TUF 20: Episode 4 Tonight at 10pm ET/7pm PT on FOX Sports 1 DISCUSSION

Augustus Caesar

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Tonight's fight will be Carla Esparza (9-2) (Team Pettis) vs. Angela Hill (1-0) (Team Melendez)

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Carla Esparza is the #1 ranked fighter in the house and a big favorite, but Angela Hill is considered to be a dark horse in the house. Watch the new episode tonight at 10pm ET/7pm PT on FOX Sports 1.
 
It's an interesting fight. Hill has a big size advantage.
 
There's a lot of talk about there possibly being an upset in part because Esparza hadn't competed in like 18 months. I still can't imagine a 1-0 stand up fighter being able to stop her shot, though. I'd say she'd have to be a little lucky to do enough damage to Esparza early in the fight to take the victory. I know Hill has knockouts in Muay Thai but if Esparza isn't liking what's happening on the feet, she should be able to force a take down. Also, just based on the success that Team Pettis has been having, I would be rather surprised if they faltered now with their number 1 pick. I think Pettis continues with the streak. I see a couple of the upcoming fights going the other way, though.
 
Looks like it ain't gonna be an easy fight for Esparza
 
Will it be:

THIS IS ESPARZA!!!

or

That's the way the cookie crumbles...

?
 
leaning towards hill, just something about her, how althetic she is. then there is the issue of the tuf curse lol. you can't go by rankings when it comes to this, it's unlike anything these girls have done before, so i don't think experience plays as big of a role.
 
Psyched. I'm pulling for Hill though the best I can probably hope for is a courageous performance.
 
I watched angela hill's highlight video that was postedin her respective thread all I can say about her striking is "scary". Carla's striking isn't as good as hill based on what I've seen so far, so I would think her success hinges on her takedowns. If angela gets either a good combination off or has good tdd, I see it being a tough fight for Carla
 

Good point, plus she's up against the cage and in full guard. It's a difficult position to do anything with that. Still it's a little discouraging to see Carla in a weak position like that. So far we've seen Tecia and Jojo in similar positions and they were supposed to dominate the lower ranked girls. This division is going to be looked down upon if fighters with bad rankings or seedings end up in the finals.
 
Looks like it ain't gonna be an easy fight for Esparza

Not one bit.
Angela had trouble getting an MMA fight for 18 months. Right after her 1st fight she got on a plane for TUF20
 
leaning towards hill, just something about her, how althetic she is. then there is the issue of the tuf curse lol. you can't go by rankings when it comes to this, it's unlike anything these girls have done before, so i don't think experience plays as big of a role.

I think experience actually plays a huge role. If you are already comfortable with yourself as a fighter, you aren't as likely to be confused by the situation. When you step into the cage, you are more likely to know what you have to do to win and have more skills to fall back on when the fight doesn't go according to whatever gameplan your coaches put together for you.

If you look at the downfall of Tecia Torres, her problem was largely that lack of experience. She relies heavily on her corner calling out instructions and said she felt adrift in the cage. Although she was one of the favorites to win and ranked at 3, she only has a 4-0 record as a pro. Her stand up is unquestionably good and she certainly has a lot of experience in that realm, but that wasn't where she lost the fight. A more mature fighter is better able to stand on their own two legs in there no matter what is going on outside of the cage.
 
Looking forward to this fight

I'm interested to see how will Angela look on the feet. I expect her to land some good shots before Esparza says "fuck this, lets go to the ground" and from there its probably a wrap for a 1-0 fighter with not much of a ground game. Could end up being a fun stand up fight or a dominant grappling win for Esparza, leaning towards the second one.

As for content of this episode, from watching a preview, seems the highlight tonight will be bitching about Heather....again. Yawn
 
Looking forward to this fight

I'm interested to see how will Angela look on the feet. I expect her to land some good shots before Esparza says "fuck this, lets go to the ground" and from there its probably a wrap for a 1-0 fighter with not much of a ground game. Could end up being a fun stand up fight or a dominant grappling win for Esparza, leaning towards the second one.

As for content of this episode, from watching a preview, seems the highlight tonight will be bitching about Heather....again. Yawn


My prediction is that they don't feel each other out too much with Hill coming into punching range without any real fear of Esparza's striking but not wanting to throw too much in the way of kicks for fear of being taken down. They trade a few on the feet and at some point Esparza throws a kick which is caught by Hill who trips her. A scramble ensues with Esparza getting in on a leg, turning the corner and getting Hill down for the remainder of the round. Assuming Hill survives the round without Cookie Monster getting such a dominant position she can fish for a choke or get a TKO, the bell will ring with Esparza ahead on the score cards. In the second round, Hill will be too aggressive and somewhat tired from the first round and get taken down right away for a grinding decision win in two rounds by Esparza.

I've watched the preview video several times and every time Manana's voice gets on my nerves more. I have a feeling I am really going to come to dislike her this season.
 
I think experience actually plays a huge role. If you are already comfortable with yourself as a fighter, you aren't as likely to be confused by the situation. When you step into the cage, you are more likely to know what you have to do to win and have more skills to fall back on when the fight doesn't go according to whatever gameplan your coaches put together for you.

If you look at the downfall of Tecia Torres, her problem was largely that lack of experience. She relies heavily on her corner calling out instructions and said she felt adrift in the cage. Although she was one of the favorites to win and ranked at 3, she only has a 4-0 record as a pro. Her stand up is unquestionably good and she certainly has a lot of experience in that realm, but that wasn't where she lost the fight. A more mature fighter is better able to stand on their own two legs in there no matter what is going on outside of the cage.

would you prefer someone with more experience? sure. but i think people react different when put into that house, you can't say experience really helps because this is a new experience for them all, and being "comfortable" as a fighter is impossible when you walk into that house. that's why you have always seen upsets in tuf.

i think people lose based on being uncomfortable more than experience, because no one has this experience in their background.
 
I see Hill going to the finals. There's something about her. They really focused a lot on her in the first episode despite being 1-0.
 
I fully expect Carla to pull this one out though I'd love to be proved wrong. Angela's cool people.
 
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