GUF HOUSE #TeamNation
At the GUF house the door bell rings and GCC heavyweight Ross Hanson
is at the the door to the surprise of the GUF house guests. The guys
show Ross Hanson around the house and then eventually migrate to the
living room. Ross Hanson cracks some jokes, tells some stories and
tells them that he will be training with team Jack Nation this week in
order to make sure Jacob Klein is whipped into proper shape.
Later on in the night, Jacob Klein and Ross Hanson have a
conversation. The two discuss his upcoming fight with Carson Carver,
his time in the house and his experience on the show thus far. During
the conversation, Jacob Klein tells Ross Hanson that Danny Cross has
been down in he dumps as of late and has confided in him that he has
his mind set on leaving Tundra MMA to join another high level MMA gym
- Ross Hanson tells Jacob that he will speak to Danny about things.
Sanit Khalan speaks with Demetrius Vitalis (in greek) and tells him
that the entire team is proud of him including Arius even if he's too
much of an asshole to ever admit it. Sanit tells him that to be honest
he thought the fight was over after the first knockdown but that
Vitalis has the heart of a lion and didn't give up. He tells Vitalis
that after it's all said and done if he doesn't still have a place at
Themis Palestra then those girls have lost their minds. Vitalis thanks
him for the kind words.
Danny Cross is approached by Ross Hanson. Hanson tells Danny that Jacob mentioned he is looking into leaving Tundra MMA. Danny admits that he feels like he's been let down by the team and feels like he didn't have their support. Hanson tells Danny that he understands
where he is coming from but reminds Danny that Tundra MMA are the new kids on the block and that it's likely they have made some mistakes a long the way. Ross tells Danny that
at the end of the day their team record speaks for itself and if he sticks it out with Tundra
MMA he will realize it was the best move for his career in the long run. Danny Cross tells
Ross Hanson that he will take everything they talked about into consideration.
GUF HOUSE #TeamRossi
Nikoli Volkov see's Ross Hanson hanging out around the house and takes
a second to pull him aside. He tells Ross Hanson that he has a lot of respect for him and how he dug deep to turn his career around. He asks Ross Hanson about how he got the spark back and motivation needed to turn his career around and become a top contender in the GCC? Ross Hanson tells Volkov that the first thing he needs to do is surround himself with a group of people who bring the best out of you and push you to do better every single day. Volkov mentions that he plans to head home back to Russia after the show and would like to drop by
Tundra MMA to see what they're all about, Ross Hanson tells him that the door is always open to him.
Carson Carver has brought his tattoo gun into the house and is giving a tattoo to Tyron Bagley. The tattoo is that of a pair of dog tags on his chest engraved with the date of his mother and fathers birthdays. Tyron tells Carson that his parents died two years ago to this day in a car accident and Carver offers him condolences. Carver tells Tyron that he's never met his dad and he hasn't seen his mother since he was sixteen and that Gunplay MMA is the only family he feels he's ever had.
Tanner Mcklesson has been having trouble sleeping. He tells producers that he has been having nightmares about his loss to Demetrius Vitalis. He explains that he has been going over what he did wrong over and over again in his head and it's been driving him insane. He
believes that if the fight had been run back ten times, he'd win 10 out of 10 times and hopes he can get a re-match someday soon. As a result of his loss he has distanced himself from his teammates and has slipped back into self isolation.
Oliver LaPierre has a conversation with Team Nations, Sanit Khalan in french. Oliver asks Sanit about all the languages he speaks and how he's learned so many languages. Sanit tells him being multilingual has made him a huge asset in Thailand and specifically in Lone Wolf MMA. He tells Oliver LaPierre that Krystal Knight the head coach of Lone Wolf MMA has taught him most of what he knows in MMA and in turn he has helped her learn how to speak, read and write in Thai. Oliver jokes in return that Misty DeMeans has taught him how to throw a mean right hook & trash talk.
GUF GYM #TeamRossi
Paul Rossi pulls Tanner Mcklesson aside during a sparring session and asks him about how he's feeling, Tanner doesn't give Rossi much to work with. Paul Rossi tells Tanner McKlesson that he has a spot on the finale card as long as he stays committed and puts in the work for the remainder of the show. Tanner Mcklesson thanks Rossi and tells him that he's going to prove to everyone that his loss against Vitalis was just a fluke, Rossi tells him atta' boy.
During a sparring session with Tanner Mcklesson, Esteban Garcia takes a hard right hand and gets dropped on his his ass. In a fit, Garcia rips off his head gear and sticks his finger in Tanner's face telling him that they agreed to go 50%. Tanner apologies but Garcia causes a scene by screaming at Tanner and telling him that if he is trying to prove a point they can fight for real right here and right now and that he would f*ck him up. Tanner tries to get Garcia to calm down but Garcia shoves him into the cage before onlookers swoop in to break up the fight before it escalates further.
After the blow up in the gym, Jessie Wilde and Carson Carver reflect on it. They agree that coming into the house the viewers probably thought they would be the wildest ones. Jessie says that he's only been here for a few weeks but feels like he's matured and become a better version of himself. He says that he had to grow up quick in this house, Carson tells him that everyone see's him as a leader. Jessie is surprised by this. Carver tells him that Tyron Bagley tried to lead the team and look where it's gotten them all. He tells Wilde he plans on winning this fight so that all the pressure isn't on him, Jessie tells Carver he has this fight in the bag.
Paul Rossi works with Carson Carver and develops a game plan based on heavy usage of the clinch. Understanding that this is also a strength in Jacob Klein's skill set the idea is to beat him to key positioning in the clinch. They want to keep Jacob Klein on the defensive by
beating up the body with dirty boxing and switching to a Muay Thai plum whenever available. As a back up plan, Carver is instructed to take the fight to the ground if he can't implement his clinch work or is down on the judges score cards. Paul Rossi tells Carson Carver he
needs to be ready for a dog fight and potentially three hard rounds, Carver tells him he feels like he has the cardio to go five.
GUF GYM #TeamNation
Ross Hanson gathers everyone from Team Nation together and gives them a speech & pep talk of sorts. Ross Hanson tells the team that win or lose they all have the opportunity to make something of themselves here. He tells them that at one point he was down in the dumps, unfocused and lacked the hunger he needed to succeed but that after his fight with Aleksandr Baranov his spirit to compete in MMA had been restored. He tells them to look at him now in a few months he'll be fighting and beating Alejandro Rivera for the GCC heavyweight championship.
Sanit Khalan tells Javi Ali that he doesn't have anything against Ross Hanson but that he can't wait until Alejandro Rivera beats the breaks off him and retains the championship. He tells them the two can't stand each-other but Krystal Knight runs a tight ship and won't have any problem with him and Anurak learning whatever they can from Ross Hanson while he's here. As they are having this conversation, Hanson calls upon them to warm up. Sanit Khalan rolls his eyes and the two head over to join Hanson.
Demetrius Vitalis is given the week off from training due to injuries he received in his bout with Tanner Mcklesson. Arius Pagonis teases Vitalis by telling him that he's finally popped his cherry and learned what it's like to be an MMA fighter. He tells Vitalis he was surprised he won but that he got his ass kicked and got lucky in the end. He points towards Anurak chanthara and Javi Ali and asks Vitalis if he thinks he stands a chance against either of them? Vitalis laughs it off and says only time will tell.
Jack Nation alongside Ross Hanson work with Jacob Klein to prepare him for his fight with Carson Carver. They instruct Jacob Klein to avoid standing and trading with Carver and look to utilize the clinch to control the fight up against the cage. Anticipating that the fight will eventually hit the mat, Jacob works with Ross Hanson on his ground and pound technique knowing that strong GNP will be the key to victory.
THE FIGHT
BACKSTAGE #TEAMROSSI
Carson Carver heads back to the locker room in defeat with his head in his hands. He cries out in anger and ends up flipping one of the benches over in the locker room as the rest of the team spreads out and gives him some space. When Oliver LaPierre goes to approach him, Tyreek Briggs stops him and tells him to leave the kid alone and that he's going to need some time to recover from this. Oliver obliges before Carson slams his fist into a nearby locker.
Jessie Wilde pulls Esteban Garcia aside. He tells Garcia that it looks like Team Rossi rests on their backs and that it's up to them to show the rest of them how it's done. Garcia tells Jessie that they weren't cut out for this but that he and him are cut from a different cloth. Esteban asks Jessie that if he wins does he have it in him to dethrone his friend Rob Jones to which Jessie Wilde tells him that all machines break down eventually. Garcia laughs and tells Jessie he has a huge set of cajones.
Paul Rossi has gathers his team together and admits that Team Nation has gotten the best of them however he stresses that it's not over yet. He tells his team that with Esteban Garcia and Jessie Wilde advancing to the next round it's their job as teammates to support them and make sure they go as far on the show as possible. He tells them to put themselves in their shoes as they would expect the man beside them to do the same. Paul Rossi tells them that he knows losing sucks but if it's any constellation he will beat down Jack Nation to
make it up them. The team comes together ahead of the next fight selection meeting in a huddle.
BACKSTAGE #TEAMNATION
Jacob Klein and Team Nation celebrate a huge victory over Carson
Carver as they swarm him in the locker room. Anurak Chanthara and
Danny Cross pick Jacob Klein onto their shoulders and take a friendly
team picture. Ross Hanson can also be seen hanging out and having fun
with Team Nation.
Jack Nation gathers the guys together and congratulates them on a job well done. He tells his team he's proud of them and that he wants to see each and everyone of them go far in this sport. He admits that the work is not yet done and now things are about to get complicated. He tells them that since they did such a great job against Team Rossi, they unfortunately need to figure out which one of their guys are going to fight each-other and reminds them all that at the end of the day MMA is not a team sport.
Javi Ali is the first one to stand up and volunteer to fight. He says he wants to be the next one to fight and will fight anyone he chooses. He tells Jack that this is The House of Khan way and would love the opportunity to fight Anurak Chanthara or Demetrius Vitalis and respects his decision as much as he does both of these men. Jack asks if there are any volunteers to face Javi Ali and nobody on the team pipes up. Jack Nation tells Javi Ali he has given him a lot to think about but he will get an answer in the next few minutes at the fight
selection meeting.
FIGHT SELECTION
At the fight selection meeting, Jack Nation mocks head coach Paul
Rossi by telling him that he's giving him the week off to rest and
prepare. Jack Nation points at Javi Ali who hops off the bench with a
smile on his face. After giving it a few moments to think it over...
Jack Nation calls upon Anaurak Chanthara to square up with his
teammate Javi Ali setting the stage for the first match up of the semi
finals.
VS
