Episode No. 3 recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption'

Episode No. 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption” opens with fight preparation for Team Garbrandt’s No. 2 pick, Mehdi Baghdad, who fights Team Dillashaw’s No. 2 pick, Jesse Taylor, later in the episode.

Baghdad was a contestant on Season 22 of “TUF.” He defeated noted UFC featherweight Artem Lobov to gain entry into the house but would go on to be eliminated by Julian Erosa in the next round.

Despite his early exit from the tournament, Baghdad was still signed to a UFC contract and made his promotional debut with a first-round submission loss to Chris Wade at UFC Fight Night 81 in January 2016. Baghdad got another opportunity six months later at UFC Fight Night 90 in July. However, he dropped a narrow split decision to John Makdessi.

Baghdad believes he’s made great strides in the months since his second UFC loss. He says his style has changed, and coach Cody Garbrandt is confident in his fighter’s ability to succeed. Garbrandt calls Baghdad the best striker in the competition, but the key is to stop takedowns so he can play his game.

Back at the “TUF” house, focus shifts to Team Dillashaw’s Taylor, who feels the “Redemption” aspect of the show suits him more it does than any other cast member.

Taylor was a contestant on Season 7 of the reality series and ran the table to secure an appearance in the tournament final opposite C.B. Dollaway. Once the show finished filming, however, Taylor was involved in an incident at one of Las Vegas’ Fertitta-owned hotels, in which he kicked out the windows of a limousine and harassed other guests while intoxicated.

UFC President Dana White was informed of the situation and immediately decided to remove Taylor from the fight with Dollaway, telling him to “go home, get your life together and call me in a few months.”

Taylor would eventually get his lone UFC shot in July 2008. He faced Dollaway at UFC Fight Night 14 and succumbed to the only Peruvian necktie submission loss in UFC history.

In the years since, Taylor has competed for various organizations across the globe, including DREAM, Strikeforce, KSW, Cage Warriors, WSOF, and ACB. During that time he’s defeated the likes of Chris Camozzi, Murilo Bustamante, Dennis Kang, Kendall Grove, and more, but never got another opportunity under the UFC banner.

That’s when “TUF 25” arrived. And 42 fights later, Taylor says it was meant to be.

“The world came full circle,” Taylor says. “All those mishaps and tragedies, maybe they were a blessing, because now I’m back here with an even bigger opportunity. I’m just so thankful to be back. I owe it to myself, the fans, to give the full ‘JT Money.’ I still haven’t reached my full potential, and now is the time.”

Baghdad explains his history with Taylor. They were teammates for several years at Team Quest, but he says that part of their relationship is over. Baghdad now considers Taylor to be his enemy and says he won’t hold back inside the octagon.

Taylor doesn’t feel quite as hostile, labeling the fight as “just business.” He’s aware Baghdad is familiar with his game, though, so he’s going to have to bust out some “ninja tricks” to get the job done.

With an early 2-0 lead in the competition, T.J. Dillashaw likes the style matchup for Taylor to pick up a third consecutive victory for his team.

Weigh-ins for the fight take place, and both Taylor and Baghdad come in under the required 171-pound welterweight limit, making the third fight of the tournament official.

Fight day arrives, and the athletes are ready. Taylor and Baghdad finalize preparation with their coaches backstage at the “TUF” gym, and finally the competition continues.

Team Dillashaw’s Jesse Taylor (30-15) vs. Team Dillashaw’s Mehdi Baghdad (11-5)

Round 1 – Taylor immediately presses forward and takes the center of the octagon. He throws a combination, changes levels and secures a quick takedown. Baghdad tries to fight his way up, but Taylor passes to half guard and uses a body lock to pull him back down. Baghdad gets back in guard and is looking to tie up Taylor, who is attempting to posture up and land strikes. Baghdad gives up his back, and Taylor attempts to lock in a rear-naked choke. He can’t get both hooks in to lock up the neck, and Baghdad squirms his way out of position. Taylor is still on top in half guard and is landing big shots, one of which opens a cut above Baghdad’s left eye. Baghdad gives up his back again, and Taylor works for the choke once more. Baghdad rolls over into top position and immediately tries to break free. Taylor shoots for another takedown, but Baghdad stuffs it. Taylor presses forward with another takedown and is able to put Baghdad on his back. He steps over into mount and is landing hard shots before Baghdad gives his back again. Taylor takes a mounted position one final time before the bell.

Round 2 – Taylor shoots for a takedown right away, but Baghdad has it scouted and denies the attempt. Taylor stays on him, though, and takes a few hard shots to the chin from Baghdad before completing his takedown near the fence. Taylor is in half guard and climbs to the back while Baghdad uses the cage to walk back to his feet. Taylor is absolutely glued to him, though, and Baghdad can’t create any space to do anything. Taylor is riding out half guard position before waiting for the opening to mount. Baghdad is exhausted and struggling to do anything other than roll from position to position. Taylor is content to ride out the clock from a dominant spot on top until the end of the fight. He does exactly that, and ends the utterly one-sided affair by battering his opponent with short strikes.

Jesse Taylor def. Mehdi Baghdad via unanimous decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-18)

“I feel good, I feel great,” Taylor says after the win. “I think it’s a testament to the coaches we have here. I’m really impressed with T.J. He’s just super caring; you can see it in all the fights. We have a good team. Iron sharpens iron, and we just keep getting better.”

The Team Garbrandt coaching staff is understandably frustrated after suffering a third consecutive defeat.

“We’re down three fights to none,” Garbrandt says. “You go back in our locker room, and you can see the guys. They look furious, they look pissed off, my coaches look pissed off. We’ve been there. We’ve all been there in our careers where we’ve lost something, and you have to dig deep and come back.”

Before the next fight announcement, a visibly irritated Garbrandt tells Dillashaw not to enjoy the winning too much, because it certainly won’t happen when the two clash for the UFC bantamweight title at UFC 213 on July 8. Garbrandt reminds Dillashaw that he got the better of him in training when both were at Team Alpha Male, but Dillashaw laughs off that notion and calls Garbrandt a liar.

With a 3-0 advantage in the competition, Team Dillashaw retains fight selection for the next matchup. Coach Dillashaw picks his No. 1 pick, James Krause, to fight Team Garbrandt’s Johnny Nunez, who was brought into the tournament as a replacement after No. 4 pick Hector Urbina was sent home for missing weight.

Also see:

• Episode No. 1 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption’
• Episode No. 2 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 25: Redemption’

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.