-Yes.
-Previously on "The Ultimate Fighter"...
-Fight! -...skilled wrestler
Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu of Team Bisping
muscled his way to the semis...
-Oh! -...in a two-round decision
against Team Cormier's Sean Mora.
-Ilimbek.
-Then...
Bisping's number one pick, Xavier Franklin,
earned his spot with a decisive TKO win
against Dominican Micaias Ureña.
-Winner by TKO -- Xavier.
-Now teammates collide
as Ilimbek and Xavier
put loyalty aside
in pursuit of UFC glory.
-Ilimbek, I can't say it enough.
I touch that chin, you're going to sleep,
-Who will claim their spot in the finale,
one step closer to becoming the next Ultimate Fighter.
-It's...
time!
♪♪
-Michael "The Count" Bisping.
♪♪
-This was a tricky one.
Obviously, two guys from our team,
they're going to face one another.
Even when we were preparing them for these fights,
all I tried to do was make sure they were
in as best condition as possible.
♪♪
You know, I couldn't give them any one-on-one coaching.
I couldn't show Xavier what I thought he could do
to beat Ilimbek and vice versa,
because that just wouldn't be fair.
So we had them spar. We had them do jiu-jitsu.
We had them do conditioning drills,
but that was about it.
Other than that, you're on your own.
-Ilimbek, step into my office.
This is a -- It's a tricky situation.
It's not ideal.
But you're here for you.
You didn't come here to help Xavier.
You know, nothing changes from your perspective.
We all know we're going to wrestle.
Let's take him down.
I don't think there's any secret there, Ilimbek.
It's not like some big,
"Oh, we cracked the code."
It's a good fight for both of you.
It's just business. It's just business.
♪♪
-Hello! Hello!
-Since Team Cormier doesn't have any fighters competing
in this week's semifinal,
DC thought it would be a good idea
to give his fighters a break from training.
-So we're at PopStroke.
We want to take the team here to kind of do some team bonding.
-Salud. -Whoo!
-And get them out of the house a little bit.
You guys want food? I got it all.
I made it all myself. I like to make sure that,
because these kids honor me so much with their effort,
that we do some fun things over the course of the time
on "The Ultimate Fighter."
So do we go like alternate shot, alternate shot?
Okay, one ball, alternate shots. -Alternate.
-Go, Chiesa.
-I did say most of that shit, man.
-Go, Chiesa.
-Oh, shit.
[ All shouting ]
-Yes!
-Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
-[ Screaming ]
-Put it in, Micaias.
Oh. One hand.
Let's go. That's three.
There we go.
-This is really cool.
I never do this in Brazil.
-Oh! -[ Cheering ]
-That was good. Okay, that's in.
[ Cheering and laughter ]
-Oh. That's nice, Christian.
That's my boy! It's a five.
♪♪
-That's gonna go in!
[ Cheering ]
♪♪
-DC definitely started to realize
who was better at what shots.
And I think Chiesa was kind of just trying
to randomly have his team take turns.
So it was very good gamesmanship of DC.
-What was a very competitive game,
the final score ends up
Team Chiesa, 67.
Wonderful score.
Team DC, a whopping score of...
55.
Yeah, yeah!
How are we doing, boy?!
I look around and I watch everyone
with all their new friends, teammates.
This competition is about more than just fighting.
It is about the relationships that you build
and you foster over these moments
that will last a lifetime.
I'm happy for these young men and women
because they get to know other people.
Not everyone is going to get the championship
or the title of the Ultimate Fighter,
but what they can leave with
is some friendships and relationships
that will last them a lifetime.
[ Woman speaking indistinctly ]
-Let me speak to Xavier.
Listen, it's not ideal.
You were both on the same team. -Yeah.
-And now you've got to fight one another.
But I want to say this. And I'm not trying to big you up
and give you false confidence or bullshit you.
There's a reason why we picked you first.
This is not me being two-faced to Bek.
We know what he's going to try and do.
-Yeah. Yeah. -He's going to wrestle.
But we truly believe that you can knock this guy out.
You've got to remember the abilities that you have,
the skills that you have,
the power that you have in your hands.
He's a pain in the ass with the grappling.
But I'm serious, you know,
you do have the ability to knock him out.
What will be, will be. You know, that's --
-That's our message with this.
-Ili's really fucking good.
He can strike, he can grapple, he can run.
Like, he's really a really good MMA fighter overall.
I know what I'm gonna have to do.
Everybody knows. His wrestling is good,
but my wrestling is really good, too.
I have to kill him in the cage.
That's my mind-set going into this.
You know what I mean? I'm going in there
to put lights out. That's what I do.
Bisping believes I can get the job done.
So that, you know, gives me a lot of confidence
going into any fight, not just with Ili, just every fight.
-I love that side movement. Get ready to fire off of that.
-I know we're gonna put on an amazing fight.
I'm gonna go out there and do what I do.
You know, it's always the Benji show.
And I got power, I got speed,
so every time I fight, it's fireworks.
It doesn't matter who it is, what it is, or where it is.
It could be in the front yard, backyard, living room,
couch, on the corner, inside a Walmart, inside a McDonald's.
It don't matter. It's gonna always be a banger.
♪♪
-[ Speaks indistinctly ]
-[ Chuckles ]
[ Sniffles ]
when I hear...
-[ Sniffles ]
♪♪
-When you...
found out about this, like, you were coming here,
the "TUF," did you tell your parents?
-Yeah. -Were they happy?
-Yeah. For mom, I told her everything.
-[ Laughs ]
-Yeah.
-Mom, I tell her everything.
-Yeah.
-Same. Same. Same. -Yeah.
See my mother?
See my little sister?
-Oh. That must have been a long time.
It's like a friendly bond and camaraderie,
but, like, this is -- this is business.
It is what it is. Fight whoever.
So, when this is over, and they say,
"You're going to be in the UFC," you're going to go home...
-Yeah. -...and tell your family?
-Yeah. I say if I get contract, and I am going home.
-[ Laughs ] If not get contract...
-I'm not going home. -...not going home.
-We will get the UFC contract.
-Yeah.
-We will get this, I believe.
Honestly.
I don't have a doubt in my mind.
♪♪
A few more days -- ooh, good shot --
and we get to fight.
I cannot wait.
I love fighting.
I'm not calling anybody.
I don't want to see my family right now.
I don't want to be around my family.
I feel like I'd rather just, you know,
keep this strong mind
and pretty much keep it bulletproof.
I don't want to get any emotional feeling,
any strings here, any outside voices.
I feel like I just need to stay in my head and stay focused.
-Let's fucking go.
♪♪
-To the scale, Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu.
[ Applause ]
-Ilimbek Is fighting Xavier.
-Let's go, Bek. You the man, boy.
-Look at this guy. What a beast.
-Yeah. He's good. -136.
-To the scale, Xavier Franklin.
-I think this is a really interesting fight.
My heart is leaning towards Xavier.
It's going to be a good fight regardless,
but Xavier is going to go out there
and just put those hands on him.
I think he pulls out the win.
-136.
-He's a professional. He's a professional.
-I just want to say this is an incredible fight
between two incredible human beings.
I'm proud of you both. May the best man win.
-Personally, I think Ilimbek's gonna beat him.
I think Ilimbek's got good wrestling.
You never know, but, yeah,
I'd say I think Ilimbek's got that fight.
Hopefully it's me and Ilimbek in the finals.
[ Applause ]
-But I got one that's gonna win it.
Respect, guys.
♪♪
-I'm fighting my boy Ilimbek.
I love him, respect him.
It's going to be like that forever.
♪♪
What's up, coach? How are you?
-How are you? -I'm great.
-Yeah? Good. -I'm going in there
to put lights out.
That's what I do.
-Ilimbek! Let's go, man.
Hey, you feel good? -Yeah.
-Ilimbek's been working with his boy, Artem, for the red team.
It doesn't matter. I gotta do what I gotta do.
-Artem, this is a big moment for you, sir.
Today, you finally get to be a part
of the season-winning team.
Today, your balls drop. [ Laughs ]
I hereby formally invite you to join Team Bisping.
-For this fight, Artem will be in the corner
for Ilimbek.
Him and Ilimbek
speak the same language.
They got a lot in common.
I'm sitting on the other side
and I'm saying nothing because it's not fair
for me to coach Xavier or coach Ilimbek.
It is time to remove the jersey.
-Just feels like today is going to be a special day.
It doesn't matter what day it is.
I could wake up out of a disgusting, groggy sleep.
I'm on. I was born on.
I love Bek, but I'm gonna have to put on
a spectacular performance and get a finish.
-Yeah, my boy, Ilimbek, man, he's just a great human being.
But I have to fight my fight.
-Better focus out there. You control that rage.
You got plenty of time. Three rounds.
-All cylinders are firing. Very confident.
My mind's in the right spot. -All right, Xavier.
-It just feels like I'm walking with God.
Like His hand's on me.
Nothing bad can happen. It's just destiny.
Nothing will get in the way of my dreams.
I'll do whatever to get what I want.
I pretty much feel I have the fight won, to be honest.
Any time I feel like this, I just know,
like, it's going to be a good night,
like magic's in the air.
Ilimbek, I can't say it enough.
You're going down.
-Go time, Bek.
-Let's go, Bek.
-Let's go have a fight.
-I know I have the skills and I have the talent.
I'm the most dangerous one in the whole tournament.
-Ilimbek, if I touch that chin,
you're going to sleep.
♪♪
-Good luck, boys.
Proud of you both.
Take no prisoners, though.
♪♪
-This match will consist of three rounds.
If, at the end of three rounds,
the judges are unable to come to a decision,
we will have one more sudden victory round.
You ready? You ready? Fight.
-Good luck, boys.
-Break off that lead.
-[ Speaking global language ]
-Up and down.
-Feint your way in.
Feint then go.
Into the bite, though.
There you go. Stay relaxed.
-Show some level changes.
Yes. Good.
Touch the body when you're ready.
-[ Speaking global language ] -Mixing up that jab.
-You're good. Stay focused on him.
Remember, speed of the target. Don't load it up.
You're gonna catch him coming in right there.
You're good.
-One minute in. -That's a nice jab.
Push off the back leg.
-Keep it up and down.
-You made him miss that twice.
-[ Speaking global language ]
-Cover that head. Up in that head.
-Lift his head up. Cross face.
Good defense.
-That underhook on that...
-Yeah. -Right back up.
-Two minutes into the round. Three left.
-Force him to open the lock with legs and elbows.
Frame it in front of his face, Xavier.
-Keep that leg up.
-Can we work for an underhook with your left arm?
-Stop.
-Make his eyes close there, as well.
-[ Speaking global language ]
-You get a leg in between you?
-90 seconds left.
-Yeah. There you go. Keep those legs.
-Don't let him isolate your arm.
-[ Speaking global language ]
-Keep staying calm.
-That eye's opened up.
Yes. Wait for that. Nice.
Can we underhook with the left arm?
Can we underhook?
Start building.
Test this base. One minute left.
He's trying to isolate that.
-[ Speaking global language ]
-45 left.
-There you go. Hold tight.
-Fight them hands. Fight them hands.
Good. To the wall.
You got 25 seconds.
Yes. Peel him off ya. Peel him off you with the cage.
Use the cage to peel.
Last 10.
-[ Air horn blows ] -Time.
♪♪
-I'll just say one thing. You got to go for it.
-Good job getting back to your feet there.
But you gotta let it go, man.
That's what you came for.
You gotta let it go, man.
[ Whistle blows ]
-Hey, it's your fight now.
-Good start. Let's keep it up. -Fight.
-Keeping them feints and sharp feints.
-Dig deep, boys.
-He's gonna want to get on you early.
Yeah, see? -Quick feet coming in.
Quick feet! Quick hands!
-Stay calm.
-Watch the knee aside, as well. Watch the knee aside.
Turn your hip to the cage.
Face in.
-Stay on those hands. Don't let --
There you go. -Good.
-Up, up.
-Swing that arm up. -Up, up, up.
You can clear that hook with your hand if you want.
Good. Now up, up, up, up, up. -Start walking.
Start walking up. There you go. -Good.
Watch him hooking your leg.
-Can we build and get across face?
Bring it over the top, over the top with that right.
There you go, over the top. Over the top of his head.
That left arm over the top.
-Keep rolling him.
-[ Speaking global language ]
-Fight strong on that grip.
That's good. It's nearly there. It's nearly there.
-You're 90 seconds in now.
Can you go again cross face? Can bring in front of the face?
-Nice. Nice reach. -Good. Yes. Lift that leg.
Lovely. -Nice hips. Beautiful hips, bud.
-Clear that leg.
-Control your position.
Yes, look at ya.
-You're good. You're good, bud.
You're good. Stay with it.
Both hands working.
Move it. There you go. -Yes, good shot.
-That's the way to think, buddy.
Let's do it again. -You're making him miss.
-You don't want to force it. There you go.
Creep it forward. Nice read. -Lovely.
-Now you're seeing it. Now you're seeing it.
Keep stuffing. Move under the hip.
Under the hip. Bring that head up.
-Stamp that leg.
-Stamp the leg down. -Stamp that leg down.
Lift. -Stamp that leg, baby.
-Lift with that left arm. -Stamp it down.
-We're halfway.
-[ Speaking global language ]
-Yes. Good.
-Cross face, cross face.
-Going up, down, yeah. Keep straddling.
Get off the cage.
Close the gaps. No hooks, no hooks.
-Up. Up. Up. Up.
Good.
Fight the lock again. Same as before.
Two minutes in. There are two minutes left.
-[ Speaking global language ]
-Stay on that lock, Xavier.
Keep working.
-Back up. Back up. Back up. Don't stop low.
Don't settle in. -Make him work.
-Let's go, back up. You got that hand now.
Up!
-90 seconds to go!
Close that elbow inside.
Keep turning, keep turning.
Up. Up. Up. Up. Up.
Go on, yeah, if it's there. Look out for it.
-Whoa, whoa.
-We're a minute left.
Nothing's happening.
-Nothing's happening.
-Come on, man.
-Let's go. -25 seconds left.
-Don't worry about the takedown.
Get off. Stay low, though. Don't go high with it.
Stay low with those shots. Yep. -Good.
Follow up. -Come together now.
There you go. -Yes.
-Do it again. Do it again.
Walk him back. Walk him back.
Walk him back with the hand. Don't worry about that kick.
There you go. Follow it up.
Yeah, high body shot. Follow it up.
-Clear. -Now!
[ Air horn blows ]
♪♪
-You can stop him on the feet.
You need to this round.
-That last right hand you shot over his head.
Shoot at his chest. Don't worry about his head.
-You've got it because he's fucking exhausted now.
[ Whistle blows ]
-Fight.
-Mixing the sagas, mix up the sagas.
Good.
-Stay busy.
Lovely sprawl.
[ Indistinct chatter ]
-[ Speaking global language ]
-Let it go, Xavier.
-Yeah. Good shot. -A little lower.
-And again.
-We can whip the body on the end of them, as well.
-Let that right go.
-There you go. Now you found the target.
You got the range now. Keep touching it.
There you go. Yup. You're fine.
That's all fine right there. Let's go. Nice jab.
-You blinded him. He's missing.
-[ Speaking global language ]
-One minute into the round. Four to go.
-We got four minutes for a stoppage.
-Don't watch the time. Just keep working.
Head moving, hands are moving.
-Don't reach out until you're there.
Raise your head with his.
-There we go. Keep moving. Keep walking.
Don't bend the knees.
-There you go. Break those arms.
There you go, buddy.
Now move! Keep moving.
Yes!
-[ Speaking global language ]
-Can we move the feet? Can we circle?
-Keep those feet moving. -Get that underhook.
-Yes!
And we know we hurt him just before the shot,
so let's keep it. -Head position.
-Great space, get out of there. -Knee disengage.
-Let's get a frame. -There you.
[ All shouting indistinctly ]
-Don't look back. Nope, nope. Don't overreact.
Nice.
-Yes. Good work. Let's keep it up.
-Same thing. Plugging away. Speed on those shots.
Touch that target, bud. There you go.
That's a way to rip it. Beautiful. Do it again.
-Sitting behind him. -Down low to the gut.
Touch that body. There you go. Yeah!
-Go on. Keep going. -Yep. That's it.
Stay relaxed. Don't get excited.
Stay relaxed. Keep touching him. Back to the body again.
Keep mixing it up.
That's it. Stay with it. Yep.
That's all right. He's attacking you right there.
Stay relaxed. Hands are moving. Nice and loose.
Yep. Touch right there. -We know he wants to shoot.
He's gonna shoot for it.
-No, don't -- don't overload like that.
Right to the target. Straighter. There you go.
Nice jab. Jab's doing the job.
-[ Speaking global language ]
[ All speaking indistinctly ]
-You're fine.
A little busier now.
-You got two minutes to finish.
-Don't load him up. Low speed. Rip to the target.
That's it. See that?
Look at how that affects him. Let's go. There you go.
You're there.
Yep. You've seen everything now.
-You're making him miss. Brilliant.
-Watch that -- There you go. Watch the --
-Got 90 seconds.
-Stay low.
Stay low, keep touching him. Keep touching him, bud.
-Got 90 seconds.
-Last minute!
-You need to finish.
-There you go. Keep working.
-Lovely work, Xavier.
-Body, too, body, too.
-Let's whip the body on the end.
-Go!
-Oh! -Oh! Oh!
-That's it. That's it. -There's no point.
-The referee did it. -We're done. Stop.
Huh? I did not see.
-No, no, no!
What?
-Nope.
Oh, my God! -Bring us a replay.
Replay.
-No. I don't know what happened. I don't know why he stopped it.
His nose was definitely fuckin' bleeding,
but it doesn't look broken.
-We're going do a replay. We're gonna replay.
-Right there.
-No, we want to see where he quits.
-Well, he poked him in the eye.
-Why was it stopped? -Listen...
And then, the way he fucking hit the fence.
Expecting the ref to jump in, and he's like, "Fuck you."
Cracks him again. And then he ended the fight.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
-Oh, that was afterwards though. -Yeah. No, of course.
-He actually hit him after he stopped.
-Yeah, he did, because the fight's still going.
-All right, Xavier.
Hey, you're back.
You're gonna pick it up.
Looks like.
Looks like they're gonna pick it up.
Be ready, both of you.
Okay? Xavier.
Hey! Hey, Xavier.
Where you left off. Same shit. Let's fucking go.
-Fight.
-50 seconds.
[ All shouting indistinctly ]
-Let it go, Xavier.
-45 seconds.
-Wow, I've never seen this happen before.
-Oh, oh, yeah. There you go. You got him.
-Go for that jab.
-Rip it. Don't show it.
Body, too. There you go, the body.
-20 seconds.
-[ Air horn blows ] -Time.
-[ Shouts ]
-This is the craziest -- the craziest shit.
-That should have been fucking over.
-You can't stop. -You can't stop yourself.
-No, you can't stop. -That's bullshit, man.
-What do they say? Protect yourself when?
-Yeah, at all times. -At all times.
You can't let him get poked in the eye and then stop and then,
when you get fucking finished, and then you carry it on.
I mean, Ilimbek's my guy, but...
♪♪
-Ready? Ready?
-So the fight played out exactly how I thought it would.
I thought Ilimbek, probably, in the first round,
is going to take him down.
♪♪
-Ilimbek had a very clear game plan coming into this fight.
His goal was to dominate Xavier with his wrestling
and take the fight to the ground,
and that is exactly what he did.
Ilimbek was controlling the fight
by the end of round one.
Even though he didn't do a lot of damage,
very obvious he had won the round.
Round two was more of the same.
He pushed Xavier against the cage and smothered him.
Not the most exciting fight to watch,
but it was working for Ilimbek.
-Knock the leg down. -Knock that leg down.
-Stomp that leg, baby. -Stamp it down!
Towards the end of round two,
I started to give a bit of advice to Xavier.
It ain't over, it ain't over. Back up.
Because this isn't wrestling. -No hook.
-It's mixed martial arts.
You got to use wrestling to take someone down...
-Stop. Break. -...to do something else.
All right, make this work. Make this work.
I thought he was stalling a bit too much.
He was holding him down.
-Xavier finally starts to turn things around in round three.
He's able to stuff takedowns.
He landed some big shots and has momentum on his side.
-Full credit to Xavier because he turned it on.
We're about 40 seconds from the end of the fight.
It looks like Ilimbek's going to go down,
and then he goes, "Oh, something's wrong with my eye."
Herb Dean says nothing. Xavier carries on.
Boom!
-Go! -Stop!
-Big right hand.
Herb Dean steps in, stops the fight.
The fight is over. We're like, wow, he did it!
-That's it. It's over. -Nah, nah, that's it.
-Protect yourself at all times. -Protect yourself at all times.
-The referee did it. -You're done. Stop!
-Xavier did it. He pulled it out the bag.
He got the third-round stoppage.
Wow. Unbelievable.
And then, they look at the slow-motion replay.
And they say that he was poked in the eye.
And whether he was or whether he wasn't,
I'm not disputing that. Xavier finished him.
He finished him with the right hand.
And the rule is defend yourself at all times.
- I don't know what happened. I don't know why he stopped it.
-We're gonna do a replay.
We're gonna replay.
-When something like this happens, it's up to
the ref and the athletic commission
to decide how to handle it.
They felt it was fair to restart the fight
after seeing the replay, and that there was an eye poke.
So, in the end, the fight comes down to the judges scorecard.
-Winner, by the judge's decision,
advancing to the finals.
-Yeah! -♪ Sometimes we fall ♪
-♪ But now we rise ♪
♪ I keep my head up to the skies ♪
-Well, that was some...
nonsensical madness.
-What's up, boss? -Yeah. Good fight, man.
-Hey, that was bullshit, man. That was bullshit.
No, no, no. -I slapped him! Hit him!
-No, bro. That was bullshit.
-It's a real shitty situation.
I don't -- I don't like blaming anything.
I take my losses on the chin like a man.
But, like, I don't feel like I lost.
It's weird to say, even though I didn't get my hand raised,
I don't feel like I lost. It's --
It's weird, I don't know.
These Goddamn Russians. Fuck.
Niggas is annoying, bro.
Sniffin' nuts. I hate that shit.
That's my boy, but God damn.
Where the fuck the doctor at so I could change?
Shit.
-The fight finishes, Ilimbek wins the decision.
Regardless of what happened, I gotta say, he fought a great,
hard, tough fight,
and he truly earned the position in the final.
-Crazy situation. -Yeah, I'm...
-Of course. Absolutely. -Yeah, I'm --
-Yeah. It's business. -Ili! Aah!
-Yeah, yeah. -Aah!
-Congrats, my boy. You good? -[ Speaks indistinctly ]
-Yeah, of course. I love you, boy.
Come on. Let's go. -We still...
Yeah, of course, of course. Come on, man.
-I gotta say, these two,
I'm so impressed with them as human beings,
as individuals, as men, the way that they handled themselves.
-Let's go. Let's go. Yes, sir.
-Beautiful. -Good shit, bro. Good shit.
You okay? -Yeah.
-Good. Now we eat food. -Yeah.
-They shared a big hug, and, uh,
I'm just happy I got to share that moment with them.
So, Ilimbek becomes the first bantamweight finalist.
Next up, Cormier teammates Tina Black of Brazil
and France's Delphine Benouaich will go head to head
and see who will face Melissa Amaya
in the strawweight finale.
-On the next episode of "The Ultimate Fighter"...
-Hey! -Whoo!
-...Bisping takes his team out for a special night on the town.
-These nights are like the most fun nights
because we get to, like,
not talk about fighting too much, and we're genuinely
just getting to know each other.
-Team Bisping! [ Laughter ]
-Then, it's the last strawweight semifinal.
Cormier teammates Tina Black...
...and Delphine Benouaich go to battle in the octagon...
-We can be friends before, we can be friends after.
Just in the middle, there is a battle that I have to win.
-...to determine who will move on to the finale.
♪♪