TUF Smashes Episode 10 Recap

Norman Parke defeated teammate Brendan Loughnane in the first lightweight semi-final during episode 10 of The Ultimate Fighter: Australia vs. UK – The Smashes™. He will go onto represent Team UK in the lightweight finale on the UFC® on FX: SOTIROPOULOS vs. PEARSON fight card on December 15.

Parke was able to score multiple takedowns and control much of the fight to nullify the dangerous striking of his opponent. The tight back-and-forth three round battle went the distance, with the judges awarding Parke the victory by unanimous decision.

Team UK coach Ross Pearson, unwilling to choose between his two protégées, was merely an observer at Octagonside, as he his assistant coaches took the roles of cornermen. The result see Team UK represented in each weight division in the series Finale, which takes place on the UFC® on FX: SOTIROPOULOS vs. PEARSON fight card.

Earlier in the episode, coaches George Sotiropoulos and Ross Pearson swopped fists for engines as they battled out the Coaches Challenge in a demolition derby at Sydney Speedway. A $10,000 prize added fuel to the fire after weeks of heated rivalry between the two.

With the aim of smashing each other’s car to destruction, the coaches went bonnet-to-bonnet as their teams watched on. After multiple collisions, Pearson eventually cornered Sotiropoulos and finished him off.

The series resumes next Wednesday, November 28, at 7.30 p.m. AEDT on FX (FOXTEL channel 123) (midnight Wednesday in the UK). In episode 11, former Australian rugby star Quade Cooper visits Team UK during training, which confuses the Australians. Team Australia teammates Robert Whittaker and Xavier Lucas square off in the second welterweight semi-final.