The Ultimate Fighter: Live Episode Three Recap

Quarterfinal fight set between Lawrence, Marcello

“The Ultimate Fighter LIVE” Episode 3 is set to air Friday at 10 p.m. Eastern on FX, and Heavy.com has you covered.

Tune in for a recap of the episode and live coverage of the second of eight first-round bouts in the tournament of 16 fighters between Team Faber and Team Cruz.

Recap

The episode begins with a brief recap of last week, and Dana seems baffled that Cruz allowed Faber to pick who would face his pick for the first fight. That did not prove to be an unfortunate decision, as Team Cruz is up 1-0.

After the introduction, the two teams are shown after the first opening round match up, and there is understandably a drastic contrast between both teams attitudes. Vinc Pichel of Team Cruz believes that Team Faber’s morale is down, but Faber gives him team a pick-me-up speech. Not sure it worked, as the team seemed a bit frustrated with the start of the tournament.

Back in the house, the two teams converse in the kitchen. Team Cruz’s Chris Tickles says to his opposing team that Faber was wrong by putting his team on the spot by asking who wanted to fight. Team Faber does not seem to understand why Tickle believes that.

Team Cruz then jumps in the van the next day, and Tickle comes equipped with a gas mask. He decides to prank the opposing coach and tears Faber’s parking sign out of it’s base. Cruz has no problem with this, stating, “The games have probably begun now.” Justin Lawrence is shown in the gym next, training his stand up, though he understands that Marcello boasts an incredible ground game.

Cruz says the idea behind the match up was to make it difficult for his guy by putting a challenge in front of him. He believes that Marcello has the ability to win it all and wants his team to dispose of him quickly. Lawrence then states that he is hear to “shock the world.”

Meanwhile, Tickles is a bit late to practice because he is taking his time taping his feet. Once in the cage, he complains of diarrhea and gets a break in training. Cruz is very frustrated with this, and he and his coaching staff are planning to end this problem quickly. He tells Tickles that he has to be ready, but does so in a mild manner. Tickles appears to understands, but he says later that he is angered by his coach confronting him so early. However, he is very apologetic in the replay of the confrontation, which was probably the best decision.

After a brief commercial break, Marcello is shown rolling, though he might want to focus on stand up. Shortly after, he does, and Faber gives him brief advice before he enters the cage. Faber says Marcello wants to take his future opponent’s head off. Justin Buchholz then gives Marcello some advice and believes Team Faber is going to even up the scorecard.

Faber decides to get in on the prank war that is starting to gain momentum, putting black tape in between Cruz’s eyebrows on a large poster of him, giving the champion a unibrow. Instead of the coaches being showing getting into it, however, Tickles once again is on the forefront on the battle between teams. He and Team Faber begin talking back and forth, and Tickles is clearly upset by the opposing team’s statements, though, to be fair, he really blew things out of proportion. Faber defuses the situation, but Tickles walks away extremely heated.

Back from more commercials, Jon Anik discusses the two fighters on tonight’s one-fight card, as the two are shown in the locker room. Back to previously events of the week, Lawrence is shown rolling in the cage with his coaches. Cruz gives advice from the side.

After the training session, Cruz discovers Faber’s prank on him, but is not taking it seriously. Pichel discusses how they would get revenge, and they focused on what was described as “Faber’s butt chin.” In a cut scene, Cruz laughs up his latest accomplishment over Faber.

Faber is now a bit upset, but not at the prank. Rather he is angered that Cruz took 11 minutes more than their allotted time in the training gym. Faber and Cruz trade comments briefly, but nothing serious is stated. Faber predicts that tension will build as the season progresses.

Meanwhile, Marcello is shown back in the cage, clearly focused and looking much more like he actually wants to take off his opponent’s head. Faber says that Marcello has a very developed skill set and, at 34, is ready to do what needs to be done to progress in his career.

Another commercial break, and Team Cruz is shown discussing the upcoming fight. Pichel is talking with Lawrence, and the latter says he needs to let his instincts take over. Marcello, meanwhile, looks at pictures of his family to get motivated and he says a brief message to them.

Day of the weigh-ins, and both teams gather for the pre-fight festivities. Lawrence is first on the scale and he makes weight without an issue. Marcello is on weight as well, and the two stare down in front of the scale. Cruz is shown shouting words of motivation to his fighter. Lawrence is shown in a cut-scene, describing his focus. Marcello quite simply states that he is here to fight. Losing doesn’t seem to be an option for either of these guys, neither of which are displaying an ounce of doubt.

Cruz is shown live backstage hyping Lawrence. Faber does the same to Marcello, and each fighter is getting ready to go live on FX. The fight will be starting momentarily.

Jon Anik with introduces the “Rules of the Octagon,” and Lawrence storms through the doors and into the cage. Marcello jogs out with the American flag in hands and stops his feet on the Octagon floor. We are about to be underway here in Las Vegas.

Justin Lawrence vs. Cristiano Marcello
Round 1: Fight gets started without a touch of gloves. Lawrence lands a nice right hand first, but misses with a head kick. Marcello yet to really throw anything, much less land anything. Side kick from Lawrence and he misses with another combination. They exchange kicks, and Marcello presses forward. Kick comes up short for Lawrence, and Marcello presses forward again. Lawrence staggers backwards to avoid, but also avoids any damage. Midway point of the round. Lawrence with an inside leg kick. Front kick from Lawrence, followed by another. Marcello falls to his back, but quickly gets back up. Not much action so far, and Marcello has struggled to implement his gameplan. Lawrence avoids a combination, but comes up short with a combination of his own. Kick from Lawrence lands, followed by a long jab. Marcello answers with a kick of his own. Lawrence short on another combination. His reach disadvantage is really showing. Another side kick glances off Marcello. 10 seconds left, and fighters exchange spinning back kicks. Neither land flush. Heavy.com scores the round 10-9 for Lawrence.

Round 2: Lawrence misses with several kicks to start and comes up short with a combination. Marcello wraps him up in the clinch, but Lawrence escapes. Nice right from from Lawrence. He lands a left shortly. Marcello misses with a leg kick. Spinning back kick misses from Lawrence. Marcello comes up short on a long combination. Takedown attempt from Lawrence. Marcello is on his back, but Lawrence calss him up. Marcello stalking now, and Lawrence misses with a spinnign back fist, but he successfully slows his opponent down. Fighters trade, and Lawrence lands a nice shot. Marcello falls to his back, but quickly stands up. He gets tagged with a left. His pace has slowed, as he misses with a long left. Front kick from Lawrence. Lawrence lands a great left that floors Marcello. He is out, and this fight is over. Great finish from Lawrence, who finally managed to find his comfort zone in the striking game.

Official Decision: Lawrence def. Marcello via knockout at 3:16 of Round 2

Lawrence interviewed by Anik post-fight. Anik asks about the challenge Cruz gave him, and Lawrence states that Marcello is a legend and had so much experience. He is extremely ecstatic, as he should be.

Not surprisingly, Marcello is disappointed, but fortunately is optimistic. He is happy to be apart of this experience and hopes that his UFC experience continues after the season is over. A brief shout out to his fellow Brazilians, a bow, and Marcello exits the cage.

Dana White interviewed outside the cage now, before moving over to address next week’s match up. Faber has words of encouragement for Marcello, and Cruz makes his pick. Next week will feature Al Iaquinta vs. Myles Jury, as Iaquinta attempts to pick up Team Faber’s first win. Tune in next week for all your “Ultimate Fighter” coverage here on HeavyMMA.com.