Episode No. 1 recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption'

“The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption” opens with a look at the personal struggles of this season’s cast members, including “TUF 2” winner Joe Stevenson, Gilbert Smith and Tom Gallicchio.

The insight sets the stage for the upcoming season, which is centered around giving 14 welterweights a second opportunity to make a career under the UFC banner after their initial “TUF” runs or UFC stints ended in a less than desirable manner.

Jesse Taylor (Season 7), who in 2008 became the only fighter in “TUF” history to be pulled from the tournament final due to outside-the-cage conduct, says he’s been pursuing a path back to the UFC ever since his embarrassing removal from the tournament.

“Every night I go to sleep, I think about getting back to the UFC,” Taylor says. “This means the world to me. I never gave up on this dream. That was supposed to be my show that season, but unfortunately it wasn’t. This is a chance to prove it again and I’m here to stay.”

The lone outlier on the cast is James Krause (Season 15), who despite being an active UFC fighter who is on a two-fight winning streak, decided to come back to tournament after being knocked out in the elimination round of his season.

“I’m the only person on this season who hasn’t actually been in the house,” Krause says. “I’m also the only person in the house that is currently fighting in the UFC. When they called me for the opportunity, I jumped on it for two reasons. One reason is, winning this show is a lot of money. The second reason is, plain and simple, I have unfinished business with this show.”

A number of other fighters get a brief spotlight, including the reckless Julian Lane (Season 16), who is best remembered for his drunken “Let me bang, bro” rant.

With all the competitors assembled together at the “TUF” gym, UFC President Dana White enters alongside this season’s coaches. UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt will take the helm for one team while former champ T.J. Dillashaw is set to lead the opposing group. The coaches have a history of their own, with Garbrandt and Dillashaw having trained together in the past at Team Alpha Male before Dillashaw departed from the team in dramatic fashion.

White explains that the winner of “TUF 25” will not only get another opportunity to make a career under the UFC banner, but he will also be rewarded with a $250,000 prize. Moreover, each athlete will be paid $10,000 per fight with a potential $5,000 bonus on the line for a stoppage victory.

Beyond the standard single-elimination tournament format, White reveals a “wild card” fight will take place to close out the opening round. Two of the losing fighters will be selected for a matchup and the winner will be re-entered into the tournament.

After the introduction to the show, the fighters immediately jump into a tryout training session. The athletes work out so the coaching staffs from each team can evaluate the talent before team picks are made.

Dillashaw’s coaching staff consists of striking coach Duane “Bang” Ludwig, grappling coach Eliot Marshall and UFC welterweight Matt Brown. On Garbrandt’s side is UFC Hall of Fame inductee Urijah Faber, wrestling coach Danny Castillo and Team Alpha Male head coach Justin Buchholz.

Garbrandt takes the approach of interviewing each fighter for a mental evaluation rather than just a physical test. The champ wants to know their goals, weight and any other details that will determine their success or failure on the show.

With evaluations complete, the team selections are underway. A coin toss will determine which side gets to pick the first fight or the first fighter. Team Dillashaw wins the coin toss and opts to pick the first fighter.

Team selections go down as follows:

Team Dillashaw

1. James Krause (Season 15)
2. Jesse Taylor (Season 7)
3. Ramsey Nijem (Season 13)
4. Dhiego Lima (Season 19)
5. Joe Stevenson (Season 2)
6. Tom Gallicchio (Season 22)
7. Gilbert Smith (Season 17)

Team Garbrandt

1. Seth Baczynski (Season 11)
2. Mehdi Baghdad (Season 22)
3. Eddie Gordon (Season 19)
4. Hector Urbina (Season 19)
5. Hayder Hassan (Season 21)
6. Julian Lane (Season 16)
7. Justin Edwards (Season 13)

Immediately after the teams are finalized, coach Garbrandt must decide on the first tournament matchup. He pits his No. 1 pick, Baczynski, to go against Team Dillashaw’s No. 7 pick, Smith.

Smith believes his tryout interview with Garbrandt led to the matchup. Smith told the coaching staff he felt the reality series was his final chance at MMA success and he believes that honesty was viewed a weakness.

The tournament will kick off with back-to-back fights, so the ball goes back into Team Dillashaw’s court for the second fight selection. Coach Dillashaw chooses his own No. 1 pick Krause for a showdown with Team Garbrandt’s No. 4 selection Urbina.

Once team and fight selections are finalized, the athletes finally get the chance to visit the “TUF” house for the first time. It’s a familiar setting for most and serves as an ever greater motivation to thrive in the tournament.

At the first Team Garbrandt training session, there’s already some concern about Urbina’s weight. He came on the show nearly 200 pounds and has limited time to make it all the way down to the 171-pound welterweight limit.

Later on at the first Team Dillashaw training session, coach Dillashaw says how pleased he is with the way in which his team came together. He believes Team Garbrandt made several uneducated picks and he envisions a high level of success for his team.

Focus then begins to center in on the upcoming fights. Video packages detail the journeys of all four fighters from their first “TUF” stints and leading up to the second chance on this season.

As time winds down the fights and the preparation becomes more dialed in, the concern about Urbina’s weight grows thicker within Team Garbrandt. Weighing 186 pounds, Urbina is already struggling and is doubting his ability to make weight. Coach Garbrandt rips the fighter’s negative attitude and calls him “a little (expletive),” but Urbina tries to keep an upbeat mentality.

The following day, Urbina arrives at the gym to continue his weight cut. He’s still behind schedule, though, and Team Garbrandt assistant coach Castillo announces that it’s time for him to take charge and help move Urbina in the right direction. His efforts are futile; after hours of work Urbina still weighs 188.4 pounds and tells Castillo, “I don’t think I’m going to make weight.”

The next day, Urbina is on the cusp of giving up. He doesn’t think it’s realistic for him to make weight and he tells coach Garbrandt that he’s officially pulling out of the fight. Garbrandt says he doesn’t regret picking Urbina but feels a lifestyle change is needed if he wants to continue a career in high level MMA.

White arrives at the gym and asks Urbina to tell the entire cast and all the coaches that he’s out of the fight. Urbina apologizes to everyone involved, but White shows no leniency and tells Urbina to pack his bags and leave the competition immediately.

White pulls the coaches to an office, where they begin a conversation about what happens in the fallout of Urbina’s departure. White says there are alternate fighters standing by outside the house in the event of the current situation, and Johnny Nunez (Season 22) is one of the athletes available to join the cast.

Dillashaw protests whether it’s fair for Nunez to come in and directly replace Urbina against Krause. He believes he should be able to pick an entirely new fight because of how the coin toss played out, but White shuts down that idea and Garbrandt criticizes Dillashaw for “trying to play the victim, like he’s going to do all season.”

Dillashaw informs Krause of the situation and the fighter is noticeably unhappy. He doesn’t believe the fight date should be pushed back and is frustrated that he had to cut weight for no reason. He tries to avoid dwelling on the situation but says the change is not ideal for his approach to the tournament as a whole.

Shortly thereafter, Nunez arrives at the “TUF” gym to join his new teammates for the first time. He’s grateful for the opportunity and plans to make up for the disappointment of his first “TUF” run.

Back at the “TUF” house, Smith’s intensity begins to gear up ahead of his fight with Baczynski. He says the Team Garbrandt coaches “(expletive) up” with the matchup and feels he’s viewed as an easy target after being picked last by his team and pitted in the first fight.

Smith’s talk continues at the “TUF” gym and Baczynski overhears everything from the neighboring locker room. He confronts Smith and some heated words are exchanged between the two sides. It briefly fizzles, but when Smith attempts to apologize, tensions flare up once again and the two athletes come face-to-face and exchange more words.

The two sides are separated, but with weigh-ins scheduled for moments later they are put back together in the same backstage area along with the rest of their teammates and coaches. The battle of words between Smith and Baczynski continues, but then Garbrandt begins to get involved.

Garbrandt calls Team Dillashaw “a team full of fakes” and that’s when Dillashaw becomes irritated. He turns to Garbrandt and fires back with some words of his own, telling his rival to “get the (expletive) out of my face.” Then, in a stunning move, Garbrandt grabs Dillashaw by the throat and shoves him backward.

The surrounding fighters immediately jump in and separate the coaches before any serious follow-up physicality can occur. Dillashaw appears unflustered by the situation and says the move was the perfect indictment on Garbrandt’s personality.

“It all leads down to insecurity,” Dillashaw says. “Cody’s not very smart – he doesn’t have anything he can say that’s witty and he feels he has to create drama to be important.”

Garbrandt feels differently.

“He’s shook, he’s scared,” Garbrandt says. “He’s the one that invited that fight. He got what he got. T.J. doesn’t bother me. A Mack truck doesn’t worry about a pebble.”

After official weigh-ins are complete, fight day arrives and the athletes are ready for the first tournament bout. Baczynski and Smith finalize preparation with their coaches backstage at the “TUF” gym, and finally, the competition is officially underway.

Team Grabrandt’s Seth Baczynski (19-14) vs. Team Dillashaw’s Gilbert Smith (12-6)

Round 1 – Baczynski opens by circling the cage and pumping his jab. Smith throws a hard leg kick but Baczynski continues to move. Smith lands a right hook to the chin and follows with another powerful leg kick. Smith overcommits on a punch and Baczynski closes the distance to clinch. Baczynski pushes his opponent against the fence and they trade short strikes from close range. Smith breaks away and they are back in striking range. Smith is finding a home for his left hand and applying solid pressure. He changes levels for a takedown but Baczynski stuffs it and circles away. Both sides wing big shots but nothing lands clean. Baczynski mixes up his kicks and punches well but Smith goes in for another takedown. He works hard for it and finally plants Baczynski on the mat. Baczynski attempts to roll out of position but gives up his back instead. Smith holds the position and is trying to suck the energy from his opponent. Smith has Baczynski’s back still and wants the rear-naked choke but can’t properly apply the submission. Baczynski is defensively sound enough to avoid significant damage and survives until the end of the round.

Round 2 – Baczynski is much more cautious on his feet in the second frame, likely due to the takedown threat. He’s picking his shots but Smith is keeping him at bay with kicks to the body and legs. Smith shoots in for another takedown and this time is able to put Baczynski on his back without much trouble. He can’t hold Baczynski down for long, though, because he works his way back up using the fence. Smith holds on to a leg but leaves his neck open. Baczynski grabs the neck for a guillotine choke and drops to his back to tighten it up. Smith stays relaxed, though, and escapes the submission. Smith is back on top and throwing short strikes as Baczynski tries to stand up. Smith is holding on with all his might, but eventually Baczynski gets back to his feet. Smith refuses to break away, however, and uses a final burst of energy to pick Baczynski up and slam him on his back. Smith spends the final 90 seconds of the fight unleashing strikes from the guard as Baczynski struggles to make anything happen from the bottom.

Gilbert Smith def. Seth Baczynski via unanimous decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-18)

“The goal is to win the whole thing,” Smith says after his victory. “I didn’t come here to be second, third or fourth place. I came here for two reasons: To do the best I can possibly do and to the win the tournament.”

It’s a huge victory for Smith, who as the final pick for Team Dillashaw managed to upset Team Garbrandt’s first overall pick in Baczynski.

“No excuses,” Baczynski says. “Gilbert Smith just did a better job than me today and that’s pretty much the end of it. I wish I could say I was hurt, but I was in the perfect health, the perfect shape – I just didn’t execute. That’s just the only way you can put it.”

The fighter and coaches reconvene in the gym and the next matchup is made. With fight selection on his side after the loss, Garbrandt selects Season 19 winner and No. 3 pick Gordon to fight Team Dillashaw’s No. 6 Gallicchio in the second opening-round matchup.

The intensity between coaches Garbrandt and Dillashaw flares up one more time before the end of the episode. Garbrandt tells his former teammate to “stay in line,” but Dillashaw simply laughs it off.

Catch new episodes of “The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption” every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) on FS1. MMAjunkie recaps each episode of the reality series.