'The Ultimate Fighter 27: Undefeated' Episode 1 recap

“The Ultimate Fighter 27: Undefeated” opens with a video package previewing the season of the reality show, which, for the first time, features a cast composed solely of unbeaten athletes.

Coaching the teams are UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and UFC light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier, who at the conclusion of the season will face off for Miocic’s belt on July 7 at UFC 226. Cormier will have the chance to become the second simultaneous two division titleholder in UFC history.

Before all that goes down, though, the 16 fighters – eight lightweights and eight featherweights – will be chopped down to just one winner from each weight class who will be awarded the traditional six-figure UFC contract.

The athletes enter the TUF gym, followed by Miocic, Cormier and their respective coaching staffs. Immediately the coaches encourage the fighters to start warming up so evaluations can take place prior to team selection.

Once training wraps up, Miocic and Cormier come back to the main gym area and are accompanied by UFC President Dana White. The UFC boss explains how Season 27 of the long-running reality series is different from any prior season because it’s all undefeated fighters.

White does the traditional season-opening coin toss to determine who gets the first fighter pick or the first matchmaking pick. Team Cormier wins the toss and opts to pick the first fighter.

Team selection shakes out as follows:

TEAM CORMIER

1.  Tyler Diamond (featherweight)
2. Bryce Mitchell (featherweight)
3.  Richie Smullen (lightweight)
4. Luis Pena (lightweight)
5. Joe Giannetti (lightweight)
6. Brad Katona (featherweight)
7. Thailand Clark (lightweight)
8. Ricky Steele (featherweight)

TEAM MIOCIC

1. Kyler Phillips (featherweight)
2. Suman Mokhtarian (featherweight)
3. Mike Trizano (lightweight)
4. John Gunther (lightweight)
5. Jose Martinez Jr. (lightweight)
6. Jay Cucciniello (featherweight)
7. Allan Zuniga (lightweight)
8. Dulani Perry (featherweight)

With control of fight selection for the first matchup, coach Miocic chooses his No. 4 pick John Gunther to take on Team Cormier’s No. 5 pick Joe Giannetti.

At the conclusion of fight selection, White congratulates the fighters on making it this far and declares the newest season of “TUF” is officially underway.

The fighters are then transported to the TUF house for the first time. It’s a rush through the front doors as everyone looks to claim a bed space and get settled. After a night of rest, the competitive switches turn on.

Team Miocic heads to the TUF gym for its first official training session. Gunther is a teammate of coach Miocic outside the competition and feels comfortable being on his team. Work begins to refine Gunther’s preparation ahead of his opening tournament fight.

Gears then shift to the first Team Cormier training session. It’s high intensity off the bat as Cormier looks to pass on the type of training he does at American Kickboxing Academy. Some fighters are overwhelmed by the pace of practice but believe it will pay off in the fights.

At the official weigh-ins, Gunther and Giannetti come in under the 156-pound lightweight limit, making the first quarterfinal matchup of the season official. A respectful staredown follows.

The next day, Gunther and Giannetti return to the TUF gym for their bout. They finalize preparation with their teams in the locker room before walking to the octagon for the first fight of the season.

Team Miocic’s John Gunther (6-0) vs. Team Cormier’s Joe Giannetti (6-0)

Round 1 – Giannetti lands a left hand down the middle right at the beginning of the fight. He moves into the muay-Thai clinch and lands a knee to the body. Gunther shoots in for a sloppy takedown and Giannetti immediately ties up the neck with a guillotine choke. He has perfect hand position, locks in the submission and squeezes. Gunther goes out in a flash, and referee Herb Dean pulls Giannetti off his opponent for the lightning-fast win.

Joe Giannetti def. John Gunther via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1

“Holy (expletive),” White says of the fight. “I didn’t expect the fight to go that way. I thought John was in Joe’s head, and Joe was nervous, but boy was I wrong. That might be the fastest finish in ‘TUF’ history!”

Giannetti becomes the first to advance to the lightweight semifinals, and he does so without suffering a lick of damage.

“I feel amazing,” Giannetti says. “I can’t believe I just won on ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ D.C. knew the perfect game plan, and I am so happy I got the win.”

Team Cormier takes a 1-0 lead in the competition over Team Miocic with Giannetti’s victory. Team Miocic retains control of fight selection, and with a featherweight bout up next, coach Miocic selects his No. 1 pick, Kyler Phillips, to fight Cormier’s No. 6 pick, Brad Katona.

Catch new episodes of “The Ultimate Fighter 27: Undefeated” every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) on FS1. MMAjunkie recaps each episode of the reality series.