The Weekly Wrap: April 25 – May 1

USA on the Board

Team USA got on the board on the latest episode of “The Ultimate Fighter,” as Salt Lake City’s Damarques Johnson submitted the UK’s Dean Amasinger with a triangle choke in the first round. Amasinger’s coach, Michael Bisping, who was conspicuously absent from his fighter’s corner, was shown during training warning the mohawked Brit to watch for Johnson’s triangle. Johnson, a 13-6 welterweight, rejoiced about receiving a $5,000 prize for finishing a fight on the show; he said the extra cash would help him pay down some child support bills.

The win came after Team UK picked up its second consecutive victory in the tournament, as 9-2-1 lightweight Andre Winner pounded out Santino Defranco in the first round when Defranco pulled guard and Winner exploded out with punches. Defranco’s back story was highlighted, as the Arizona-based fighter had applied to be on the second season of the reality show. However, a medical screening revealed a brain aneurysm that required surgery.

This latest episode also established tensions in the American camp. There was friction between lightweights Jason Dent and Cameron Dollar; Dent was portrayed as a cranky recluse, Dollar a cocky pretty boy too willing to volunteer tales of his sexual conquests. Tension also seeped into Team UK -- which had been portrayed as completely cohesive -- by the end of the episode. Fighters speculated on why Bisping did not show for Amasinger’s fight. Team USA Coach Dan Henderson wryly speculated Bisping was absent because he knew Amasinger would lose.

The episode scored a 1.04 rating and an average of 1.4 million viewers on Spike TV, according to MMAPayout.com. The number is in the typical range for this season’s show.