TUF Brazil 4: Episode 6 Recap

The incredible start to the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil continued with the latest episode as Team Shogun fighter Glaico Franca put away Team Nogueira's Nikolas Motta in impressive fashion with a second-round rear naked choke to keep his team undefeated as the competition continues to be a one-sided affair.
 
Before the fight started this week, both Glaico and Motta got a little camera time to tell their stories and how they got to The Ultimate Fighter Brazil in the first place.
 
Franca has been competing in martial arts of one kind or another for the past 16 years and has a family that supports him in every endeavor - including being a UFC fighter one day. As for Motta, who the fighters call “Cheese,” he's a 22-year old prospect who moved from Minas Gerais down to Rio de Janeiro to properly train for his MMA future while leaving behind all his friends and family to pursue his dream of being a fighter.
 
After the fighters competing this week are profiled, the two teams head to the desert in Las Vegas for a new game with a prize that could have a major impact on the overall outcome of this season. The winner of the competition will receive a fight pick - meaning even if they lose a fight at some point this season, the winning side can alter the selection and make the pick over their opponents.  It was a huge opportunity for Team Nogueira to turn the tide while not technically winning a fight – and, of course, they lost.
 
Team Shogun once again showed real dominance in a Capture the Flag game as they trounced their opponents 4-1 and proved once again who the dominant side of this competition is so far.
 
"I'd like to announce another blue team defeat," one of the fighters says in the van on the way home. "The score is 80-0 for us. They haven't won anything."
 
Morale over on Team Nogueira's side has to be at an all-time low after having the chance to steal a fight selection away from Team Shogun and once again coming up well short of the goal.  Now they had to send Motta into the Octagon knowing that even if he wins they could still be on the short end of the fight selection next week as well.
 
If there was a bright side to thing this week for the downtrodden team, UFC president Dana White treats everybody in the house to a day of dune buggy riding outside of Las Vegas as a way to let some steam off after several weeks of the competition.  Living in the house can be tough, especially for these Brazilian fighters who are living thousands of miles away from their friends and family, so this was a nice way to forget about fighting for at least a few hours while enjoying one of the perks of staying in Las Vegas.
 
Once the day of dune buggy riding is in the books, the focus turns back to Franca and Motta as they begin to cut weight and prepare for the fight just 24 hours away. Franca, who stands six feet tall and fights as a lightweight, begins his weight cut a day ahead of time like many fighters will do when they know there are a few extra pounds that must be shed before standing on the scale.
 
Franca decides to begin his weight cut by soaking in a hot bath at 1am while the rest of his teammates are sleeping. Needless to say, Fernando Bruno wasn't very amused to be woken up in the middle of the night by someone taking a bath in the room next to his bed. The two fighters have a heated confrontation about respect for others while living in the same confined quarters, but cooler heads eventually prevail as Bruno apologizes to Franca for his harsh words earlier in the day.
 
Once the weight cutting drama is set aside, both Franca and Motta hit the scale to make their fight official for the next day.
 
The matchup once again showed Team Shogun's superiority in preparation and readiness as Franca knew the exact way to ground Motta's ultra aggressive, heavy-handed style in which he likes to blitz his opponents with punches before they know what hit them.  Franca spent most of the first round pressing Motta against the cage and mixing in a couple of takedowns along the way as well.
 
Franca was able to use his superior size and height to tower over Motta on the cage, and after a slow-paced first round, the Team Shogun fighter wasted no time picking up the pace in round two.
 
Franca came out in the second round with a similar game plan, although this time he had no plans of allowing Motta the chance to come back. Franca pressured the smaller fighter against the cage and then dropped him to the mat with a slick takedown. From there, Franca quickly transitioned to the back in a scramble before slipping his arm under Motta's chin and locking up the rear naked choke.
 
Motta grimaced for a moment and then tapped out, knowing that the only other alternative was passing out unconscious from the choke.  Franca celebrated along with a rowdy Team Shogun as they stay undefeated in the competition, while Team Nogueira continues to suffer loss after loss after loss with no signs of light at the end of the tunnel.
 
With the fight selection still in their control - and not needing to use the prize they won earlier in the episode - Team Shogun selects Bruno “Korea” Mesquita for the next fight.  Mesquita was the fighter who landed the incredible spinning back kick knockout during the preliminary rounds before a little make out session with one of the Octagon Girl hopefuls on the ski slopes early in the season.  
 
Mesquita will face Leandro Higo from Team Nogueira, who won his opening round matchup with a dominant ground performance that ended with an arm triangle choke in the first round. Higo has a vast experience advantage going into this matchup, with 15 fights on his record, while “Korea” has only entered the cage on four occasions total in his career.
 
Is this finally the matchup to get Team Nogeuria on the board? Tune into The Ultimate Fighter Brazil next week to find out!