Things are getting chippy in the middleweight final four.
Team Alexander Volkanovski’s Bryan Battle (5-1)* out-struck, outlasted, and submitted Team Brian Ortega’s Andre Petroski (5-1) in The Ultimate Fighter 29 semifinals to become the first fighter to advance to the finals of the 185-pound tournament.
In a season of exciting fights, this was the first in which there was any genuine animosity between the two fighters, if only for a moment. Early in Round 1, Battle hit Petroski hard in the clinch and Petroski immediately complained to the referee about an illegal headbutt as a cut opened up by his right eye.