The Ultimate Fighter has been a one-team show thus far with The Blackzilians amassing a 3-0 start. American Top Team is on the ropes and arguably their best fighter lost in the last episode. It’s still early in the season but ATT desperately needs to grab a win to pick up team morale.
This week’s episode began with the ATT coaches holding a pep talk with their fighters after Steve Carl’s loss. Steve Montgomery shared that he isn’t about to give up and will keep fighting no matter how many points they’re down. It’s a solid attitude but one that needs to be shared by the whole team.
It seemed as though the ATT coaches believed in what Montgomery was saying as he got the nod for this week’s fight. Montgomery entered the show 8-2 as a professional and possesses a unique set of talents for a welterweight as he stands at 6-foot 4 and is a southpaw. He holds wins over former UFC talents like Brock Jardine and Colton Smith.
The Blackzilians looked to counter by selecting Carrington Banks. Banks grew up in Georgia and wrestled in Iowa, which is a known hotbed of wrestling talent. He’s inexperienced with only three professional fights but is undefeated. Glenn Robinson and the rest of The Blackzilian camp believed it was their best strategic move to send Banks in to compete.
Plans changed, however as Montgomery had a seizure in the house. The coaches credit a lack of electrolytes in his system from cutting weight. ATT was forced to pick a different person and they chose to roll with Sabah Homasi. He has one of the more interesting ways of paying bills outside of fighting which is an “entertainer” for women. He brings a 8-4 record to the show and has competed on two occasions for Bellator.
As a reminder here’s how the two teams stack up.
*Steve Montgomery was forced to leave the show due to health complications resulting from a seizure.
Round one began with both fighters looking a little gun-shy. Banks dipped under a Homasi punch to initiate a takedown but couldn’t finish it with both men against the cage. Banks worked for position and although he did manage to get Homasi on the ground, the ATT fighter avoided any serious damage. Homasi managed to land a few good punches but found himself pushed up against the fence once again. In a scene that’s become the norm this season, the fighters struggled to accumulate any damage or score any points with takedowns off the cage. The round ended with Banks literally leaning into Homasi’s stomach, threatening with little to nothing offensively. Homasi scored more points on the feet but Banks took the first round by utilizing his wrestling, 10-9 Banks.
The second round was actually fought on the feet for an extended period of time. Homasi was able to stop the takedown attempts of Banks and was clearly the more comfortable fighter on the feet. Banks was able to eventually push his opponent into the fence but once again, failed to do anything of note while he was there. He attempted to take the back of Homasi but was quickly shaken off which allowed the ATT fighter to take the center of the cage once more. Both guys looked to land shots as the round came to a close. It was a close round but Homasi ended up taking it as he stopped most of Banks’s takedowns and landed the better shots while the two men were striking.
Nearly the full five minutes in the third round were spent on the feet with both man landing good shots of their own. Neither fighter was able to string together much offense but Homasi did land a nice headkick while Banks utilized a solid jab to thwart his opponent’s rhythm. Both men had their moments which made it a close round to score. In the end, Banks took home the decision victory.