‘TUF 23’ Recap: Episode 5

The episode starts right away with Lanchana Green and her team training, getting ready for her eventual brawl with fellow Brit Helen Harper. She tells the camera about her upbringing and how she got beaten up by these mean girls when she was a kid, which led her down the path of martial arts.

Shortly thereafter, Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk brings former opponent Carla Esparza into the locker room and the team is pumped. Jedrzejczyk explains that she likes her as a fighter and person and is excited to have her around. They are trying to gameplan Harper for her fight with Green later tonight and are working diligently on kick-catches and throws.

After the first commercial, it’s back at the house and Harper tells the team that her ex used to beat on her. Finally, she reveals, so she dumped him, learned to defend herself, and now here she is telling her story to the world. She admits that people close to her were worried for her safety because she didn’t realize how bad it really was. It was hard, obviously, and she’s crying into the camera about her struggles and survival.

It’s already the next day and the editing team quickly jumps into today’s drama. Abdel Medjedoub gets a phone call from home and it’s his wife. The producer is with Medjedoub in a room and she is freaking out, yelling and lacing every other word with French profanities. Apparently he did something untoward before he came onto the show or else she obviously wouldn’t be acting like this. It’s personal, too personal, he tells the camera, and that he made a big mistake. She is threatening to divorce him and he needs to leave the show right this instant to sort out the mess he made, but the audience never actually learns what the fighter did to create such turmoil.

Almost as soon as it begins, the huge tease from last week -- Medjedoub’s drama bomb -- is over and it’s on to tonight’s fight. After both women explain how much they like one another but will leave that aside in order to win, it’s time to fight. It’s pretty early in the episode so either A) this will be a long fight that goes into Sudden Victory or B) all hell will break loose between the two coaches after the fight. In any event, it’s time for some violence.

Round 1: Harper is aggressive but Green keeps her distance. A nice right to the jaw by Green 25 seconds in, but Harper takes it well. Harper closes the gap but swallows a few punches. However, she finally ties her opponent up. They clinch against the cage, with Harper pressing into her. Harper tries for the takedown but Green defends it well. Green finally separates with a kick to the ribs and resets, circling away. Harper chases after her and clinches again at the halfway point but can’t take her down. Green digs a few vicious knees into her foe’s guts, preventing the takedown still. Green slams two hard rights to the cheek before escaping to the center of the cage. They clinch again and Harper pulls guard. Green stands over her and lands a few punches before Harper explodes back to her feet to clinch. Back to the cage the women go but Harper cannot drag her to the ground. Green again separates and tags her with two rights to the jaw. Green closes the round with a stinging right low kick to the thigh. It’s all Green.

Round 2: Harper begins the round with a slight abrasion and small mouse under her left eye. It doesn’t matter to Helen, though, as she lands a few solid left kicks to the body early. A hard, sweeping right hook connects for Green as Harper misses a clinch. Harper shoots in, is stuffed and again presses her opponent into the cage. Harper picks up Lanchana’s left leg but still can’t take her down. Green explodes out to her left and paints a few more rights to her face. Finally, two minutes in, Harper gets the takedown and lands in half guard. Harper presses her weight onto Green, but isn’t working for anything. Green is holding her in place, looking to stall for a restart, though it’s not happening just yet. Referee Mark Smith implores them to stay busy but almost two minutes have passed with nothing happening. Finally, Harper opens up with some short punches and elbows, but they don’t appear to be damaging. With a minute left, Harper finally gets to full mount and starts raining down punches. Green is simply holding on for dear life, not even trying to sweep or escape. A few solid elbows come down from Harper, who takes the second frame in dominant fashion, sending the duel to Sudden Victory.

Round 3: A nice jab and straight right from Green opens the round. Harper is looking to land some hard blows as well, but Green keeps her distance. Green peppers her with a few rights and lefts before Harper has no choice but to shoot in and tie her up. Green is able to free herself and pastes a few more rights onto her foe’s face. A nice low kick, followed by a right hook from Lanchana, forcing Harper to tie her up again. Helen presses her into the cage, per the norm, and is trying like hell to bring her down. Harper misses a throw but winds up taking Green’s back from the standing position, eventually dragging her down. Unlike the previous stanza, though, Green pops right back up but she can’t shake Harper off. Green is looking gassed at the midway point, but she drills Harper with a few elbows from the front. She explodes out to reset and tattoos Harper with a pair of nice rights to the face. Harper is exhausted, making her next takedown attempt futile. Green is bouncing up and down, picking her apart from the outside. A hard left jab snaps Harper’s head back and with 90 seconds left, she forces Green into the cage, looking for the takedown again and gets it. With a minute left, Green scrambles back to the cage and climbs to her feet and separates. A pelting overhand right cracks Harper’s ear with 30 seconds left and it’s clear that Helen needs a stoppage to win. She clinches one final time but can’t take her down as time expires.

The verdict: Green wins the unanimous decision, keeping full control in Claudia Gadelha’s hands, eliciting a huge ovation form the team. Gadelha goes around the Octagon and shakes everybody’s hand except for Jedrzejczyk, which enrages the champ, though she keeps it inside.

In the hallway after Team Joanna consoles a devastated Harper, the champ walks up to Claudia and demands that she respects her before getting in her face. The Pole is telling her how many friends she has in Brazil and that they’ll be happy when she beats Gadelha again. Tension nearly boils over but cooler heads prevail, allowing the Brazilian to choose the next fight. In said pick, she opts to go with her own Eric Spicely, the jiu jitsu wizard, who will fight Elias Urbina, the last fighter picked this season.

Previews of next week’s show have Medjedoub meeting with Dana White on whether he will stay on the show plus highlights of the upcoming fight.