Las Vegas, Nevada – The Ultimate Fighter® Live episode 9 – ‘Become That Hero’ – aired Friday evening and saw Team Faber nab the final preliminary round win as Newcastle, England’s Andy Ogle submitted Miami’s Mike Rio at 4:19 of the second round.
The season now shifts into the quarterfinals, with four of the final eight fighters squaring-off on May 11th for a spot in the semis. UFC President Dana White announced the match-ups at the end of the episode: James Vick (#3 Cruz) vs Joe Proctor (#2 Faber) and Justin Lawrence (#1 Cruz) vs Michael Chiesa (#4 Faber).
Here’s what everyone had to say about the evening’s live fight:
UFC President Dana White on Vick vs. Proctor
“It’s an interesting fight because Vick is seen as this guy who’s kind of one-dimensional. He has the stand-up, and decent takedown defense. He’s not known as a great wrestler but he actually shut down a wrestler to get into the House and to make it to the quarterfinals. People are having trouble with how long he is and how strong he is. He has just enoughskill to get by and I think he’s the dark horse in this thing.”
“The crazy thing about this fight is that Proctor comes out of Joe Lauzon’s camp, and is highly regarded from that camp. The first time I saw him, his stand-up didn’t look good to me at all. So I think this is one of those fights, with Vick’s length, reach, takedown defense and striking abilities, where I think Proctor needs to get this thing to the ground as fast as he possibly can.”
UFC President Dana White on Lawrence vs Chiesa:
“Chiesa has this really heartfelt story of what happened to him when he was here. His dad wanted him to be here and then passes away when he makes it on the show. He’s now here to win this thing, not only for himself, but for his dad. But, as much as Ilove the kid he looked very one-dimensional in his last fight. He was depending on the wrestling the whole time. I think there have been some pretty crazy odds on the fights so far. I would actually say that I have Lawrence as a huge favorite in this fight. You never know, anything can happen, but this is a tough fight for Chiesa.”
“I think this season has been awesome! I love the new format. I love that you can watch the fights LIVE every Friday. I’m more engaged in this season then I have been in years.”
Andy Ogle:
“No such thing as an underdog in MMA. Each dog has its day! Woof woof.”
Ogle’s Coach Urijah Faber:
“Ogle has been a fun project ever since he stepped foot into the house. He has a great attitude and works hard. In this fight he showed a lot of the stuff we’ve been working on, and that he has gotten better every day.”
Mike Rio:
“You can be 99 percent perfect, but at this level it takes just one mistake to lose a fight. I went in for it. I felt like I needed to do something to win the round. Andy was winning with his striking so I tried to force the takedown.”
Rio’s Coach Dominick Cruz:
“Rio had that fight in the bag, he was doing everything right until the last three minutes of the second round, he pretty much “gassed out” as he said in his own words, and that was it. Ogle took half guard, landed some punches until Rio gave his back. From there Ogle threw in his hooks, stretched him out and got the finish.”
REMINDER – both coaches and quarterfinalists competing on May 11 – James Vick, Joe Proctor, Justin Lawrence and Michael Chiesa – will be available via conference call Tuesday, May 8 at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT.
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