‘TUF 24’ Recap: Episode 5

Right off the bat, the teams are back in the house and Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White is raving about the fighters and how they’ve all fought thus far. After a brief introduction of the two men who will fight later tonight, the scene immediately shifts to Rio de Janeiro, which is the home of Ronaldo Candido.

Candido shows the TV audience his quaint living quarters before the Shooto Brazil champion is seen training and coaching. Former featherweight champion Jose Aldo explains what Candido beings to his team’s table before the crew is taken via bus to Sao Paulo. Candido is emotional when speaking of his mother and father and this is when the cascade of tears flow from his eye sockets. He’s broken up when explain what his alcoholic father told him and how proud he was, and that he wishes he was a better father to him. But in the end, Ronaldo is a stronger, better person because of it.

Back at the TUF palace, the fighters are all huddled around the TV and watching UFC 200. It’s interesting because Candido is Aldo’s jiu-jitsu coach and Jamie Alvarez, who Candido will be fighting by show’s end, trains with Amanda Nunes, who is also fighting on the card. “Scarface” beats Frankie Edgar to win the “interim” featherweight title and Nunes conquers Miesha Tate to win the women’s bantamweight title. As expected, Candido and Alvarez are pumped.

Next up, it’s Alvarez’s training segment along with plenty of highlights of him laying out foes in the Absolute Fighting Championship and it’s clear the dude has some power in his hands. Henry Cejudo is thrilled to be coaching him and helping him to try and keep the fight on the feet at all times.

The scene shifts to Alvarez’s backstory in Coconut Creek, Fla., at the famed American Top Team dojo to see some of his training footage. After that, we shift gears to Alvarez’s house where his friends and family are everywhere during the a pre-Fourth of July party. He’s very family-oriented and his upbringing appears to be quite different from his upcoming foe’s.

Joseph Benavidez finally makes an appearance on the show and he’s prepping Candido about what to expect from Alvarez when they fight. A slew of highlights of him wrecking shop down in Brazil surfaces where he has submitted everybody as a pro; the footage makes him look nearly unbeatable based solely on his excellent jiu-jitsu.

After the weigh-ins the teams both walk out of the house and come to a cluster of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Travis Browne pulls up on his bike and explains that one of the fighters can win his own Harley depending on how well he does this season, among other promotional necessities.

Finally, all the final pre-fight prep is out of the way and it’s time to get it on. Round one begins with Alvarez moving nicely away from Candido before they trade head kicks, both of which are blocked. About 45 seconds into the match, a perfect right to the jaw floors Candido and he is in serious peril. Alvarez pounces on him and somehow is unable to take him out after connecting with a volley of follow-up punches, which allows the Brazilian to grab a hold of Jaime’s foot. The heel hook is no good but after the ensuing scramble, Candido slinks his way onto Alvarez’s back. Alvarez stands up against the cage and tries to pry the submission savant off, but he’s unsuccessful in freeing himself of the rear-naked choke and has to tap out just as he’s about to go to sleep. For the fifth straight fight, we have a stoppage and this one might be the earliest of the entire season.

Up next, White reveals that next week will be No. 6 seed Matt Schnell taking on No. 11 seed Matt Rizzo and the prez is pumped for the matchup.