TUF 27 Episode 1 Recap

TUF 27 Team Miocic vs Team Cormier kicked off last night. We have ourselves a champ vs champ theme this season with all undefeated contestants.

Cormier won the coin toss and got first pick in the draft. They did one draft mixing both the weight classes (lightweight and featherweight). Cormier seemed much more prepared than Stipe and had a strategy in mind which was to build a roster primarily of wrestlers. His first pick was Tyler Diamond, a 9-0 team alpha male product. Following the draft, Miocic was able to pick the first fight and pitted his real life teammate John Gunter vs Joe Giannetti.

The episode gave us backstories on both men leading up to the fight. This portion of the show can sometimes be a drag but I actually enjoyed getting to know these guys. Both guys haven’t had the easiest of lives as they have been homeless at points and dealt with plenty of adversity. Gunter being one of the most interesting characters we’ve seen in the TUF house in recent memory. The homeschooled farm boy who currently works a day job sheering sheep is quite the eccentric fellow. Some of his hobbies include swimming underneath ice sheets.

Following a couple of training sessions, in which Cain Velazquez and D.C ragdolled the 155 pound Giannetti in humorous fashion, it was time for the fight. D.C’s bullying training methods seemed to pay off in the fight as Giannetti was not flustered by Gunter’s push forward style and quickly snatched his neck on a poor takedown entry from Gunter. Giannetti put Gunter to sleep almost instantly, earning a bonus in the process from Dana White. The fight gives the first victory to team D.C and I have a funny feeling that will be a recurring theme in the weeks to come as Cormier seems like the much savvier coach of the two.

Outlook Going Forward

• Giannetti is very well rounded, but I think as the show goes on he is going to struggle with the high level wrestlers in the competition. His length in the striking department and slick submission game make him a tough out, but I do think his lack of strength and wrestling will be his Achilles heel in the end.
• Gunter is a great guy and took the loss well. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the UFC sign him at some point down the road as he has a fan friendly pressure forward wild style. However, he does have a very limited skill set and is one of the older competitors, so he has one of the lower ceilings of the fighters on the show.
• Next week we have Kyler Phillips vs Brad Katona. Both guys have good grappling backgrounds and hail from respectable gyms. Phillips appeared on Dana White’s Contender Series getting a finish inside 1 minute, but was not rewarded with a contract. Katona, the Canadian, has been training out of SBG Ireland.