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‘The Ultimate Fighter 28: Heavy Hitters’ Episode 7 recap

Episode 7 of “The Ultimate Fighter 28: Heavy Hitters” opens with the fighters welcoming a battered Leah Letson back to The Ultimate Fighter house after her victory over Bea Malecki in the previous episode.

Letson took a lot of damage in the fight with Malecki. Her eyes are swollen, and she has a bad cut on the forehead. She’s not discouraged, though, because after expressing some concern about the Team Whittaker coaches in the past, Letson says she’s happy with her situation.

Team Whittaker’s Jan Francisco Espino Diepa, who was the third overall pick for his team, is preparing for his heavyweight quarterfinal bout against Team Gastelum’s top overall pick, Ben Sosoli. At 38, Espino Diepa is among the oldest athletes in the competition.

At Team Gastelum’s next training session, head coach Kelvin Gastelum admits to having some concern going into the next fight. He is high on Sosoli’s abilities, but knows he’ll soon be standing across the cage against a very dangerous opponent, and it will take perfect execution to ensure he gets the victory.

“If I stay off my back, I win the fight,” Sosoli says.

Back at the TUF House, Team Gastelum’s Maurice Greene is drinking beers and is growing more agitated by Team Whittaker’s Espino Deipa. He believes the Brazilian is “so fake” after having some early interactions in the show. He liked him at the beginning, but as they’ve spent more time in the house, Greene is becoming increasingly upset.

Espino Diepa doesn’t fully understand the hostility from Greene and calls him an “easy fight” if they were to share the cage at some point in the competition. The confrontation continues for several more minutes, with plenty of name calling from each side, but ultimately Espino Diepa decides to walk away and keep focused on his upcoming fight.

At the next Team Whittaker training session, head coach Robert Whittaker helps his fighter prepare and refine strategy for his bout. Whittaker praises Espino Diepa for having a well-rounded skillset, but naturally there’s a belief that his grappling skills are superior, and the plan is to win the fight on the ground.

Later that evening at the TUF House, Greene has somewhat of a change of heart with his stance on Espino Diepa. He admits he may have overreacted to some of their interactions and attempts to squash the negativity between the two sides. Greene and Espino Diepa have a civil conversation that ends with a handshake and hug.

The following day, Espino Diepa (260 pounds) and Sosoli (265 pounds) make weight for their quarterfinal matchup. Both men are friendly and laughing during the staredown.

The following day, the fighters return to The Ultimate Fighter Gym for their bout. Espino Diepa and Sosoli complete warmups with the coaches in the locker rooms before heading to the cage to face off in the fourth and final men’s heavyweight quarterfinal.

TEAM GASTELUM’S BEN SOSOLI (6-2) VS. TEAM WHITTAKER’S JUAN FRANCISCO ESPINO DIEPA (8-1)

Round 1 – Espino Diepa is using a lot of movement to start the fight but eats a stinging jab followed by a left hand from Sosoli. It’s clear Espino Diepa is looking to time a takedown, so Sosoli has his hands low and is looking to fire and defend. That doesn’t stop Espino Diepa from shooting in for a single leg, though, which after a bit of a struggle, he’s able to use to complete a takedown. Espino Diepa lands in side control and is putting pressure on Sosoli with attempts to pass guard and ground-and-pound shots. Sosoli does a decent job protecting himself from damage, but he can’t do much to get out from underneath his opponent. Espino Diepa is using a methodical attack of strikes to help open up submission opportunities. He passes to mount in the final 20 seconds, but Sosoli is able to scramble up to his feet. Espino Diepa picks him up off the ground and scores with a massive slam before the bell to put an exclamation point on the round.

Round 2 – Sosoli is cautious in the early going because he doesn’t want to be taken down again. He wings some haymakers, but Espino Diepa easily ducks under one of them and scores with a takedown. Espino Diepa gets back into half-guard, where he was successful in the previous round. Sosoli has a better idea what to do this time, though, and gets toward the fence, where he’s able to scramble up to his feet. Unfortunately, Espino Diepa has him scouted, because he picks Sosoli up again and scoops him to the canvas. Espino Diepa opens up with some strikes from half-guard and is really starting to run away with the fight. He keeps half-guard for the remainder of the fight and pounds away on Sosoli until the final bell.

Jan Francisco Espino Diepa def. Ben Sosoli via unanimous decision

Espino Diepa gets a key victory for Team Whittaker in what was an utterly one-sided performance. He’s pleased with what he accomplished against Sosoli inside the octagon to take Team Whittaker’s lead in the competition to 4-3.

“My plan was to dominate the fight, through ground and pound,” Espino Diepa says post-fight. “Since Ben is a little guy, I knew if I took him down, he would get up really fast. Ben is also really strong, so my whole plan was to control the tempo of the fight and keep everything at a slower pace and to ground and pound the (expletive) out of him.

“The situation of living in the TUF House is pretty complicated. You find your roommate and you become friends, and on top of that I am fighting a guy I really like, but I have to do this to fulfill my dream of being a UFC fighter. For other guys, I have a different strategy. This was my strategy for the strongest fighter and striker. I will look at my next opponent and see what is the best.”

Once the aftermath of Espino Diepa vs. Sosoli wraps up, the fighters return for the next fight announcement. With only two fighters remaining in the bracket, Team Whittaker’s No. 6 pick Larissa Pacheco meets Team Gastelum’s No. 2 pick Macy Chiasson in the fourth and final women’s featherweight quarterfinal.

Also see:

Catch new episodes of “The Ultimate Fighter 28: Heavy Hitters” every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) on FS1. MMAjunkie recaps each episode of the reality series.

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