The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians

The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians
Genre	Reality, Sports
Created by	Frank Fertitta III, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White
Starring	Dana White, American Top Team, Blackzilians
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Original release
Network	Fox Sports 1
Release	April 22, 2015 –

The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians (also known as The Ultimate Fighter 21) is the twenty-first installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter. This season is the first to feature a gym vs. gym theme.

The series was officially announced by the UFC in February 28, 2015. For the first time ever, the UFC reality series will feature a format pitting two of the sport's top gyms - American Top Team and the Blackzilians - against one another. The season was filmed in South Florida, where the two camps sit just miles apart, and the competitors will be welterweights from each facility. An amount of $500,000 will be earned throughout the season based on wins and losses for the winning gym.

Dan Lambert heads the ATT team, and rival Glenn Robinson heads the Blackzilians club. The series prominently features the rivalry between the two camps, which developed in 2011 after a band of ATT fighters defected and started their own camp with Robinson, who is the gym's owner but not their head coach. The two gyms are located just 20 minutes apart. The teams will be made up of eight up-and-coming welterweights from each gym. The 16 men will share a house in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area. But instead of training amongst each other, the athletes will still work with their coaches at their respective gyms.

The actual fights will take place at American Top Team in Coconut Creek and the Blackzilians' Jaco Hybrid Training Center in Boca Raton. The winning fighter will earn home gym control for his team for the next bout. Opponents will not be revealed until weigh-ins for the first time.

Cast

Teams

    American Top Team

• Dan Lambert, Gym Owner
• Ricardo Liborio
• Marcus "Conan" Silveira
• Mike Brown
• Din Thomas
• Robbie Lawler

    Blackzilians

• Glenn Robinson, Gym Owner
• Jorge Santiago
• Greg Jones
• Rashad Evans
• Tyrone Spong
• André Benkei
• Jason Gochez
• Michael Johnson

Fighters

• American Top Team
  • Marcelo Alfaya, Steve Carl, Nathan Coy, Michael Graves, Hayder Hassan, Sabah Homasi, Uros Jurisic, Steve Montgomery.

*Montgomery was removed from the competition on episode 4 due to medical reasons. He was replaced by Cristiano Souza on episode 7.

• Blackzilians
  • Valdir Araújo, Carrington Banks, Luiz Firmino, Jason Jackson, Vicente Luque, Andrews Nakahara, Felipe Portela, Kamarudeen Usman.

*Nakahara was forced out of the competition on episode 7 due to a medical suspension. He was replaced by Alexandre Pimentel.

Episodes

Episode 1: Rumble in South Florida (April 22, 2015)

• For the first time ever The Ultimate Fighter will be contested outside of Las Vegas, this time at South Florida. Both gyms, American Top Team and Blackzilians, are introduced, as well as their owners. They both share their stories about the inception of their gyms, including Blackzilians formation, as some of ATT fighters back then defected to the soon-to-be formed gym.
• Dana White comments on the fact that each owner will choose one fighter but their opponents will not be revealed until the weigh ins. There will be 12 fights in the first round and a fighter can fight up to three times or not at all. He also explains the format of the team competition this season: the first 4 fights will be worth 25 points each, the next 4 fights 50 points each and the final 4 fights will be worth 100 points each. The team with the most points at the end of the 12 fights will earn $200,000. After that, they move to the finale. For a fighter to be eligible, he must have fought two times during the regular season (12 fights). The winning fighter gets $300,000 for their gym.
• Each gym presents their fighter picks for the tournament.
• The teams arrive at the mansion in boats and are later greeted by White. He flips a coin (blue for ATT, black for the Blackzilians) of each team to determine the gym that will host the first fight, reminding them that the winner of each fight gets the home gym advantage for the next one. The Blackzilians win the coin toss.
• Dan Lambert explains to ATT's fighters all the aspects of the season.
• Glenn Robinson hosts the Blackzilians at his house as they watch their teammate, Anthony "Rumble" Johnson, defeat Alexander Gustafsson at the main event of UFC on Fox: Gustafsson vs. Johnson.
• ATT picks Michael Graves for their first fight. The Blackzlians picks Kamarudeen Usman. Later, both fighters make weight successfully.
• Kamarudeen Usman defeated Michael Graves via majority decision (20-18, 20-18, 19-19) after two rounds.
• After the fight, Hayder Hassan challenged Usman to a fight.

Episode 2: Battle Lines Drawn (April 29, 2015)

• Michael Graves expresses his sour feeling due to his loss on the last and also his opinion that he gave an opportunity for the Blackzilians to gain confidence. His teammates talk about the fact that they have all faced losses before and Graves never has. Due to that, Steve Carl believes his teammate will now have less pressure on his shoulders. Graves is supported by Nathan Coy and Hayder Hassan, who both say that they are all motivated to defeat their opponents.
• Hassan tries to work mind games on Kamarudeen Usman, but he does not want to take part on it. Later, both fighters comment on the situation with their teammates.
• After analyzing several options, ATT picks Uros Jurisic. The Blackzilians also consider many options, ultimately picking Luiz "Buscapé" Firmino.
• During a training session at the Fighter's House gym, Usman gets frustrated and angry at Jason Jackson. He leaves the session showing off his anger, but later calms down and apologizes to Jackson.
• Both fighters make weight and after that, Dan Lambert and Glenn Robinson exchange heated words during a confrontation.
• Luiz Firmino defeated Uros Jurisic via unanimous decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-18) after two rounds.

Episode 3: Settling the Score (May 6, 2015)

• Valdir "BBMonstro" Araújo complains about a stolen bottle of red wine. He believes that somebody from ATT stole it, but all of them deny it. In turn, Michael Graves confirms to Nathan Coy in a poker match that he drank the wine earlier. Steve Carl comments that his teammate has being doing deliberate things ever since he lost the first fight.
• After analyzing their options, ATT believes its time to change the game using their veterans and they pick Carl, a former WSOF Welterweight champion.
• The Blackzilians analyze their training and recovery to decide their next pick. After considering those aspects and his experience, they pick Araújo, who has formerly fought UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman.
• Sabah Homasi talks to Steve Montgomery about Araújo's accusations days earlier and Graves' unadmitted guilt over drinking the wine. They both believe that Graves is being weak at the moment and that he needs to pull himself up.
• During weigh-ins, Carl weighs in at 171.75 lbs on his first attempt and must make 171 within one hour. He goes to the Blackzilians' locker room to use their sauna and Michael Johnson does not like the fact that they are helping their rival. Tyrone Spong did not know that and does not like it as well. He discusses the issue with the athletic commission representative and later enters the locker room to confront ATT.
• Spong and Johnson demand that Carl and ATT leave the locker room. Dan Lambert and Coy argue with them about letting Carl stay as they would do the same if it was the opposite case. Spong says there are no rules about that and Coy mentions that "no rules" means that they will stay until their teammate cuts the remaining weight, which leads to a heated confrontation between the two of them. In the end, Carl weighs in at 170 lbs.
• Valdir Araújo defeated Steve Carl via submission (guillotine choke) in the second round.

Episode 4: Boiling Point (May 13, 2015)

• Steve Carl says that he felt disconnected in the fight, something that "never happened before." Dan Lambert notes that Carl was the last guy he expected to hear that from.
• Conan Silveira tries to instigate motivation in the fighters and Steve Montgomery links his motivation and fighting spirit to that, citing that he is unafraid of losing, and that it all adds up to his own "fire." The coaches believe that is the right attitude for the team. Later, Montgomery is picked to fight next.
• Glenn Robinson and the rest of Blackzilians' coaching staff visit their fighters at the house. They speculate on Nathan Coy being their possible foe and Jorge Santiago believes that Carrington Banks would be a good choice to face him, something that Robinson is unsure about. Despite that, they all reach consensus on picking Banks for the fight, even though he has less experience than most fighters and has not fought in a while.
• The calmness in the house is suddenly broken by a scream asking for help on the second floor. It turns out that Montgomery is having a seizure, which scares all of his teammates while they try to help him. Emergency is called and they transfer him to a hospital for better evaluation.
• Lambert and Silveira try to figure out what to do in case Montgomery is not able to fight. They believe their opponent is either Banks or Jason Jackson. They speculate on whether picking Nathan Coy or Sabah Homasi, ultimately picking the latter.
• Homasi comments that besides fighting, he is also an "entertainer for women."
• Montgomery comes back from the hospital accompanied by Lambert. He comments that his seizure was caused by drinking too much water without ingesting any electrolytes with it. Despite having no sequelae, he is forced to leave the competition. He notes that he is more disappointed on what he has done to his team than what he did to himself. White then promises him a shot in the UFC if he stays healthy.
• Carrington Banks defeated Sabah Homasi via decision after three rounds.
• Homasi and his coaches are all shocked at the result. Lambert notes that while he was disappointed with some of the previous performances, that was not the case of Homasi.

Episode 5: Battle Wounds (May 20, 2015)

• Anthony Johnson pays a visit to Carrington Banks the night after last fight and gives him some councils for the future.
• On the same night, Sabah Homasi shares his opinion about his performance and the feeling that he was robbed of a victory.
• Tyrone Spong incite the Blackzilians to keep performing well, but reminds them that the competition still has a long road and he would like to see them finishing their opponents.
• ATT unanimously agrees that Hayder Hassan is the best option at the moment to bring their first win. Meanwhile, the Blackzilians pick Andrews Nakahara.
• Hassan confronts Jason Jackson, whom he believes has been spreading rumors that Hassan is a dirty fighter. The pair fought in October 2013, with Hassan earning a victory via third-round technical knockout. Jackson, who has long dreadlocks, says that the fight was even until Hassan set up the fight-ending stoppage by grabbing his hair.
• It all adds up to a bunch of shouting and posturing in the kitchen, ending with Hassan saying that he will repeat the performance again in the Octagon if he has the chance.
• ATT rolls out of the house and over to the official weigh-in minus one member, Michael Graves, who is still sound asleep.
• In what has become a recurring segment, teammates voice concern over the behavior of Graves, who it seems has been drinking regularly since he lost in week one. That draws anger from several fighters on the team, as well as Dan Lambert, who says that he is disappointed in Graves' decision-making. Nathan Coy says that Graves should be asked to leave the house if his behavior does not improve.
• Graves arrives later in the day and immediately receives heat from his teammates. Dana White also criticizes Graves and questions his dedication to the competition.
• Hayder Hassan defeated Andrews Nakahara via TKO (punches) in the first round at 48 seconds.
• This earns ATT their first win and 50 points, as they have now gained home gym advantage.

Episode 6: Fight Through the Pain (May 27, 2015)

• At their locker room, emotions are running high, after Hayder Hassan's win gives ATT their first victory at the competition. Meanwhile, Andrews Nakahara struggles with the position of being the first fighter from the Blackzilians to lose a fight.
• The Blackzilians discuss their options, including Vicente Luque and Luiz Firmino, who would be the first fighter to fight twice at the house. They eventually pick their first option, Jason Jackson.
• Before announcing the selection, the coaches deliver a speech regarding the fighter's hunger for wins, stating that Jackson seems to be the fighter with the biggest desire to get the win at the moment.
• Meanwhile, ATT focus on their last two remaining fighters without a fight: Nathan Coy and Marcelo "Grilo" Alfaya, picking the latter.
• After the weigh ins, ATT coaches watch footage on Jackson and it all adds up with some background knowledge from a Jackson's previous opponent: Hayder Hassan.
• Jason Jackson defeated Marcelo Alfaya via majority decision (19-19, 20-18, 20-18) after two rounds.
• Dan Lambert and the ATT coaching staff express frustration with Alfaya, especially due to his major experience. Lambert says that after the fight, Alfaya told him he was saving energy in the first round. That statement made Lambert wish it was said before the fight, as they would have kept him from fighting next.
• Dana White reveals another change to the season. On the next episode, both ATT and the Blackzilians will have the opportunity to drop two fighters from the team and substitute two alternates.

Episode 7: Eyes on the Prize (June 3, 2015)

• The ATT coaches are still disappointed at their fighters. Conan Silveira urges them to seize the opportunity and perform better. He believes that they are wasting a great chance with poor performances. He also tells them to listen more to the coaches.
• Andrews Nakahara of the Blackzilians, who suffered a knockout loss to Haydar Hassan in episode five, is under 30-day medical suspension from the Florida State Boxing Commission. That essentially disqualifies him for the rest of the season, and the coaches call him in to share the devastating news. A tearful and disappointed Nakahara accepts the situation and promises he will be back stronger. The coaches decide to replace him with Alexandre "Pulga" Pimentel.
• ATT opts to make a substitution, as well. With the ability to switch up to two fighters, the coaches decided to make just one change. They pull Steve Montgomery, who is also under medical suspension, and Cristiano "Soldado" Souza replaces him.
• The ATT coaching staff decides on which fighter will represent the team in the upcoming bout. Veteran Nathan Coy is on deck for the opportunity. The 36-year-old is among the oldest and most experienced athletes on the team. He has fought for Strikeforce, MFC and Bellator MMA throughout his career, but has never stepped in the UFC octagon.
• The Blackzilians expect that Coy will be ATT's choice and debate on which member of the team will match up best against the savvy veteran. Coach Rashad Evans pushes for Vicente Luque and the rest of the decision-makers agree.
• Vicente Luque defeated Nathan Coy via submission (anaconda choke) at 2:26 in the third round.
• Coy was tearful and dejected about the loss, as the Blackzilians now lead 200 to 50 points and retain home gym advantage.

Episode 8: Lightning Strikes Twice (June 10, 2015)

• The episode starts with Vicente Luque's celebration alongside his team. Rashad Evans provides an inspirational speech to the team, which has won six of seven fights thus far in the competition.
• With one 50-point bout still scheduled, Glenn Robinson wastes no time assigning Felipe Portela to the vacant spot. Portela has been waiting all season for his shot to compete. Robinson calls the 27-year-old one of the most improved fighters on the team and says he expects Portela to "shock a lot of people," regardless of the opponent.
• The next day, American Top Team's coaches meet to pick their next representative and immediately deduct Portela as the Blackzilians' choice. That makes ATT's call pretty simple: Dan Lambert decides to go with Hayder Hassan, who will be the first fighter of the season to compete for a second time, having collected ATT's only win thus far with a 48-second knockout of Andrews Nakahara. Excited for the opportunity, Hassan says he doesn't care if people think they are broken. "Get in there with me and I'll break the confidence out of your brains."
• The official weigh-in follows, and Portela and Hassan learn they'll be fighting each other. It is revealed that the pair competed at a Titan Fighting Championship event in October 2014 and Hassan won by first-round TKO.
• Hassan believes the past matchup favors him significantly and gives him a mental edge. Portela claims he's excited about the situation because he wants nothing more than the opportunity to avenge the only knockout loss of his career.
• Both fighters successfully make the welterweight limit. "You're going down again", Hassan whispers during the staredown. "Just be ready for a repeat."
• In the locker room, Portela gets a pep talk from Anthony Johnson and Matt Mitrione, both of whom tell him that he might have to "eat a couple" shots to get inside and grapple with Hassan.
• Meanwhile, at the ATT gym, coach Din Thomas watches tape of the pair's first fight and suggests some strategies for Hassan. Although it lasted only three minutes, Hassan feels he gave Portela too much breathing room in their first meeting and plans to apply heavy pressure in the rematch.
• Hayder Hassan defeated Felipe Portela via majority decision (20-18, 19-19, 20-18) after two rounds.
• With the win, Hassan earns ATT a significant 50 points in the competition and takes home gym advantage for the next fight. The Blackzilians still lead 200 points to 100, but with the next four fights rewarding 100 points each, there is potential for ATT to make a comeback and possibly even win.

Episode 9: No Guts, No Glory (June 17, 2015)

• Hayder Hassan and Felipe Portela share a moment of mutual respect at the house after they fought on the last episode.
• With Blackzilians holding a 200 to 100 points advantage over American Top Team, Dana White explains that the final four fights of the competition are absolutely critical to the end game. The black team need only two wins to bring home the $200,000 team prize, while ATT must win three.
• The Blackzilians are getting a little unorthodox with their training late in the season. Coach Jason Gochez visits the team at the fighter house for a little resistance training in the backyard swimming pool, working on hand speed and technique by throwing punches underwater.
• ATT's Dan Lambert and Conan Silveira meet to discuss their next pick. Right off the bat, Silveira says that he believes Steve Carl should be the next man in the cage for them. Carl already fought once this season, and it did not go well: after struggling to make weight, Carl put on a lackluster showing which ended in a second-round guillotine choke loss to Valdir Araújo. Lambert acknowledges that Carl "underperformed" last time due to some mental issues, but feels he will do better on his second try.
• "I let a lot of pressures creep into my head in the first fight," says Carl. "Going into this next fight, we're gonna do this a lot differently. I'm not sitting down. I'm not strategizing. I'm not doing anything. I'm walking into that fight with one thing on my mind, and that's me."
• Blackzilians owner and the coaching staff have little question which fighter will represent the team. Kamarudeen Usman, who scored a majority decision victory over Michael Graves on the first episode, is approached to fight. Usman jokingly tells the coaches he is not ready before announcing he is happy for the opportunity.
• The following day, the ATT fighters and coaches go out on a yacht to blow off some steam. Lambert wants the athletes to take some time to relax and believes a day on the water will help the team refocus on the final stretch of the competition.
• Glenn Robinson uses a similar, yet different tactic for his team. He brings the fighters a restaurant and surprises everyone with a visit from their families. Several of the athletes get emotional, but say the surprise provided newfound motivation to close tournament strong.
• The next day, it is weigh-in time, and Usman checks in at 170.5 pounds. There is a moment of suspense as Carl is announced as 171.25, but the coaches bring out the towel and Carl disrobes to shed to the extra quarter pound.
• At the Blackzilians' gym, Glenn Robinson uses motion capture software to identify mistakes that his fighters are making during sparring. "If there's something that they do repetitively, I can write an algorithm to pick up on that repetitive motion," says Robinson. "The goal is to take training centuries ahead of where everyone else is."
• Kamarudeen Usman defeated Steve Carl via unanimous decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-18) after two rounds.
• Carl says that both of his fight during the tournament were the worst of his careers and that he does not know whether is the atmosphere of the reality show or the pressure of letting his team down that made him perform poorly.
• In order to win the $200,000 team prize, ATT must win three straight fights to end the season.

Tournament

Results table

Home Gym	Away Gym	Method	Round	Points	Notes
Kamarudeen Usman	Michael Graves	MD	2	25
Luiz Firmino	Uros Jurisic	UD	2	25
Valdir Araújo	Steve Carl	SUB	2	25
Carrington Banks	Sabah Homasi	UD	3	25
Andrews Nakahara	Hayder Hassan	TKO	1	50
Marcelo Alfaya	Jason Jackson	MD	2	50
Vicente Luque	Nathan Coy	SUB	3	50
Felipe Portela	Hayder Hassan	MD	2	50
Steve Carl	Kamarudeen Usman	UD	2	100

Legend

		American Top Team
		Blackzilians
UD		Unanimous Decision
MD		Majority Decision
SD		Split Decision
SUB		Submission
(T) KO		(Technical) Knockout

Overall table

Teams	Total points
American Top Team	100
Blackzilians	300

The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale

The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians Finale
The poster for The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians Finale
Information
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	July 12, 2015 (2015-07-12)
Venue	MGM Grand Garden Arena
City	Las Vegas, Nevada
Event chronology
UFC 189: Aldo vs. McGregor The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians Finale UFC Fight Night: Mir vs. Duffee

The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians Finale (also known as The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale) is an upcoming mixed martial arts event that will be held on July 12, 2015 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Background

The event was originally expected to be held in South Florida. However on May 15, the event was moved to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A lightweight bout between former WEC & UFC Lightweight champion Benson Henderson and Michael Johnson was initially linked as the event headliner. However on May 15, a welterweight bout between Jake Ellenberger and Stephen Thompson was announced as the main event. Although never officially announced by the UFC, the bout between Henderson and Johnson will not take place at this event.

The welterweight finals of The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians are expected to take place at the event.

Official fight card

Fight Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Welterweight	Jake Ellenberger	vs.	Stephen Thompson
Welterweight	TBA	vs.	TBA
Welterweight	Jorge Masvidal	vs.	Cezar Ferreira
Women's Strawweight	Michelle Waterson	vs.	Angela Magana
Bantamweight	Russell Doane	vs.	Jerrod Sanders
Flyweight	Darrell Montague	vs.	Willie Gates
Featherweight	Maximo Blanco	vs.	Mike De La Torre
Welterweight	George Sullivan	vs.	Márcio Alexandre Jr.

Announced bouts

• Middleweight bout: Caio Magalhães vs. Josh Samman
• Middleweight bout: Trevor Smith vs. Dan Miller