This week’s episode begins with Team Europe captain Conor McGregor disgusted with Sascha Sharma’s performance against American Chris Gruetzemacher.
“He pussied out,” the UFC interim featherweight champion tells the camera. “That’s it.”
After ripping Sharma, the scene finally ends with McGregor unwavering in how miffed he was at his pupil’s refusal to listen. The frustration boils over into the hallway, where Conor and Team USA captain Urijah Faber discuss the fight.
“Either you want to be on this show and fight or you don’t,” McGregor squawks to Faber. “If you don’t, I don’t give a f--k about you. I mean, that’s it. It is what it is.”
Faber understands his nemesis’ irritation but comes to Sharma’s defense, telling McGregor that he doesn’t need to rip Sharma apart because it’s not going to help the young fighter.
“You broke a perfectly good pair of sunglasses,” Faber exclaimed to McGregor. “I could have used those.”
After plenty more banter between the camps, Team Europe piles into the “TUF” house at night. Marcin Wrzosek, who is set to fight next, proclaims his love for his Polish heritage and says that he will make his homeland proud. It’s a brief snippet of who Wrzosek really is, but he seems to be a likable bloke.
His opponent, Tom Gallicchio, explains how it’s been his lifelong dream to make it to the UFC and that it has taken him much longer than he expected. Gallicchio goes on to tell the television audience that he is here to win the entire season and that nothing will stop him from achieving his goals. Of course, this the No. 1 telltale sign of a fighter who is about to lay an egg in front of millions of viewers across the globe.
After the opponents share an awkward coffee at breakfast, it’s time to get down to business. Plenty of footage of both fighters in training mode is shown and the men seem focused, amped up and ready to kick some ass. Both coaches, as expected, are confident that their fighter will prevail.
Leading into the weigh-ins, the editing team makes it appear as though Gallicchio is having difficulty making weight, but he hits the scale at 155.5 pounds, while Wrzosek comes in at 156. Both combatants want to go right then and there and are peaking mentally and physically.
Finally, it’s time to find out who will move onto the next round. Gallicchio says that he wants to submit Wrzosek, but Faber warns “The Tank” that his foe is also solid on the mat. Still, Gallicchio is determined to get the fight to the ground as soon as possible.
It seems Gallicchio had the right plan, because it becomes clear moments into the contest that Wrzosek is the superior striker. Everything -- from his technique to his speed to his accuracy -- is leagues beyond Gallicchio, who eventually gets what he desires when he catches a lazy Wrzosek kick and instantly takes his back. From there, Gallicchio climbs high and searches for the rear-naked choke. Wrzosek refuses to go to the ground and remains on all fours while Gallicchio locks up a body triangle. They jockey for position for a few minutes until Wrzosek finally shucks the American.
The fighters scramble to their feet, where Marcin begins to pick apart Gallicchio with a nice jab and slick counters. Gallicchio, just like earlier in the frame, is in way over his head and needs to bring it down to the canvas. He eventually scores a takedown and quickly passes to full mount, but horrible positioning leads to him being swept just before the horn ends the round.
The “Polish Zombie” begins dominating early in round two. Gallicchio can’t avoid his jab, but he does manage to get a takedown off another lazy kick. After a scramble, Gallicchio achieves mount again and holds it for a short while. Like before, Wrzosek scores an effortless sweep. Right at that moment, Gallicchio’s dreams grow wings and fly out of the gym.
Wrzosek gets the fight back up on the feet, where he busts up Gallicchio from every angle and stuffs takedown attempt after takedown attempt. To add insult to injury, Wrzosek lands a textbook double-leg in the closing seconds of the fight to seal the decision, which all three judges award to him by scores of 20-18.
As expected, McGregor is ecstatic with the victory and feels as though momentum has fully swung in his team’s favor. McGregor doesn’t plan on giving up control anytime soon, while Gallicchio holds back tears and reviews the fight to the cameras.
McGregor now has control of the picks and he opts to go with England’s Saul Rogers to lock horns with Billy Quarantillo on next week’s episode.