Episode No. 10 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 24: Tournament of Champions’

Episode No. 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter 24: Tournament of Champions” opens with focus on the third quarterfinal-round matchup of the flyweight tournament, in which Team Benavidez teammates, No. 7 Ronaldo Candido and No. 15 Eric Shelton, fight for a spot in the semifinal round.

UFC President Dana White previews the upcoming matchup and questions if Shelton can pull off another upset after submitting No. 2 Yoni Sherbatov in the opening round of the tournament.

At the next Team Benavidez training session, coach Joseph Benavidez introduces former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw as a special guest coach to help train with the fighters for the next few days.

Coach Benavidez informs Candido and Shelton that he will not be cornering either fighter for their matchup because he feels it would be a conflict after working with both of them throughout the season. Instead, the assistant coaches will split up the duties.

At the official weigh-in, Candido and Shelton come in under the 126-pound flyweight limit, and the third tournament quarterfinal-round matchup of the season is official.

Fight day arrives, and the fighters head to the training center for final prep.

No. 7 Ronaldo Candido (6-0) vs. No. 15 Eric Shelton (10-2)

Round 1 – Both fighters circle the cage before Shelton opens with a left body kick. Candido comes forward with a high kick, but it’s blocked and turned into a clinch. Candido works for a body-lock takedown, but it’s stuffed. He switches to a single-leg takedown attempt, but Shelton keeps good position. Candido then goes back to the body lock and uses leverage to drag Shelton to the mat. Candido is slowly working to take his opponent’s back and eventually gets there. Shelton stays patient, though, and finds and opening to roll over into his opponent’s guard. Shelton is on top and throwing punches from half guard as Candido tries to hold his posture and work for a sweep or a submission. Candido finally decides to kick Shelton off him, and they get back to their feet. Candido throws a pair of punches and closes the distance into another clinch. He can’t get the fight to the mat, though, and the striking exchanges resume. Shelton fires off some crisp shots to the head and body of his opponent and is quickly gaining confidence. He peppers Candido with several shots and just misses with a big high kick before the round ends.

Round 2 – Candido is the aggressor and is throwing short shots at his opponent. Shelton is content with counter-striking, though, and he tags Candido several times as he comes in. Candido looks to drag the action to the mat again, but Shelton easily shakes him off. He goes for it again, but Shelton sprawls. Candido refuses to give up and keeps pursuing, but Shelton wants no part of the ground game and desperately flees back to his feet. Shelton is patient and precise with his strike attempts while Candido is throwing wild shots just to get inside so he can take his opponent down. He briefly succeeds, but Shelton refuses to stay grounded. Shelton lands some hard body shots as he sprawls on a takedown, and Candido is breathing very heavy. He telegraphs a takedown attempt, and Shelton is stalking him. Shelton lands an uppercut and a flying knee. Shelton attacks with leg kicks and counter right hands, followed by a spinning backfist. Candido is moving forward, but his offensive output has essentially hit a standstill. Shelton shoots for a takedown of his own in the final seconds and plants Candido on his back before the end of the round.

Eric Shelton def. Ronaldo Candido via unanimous decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-18)

No. 15 Shelton pulls off yet another upset according to the tournament seedings, but he says he isn’t surprised by the outcome.

“I just wanted to mix it up a little bit, show people what I got in my arsenal,” Shelton says. “I told people from the beginning I wasn’t the No. 15 seed. I keep proving it, showing what I’m all about. No. 2 seed, No. 1 seed – that’s where I belong. I’m going to go in here, run through a few more guys and get to (UFC flyweight champion) Demetrious (Johnson).”

Shelton becomes the third fighter to advance to the tournament’s semifinal round and will fight the winner of No. 3 Tim Elliott vs. No. 6 Matt Schnell, who are set to clash later in the episode in the final quarterfinal-round bout.

Focus immediately shifts to the matchup between Team Benavidez’s Elliott and Team Cejudo’s Schnell. UFC boss White previews the bout and questions whether the veteran Elliott will reign supreme or if up-and-comer Schnell can pull off the upset.

Elliott says he’s a big fan of the style clash in the fight and thinks it will be his easiest fight of the tournament thus far. Coach Benavidez is confident in Elliott and feels another of his fighters is about to advance, meaning Team Benavidez will lock up three of four semifinal-round spots.

As for Schnell, he says during the next Team Cejudo training session that the key for him in the fight is to avoid being drawn into Elliott’s unorthodox fighting style and staying true to his own game plan and preparation.

At the official weigh-in, Elliott and Schnell come in under the 126-pound flyweight limit, and the fourth tournament quarterfinal matchup of the season is official. An awkward face off follows in which neither fighter looks at the other.

Fight day arrives, and the fighters head to the training center.

No. 3 Tim Elliott (13-6-1) vs. No. 6 Matt Schnell (10-2)

Round 1 – Elliott opens with a spinning back kick, but Schnell throws a leg kick at the same time that catches his opponent directly in the groin. The fight is briefly stopped, but Elliott eventually recovers, and the action continues. Elliott immediately shoots for a takedown, which leads to a brief scramble, and Schnell gets back to his feet. They fight in the clinch against the fence, and both fighters land hard shots from inside. Elliott uses a single-leg takedown to pull the fight to the mat and establishes top position. Elliott works from the guard, and Schnell throws his legs up for a triangle choke. He nearly locks it in, but Elliot stays patient and gets free. Schnell transitions to an armbar and extends Elliott’s arm, but Elliott slams him into the canvas and shakes loose. Elliott goes back to work from inside the guard with short punches. Schnell keeps active from his back and slowly works his way up to his feet. Elliott jumps on a front choke from an odd angle and leverages the position until Schnell is forced to tap out with both hands.

Tim Elliott def. Matt Schnell via submission (front choke) – Round 1

Elliott admits after the fight that he was badly hurt from the early low blow but was determined to overcome it and get the victory.

“I’m here for one job, and that’s to win this whole thing,” Elliott says. “The most important thing is getting through with victories and coming out unscathed. I want to win with the utmost efficiency so I can get through these four fights and get the title shot. I feel like I can give Demetrious Johnson a decent run.”

Elliott becomes the fourth and final fighter to advance to the tournament semifinals, which are now set with the following matchups:

• No. 1 Alexandre Pantoja (Team Cejudo) vs. No. 5 Hiromasa Ogikubo (Team Benavidez)
• No. 3 Elliott (Team Benavidez) vs. No. 15 Shelton (Team Benavidez)

Also see:

Catch new episodes of “The Ultimate Fighter 24: Tournament of Champions” every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) on FS1. MMAjunkie recaps each episode of the reality series.