Conor McGregor has control!
There would have been some shakiness in the European camp had Team U.S.A. gone 3-0 but The Notorious has steadied his ship and is now looking to tie the competition up.
The fourth episode of The Ultimate Fighter saw Poland’s Marcin Wrzosek attempt to wrestle back control as he took on Tom Gallicchio in a bid to deliver Europe’s first win of TUF 22.
The gameplan was clear for McGregor as he roared for Wrzosek to focus on his striking with three-shot combinations, namely jab-right hand-left hook.
The first round was relatively close as Gallicchio started the stronger on the feet before he caught one of Wrzosek’s kicks, spun the Polish fighter around and took his back.
While that would normally be a good sign for a submission specialist, the back take was the beginning of the end for Gallicchio as he exerted every ounce of energy in pursuit of a rear naked choke and reverse triangle while Wrzosek patiently waited it out and eventually shook the American off.
Gallicchio did secure a takedown late on in the round and moved to mount but was swept by a very savvy Wrzosek who landed a few shots from guard as the buzzer went.
Gallicchio was visibly exhausted as he made his way back to his corner and the second round was nowhere near as tight as the first as Wrzosek picked Da Tank apart on the feet.
There was an early takedown from Gallicchio who again managed to mount Wrzosek but from then on out, it was The Polish Zombie’s to lose.
With two minutes remaining, Wrzosek started jabbing his opponent to pieces as his left hand landed crisply on Gallicchio’s jaw.
And, as if there were any doubts about the scoring of, Wrzosek put an exclamation point on the fight by slamming Gallicchio to the mat to earn the 20-18 decision.
It will surprise nobody to learn that McGregor was delighted at the turn of events.
“I made sure to put that fire into Marcin and send him out there like a bull and that’s the way he went out,” McGregor said.
“He put his shots together well and I was impressed with his fight IQ.
“He made some clever decisions in the moment and didn’t panic!”
With Team Europe in control for the first time this season, McGregor opted to match up England’s Saul Rogers with Billy Quarantillo for the fourth fight of the season.
The Ultimate Fighter is on BT Sport (part of the Setanta pack in Ireland) every Thursday at 3am (repeated at 10pm on Thursdays).
