going to win last night. There was no stopping him.
Felipe is younger but more experienced and bigger than Hayder. But I think Felipe knew he was going to lose that fight.
It was tedious to go to weigh-ins almost every week at the Blackzilians’ gym, to say the very least. But before last night’s action, it was a lot of fun. It was obvious to everyone that Hayder was going to win – and it looked like Felipe didn’t even want to weigh in, much less fight.
I’m glad they caught that on camera and put in on the big screen.
Hayder is an amazing guy, to say nothing of his fighting skills, which are very impressive, and he deserves all of the success he’s experiencing. I know it’s just the beginning of what’s shaping up to be an amazing career in the UFC for my longtime American Top Team teammate.
I mentioned early in last night’s episode that morale was pretty low. Well, after Hayder’s win, it was a night-and-day difference.
Personally, I felt that change as soon as it became clear Hayder would be fighting Felipe. Then it was multiplied by 10 during the weigh-ins and multiplied another 10 times after the fight.
I think it’s going to be pretty clear myself and my American Top Team teammates have been given new life this season.
Stay tuned, because there is a lot of action and a lot of great fights coming up.
Also see:
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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