Episode No. 11 recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter 26: A New World Champion'

Episode No. 11 of “The Ultimate Fighter 26: A New World Champion” opens with focus on the first semifinal matchup, which will see No. 2 Barb Honchak of Team Alvarez take on No. 14 Nicco Montano of Team Gaethje.

First, though, some high jinx from the coaches. Coach Eddie Alvarez steals opponent coach Justin Gaethje’s car keys and moves his vehicle from the spot it was parked before putting the keys back in their original position. Coach Gaethje walks out of practice utterly confused but is pointed in the right direction.

“It was funny, I’ll give it to him,” Gaethje says of the prank. “But it was super weak. I’m going to get him good. A lot better.”

Back at the TUF house, Honchak and Montano are simply trying to stay focused on their upcoming fight, while their follow contestants are beginning to wind down and express an eagerness to get back home to their families and loved ones.

At the next Team Gaethje training session, Montano begins working on her game plan for Honchak. As one of the lowest-ranked fighters coming into the tournament, Montano has far exceeded expectations. She plans to continue that with an upset of Honchak.

Honchak begins to gear up her training with Team Alvarez, and her team has the utmost confidence the former Invicta FC champion will get the job done. She strategizes with the coaching staff and sets a plan she believes will be effective against a less-experienced opponent in Montano.

Later on, coach Gaethje gets some revenge on Alvarez. He elevates his car off the ground with a crane and writes “Team Gaethje” and “I Love Justin” all over the windows. Alvarez takes it all in stride and admits he got “one-upped” in the pranks.

At the official weigh-in, Honchak and Montano come in under the 126-pound flyweight limit. A tense staredown follows.

Fight day arrives. Both fighters finalize preparation and warm up with coaches in the backstage locker room. They walk to the octagon, and the first tournament semifinal is about to take place.

#2 Barb Honchak (10-2) vs. #14 Nicco Montano (3-2)

Round 1 – Honchak opens with a hard inside leg kick. Montano is moving around the octagon but eats a pair of straight right hands from her opponent. Honchak clinches an incoming Montano and pushes her against the fence. Montano immediately starts working knees to the body with her back against the fence before spinning Honchak around. Honchak answers with some of her own knees, and there’s a frantic fight going on in the clinch. Honchak finally breaks free. Honchak goes back to the low kick but quickly ends up back in a clinch situation. They are trading knees again from the clinch and Montano lands a nice punch off the break. Honchak goes for a takedown, but Montana reverses her and ends up on top. Montano lands some crisp ground-and-pound from on top. Honchak is fighting hard to get out from bottom, but Montano is strong on top and dominates until the end of the round.

Round 2 – The beginning of the second round is tentative, with both fighters only throwing one strike at a time and missing. Montano closes the distance and clinches Honchak against the fence. She’s grinding Honchak out, who is beginning to get desperate in her attempt to escape. She finally does and lands a body kick and combination after breaking. Montano lands a hard leg kick of her own. She throws another one, and Honchak uses it to close the distance and go for a takedown. Montano is very difficult to take down, though, and lands more knees to the body. Honchak gives up on the position and goes back to striking in the middle of the octagon. She catches Montano with a right hand coming in. Honchak goes for another takedown in the final 45 minutes, but Montano once again stifles her. They clinch once more before the end of the round and Honchak gets a takedown, but there’s no time to work before the horn.

Round 3 – Honchak lands a pair of early right hands, and she’s beginning to find her range on the feet. Montano lands a left high kick, but Honchak catches it after a connection and tries to take down Montano. Montano somehow spins and takes Honchak’s back, though, and is in position for a rear-naked choke. She begins to work the forearm into the neck of her opponent, but Honchak finds a way to scramble to her feet. Montano is hanging on to a body leg and presses Honchak against the fence. The fight returns to open space and Honchak is pressing to make something happen. She shoots for a takedown, but Montano’s defense is solid. They trade punches and knees from inside the clinch several times over before breaking. Montano refuses to give an inch to Honchak on the takedowns and is landing a lot of good, solid shots. Montano shoots for a double leg takedown in the final 30 seconds and puts Honchak on her back. Honchak stands up before the end of the round, but there’s no enough time to do anything.

Nicco Montano def. Barb Honchak via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Montano completes her cinderella story with a huge upset of Honchak. She becomes the first fighter to advance to the finals of “The Ultimate Fighter 26” tournament and will have a chance to vie for the inaugural 125-pound belt at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale on Dec. 2 in Las Vegas.

“I did what I came here to do, and it’s just awesome,” Montano says. “I’m just super grateful. Thankful.”

Montano will take on the winner of next week’s semifinal showdown between No. 1 Roxanne Modafferi of Team Gaethje and No. 12 Sijara Eubanks of Team Alvarez.

Also see:

• Episode No. 1 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 26: A New World Champion’
• Episode No. 2 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 26: A New World Champion’
• Episode No. 3 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 26: A New World Champion’
• Episode No. 4 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 26: A New World Champion’
• Episode No. 5 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 26: A New World Champion’
• Episode No. 6 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 26: A New World Champion’
• Episode No. 7 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 26: A New World Champion’
• Episode No. 8 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 26: A New World Champion’
• Episode No. 9 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 26: A New World Champion’
• Episode No. 10 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 26: A New World Champion’

Catch new episodes of “The Ultimate Fighter 26: A New World Champion” every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) on FS1. MMAjunkie recaps each episode of the reality series.