This week we got a little something different on The Ultimate Fighter. Not only did we get a minimum of drama and a lot of heart warming moments, but we also got a fight that lasted more than a few minutes. Trust me, that is certainly a great thing in the wake of the past few episodes, which have featured extremely short fights and tons of unnecessary drama. After a quick recap of Din Thomas’ triangle choke victory over old school brawler Mickey Burnett, we jump right into the fray for this week’s fight fest.

Charles McCarthy is bummed out about Mickey’s loss, and Matt Serra tells the “drama-queen” to chill out. Apparently everyone in the house is getting on Charles about his negativity. Someone messes with McCarthy’s grocery list, and he freaks out. Flipping through the rest of the list, McCarthy tries to match the culprit’s hand writing, and accuses Pete “Drago” Sell of bombing his list. Drago pleads innocent, and shortly after Shonie fesses up to the crime, adding, “In my kingdom, there shall be blingdom. Holla!” This little incident seems to spark some bad blood between McCarthy and Drago, which we’ll get to later…

Jorge Rivera is having a difficult time coping with being away from his significant other, who is pregnant and about to burst like Pee-Wee Herman at an adult “bookstore”. Thankfully for Jorge, Randy Couture walks in with some good news: Rivera’s girlfriend gave birth, and Randy’s using his sleek new Amp’d Mobile phone to show Jorge pics and video of his new baby girl. Later on at the gym, more good news comes in the form of a surprise announcement: UFC Middleweight Champion Rich “Ace” Franklin has been brought on as a new coach! Dana remarks how these guys are getting some of the best training around and the inclusion of the champ really steps things up a bit. Next up was the fight announcement, and Team Mojo’s Pete “Drago” Sell is going up against Charles “Chainsaw” McCarthy. Looks like these guys get to settle their beef in the cage after all.

Back in the gym, the guys are having a lot of fun training with Jim Carey….I mean Rich Franklin. Even Jorge Rivera, whom lost via armbar to the Middleweight Champ in a very competitive fight, seems really stoked to be training with a fighter of such high caliber. Everyone there can benefit from training with such a beast of a fighter, and Franklin really seems like a hell of a coach. He has a wealth of experience against top competition and that kind of knowledge is exactly what sets him apart from other coaches. Plus, I would relish any opportunity to call Rich by the name of Ace, as in “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.”

Again we’re introduced to the two warriors about to battle it out via the mandatory UFC background check. McCarthy’s highlight reel loss to David “The Crow” Loiseau is explored in detail. That spinning back kick hurts my liver every time I watch it, myself having experienced a loss from the same move (second amateur kickboxing fight). On the other side of the cage, Pete Sell is 1-1 with an upset win over Phil “The New York Badass” and an extremely controversial “KO” loss against Nate “the Rock” Quarry. At Dana White’s very own admission, Referee Cecil Peoples stopped that fight a little early. Strange that we haven’t really seen him reffing since that debacle. Cecil will always shine in my mind as one of the best refs in the sport, along with the severely underrated Herb Dean.

Fight time rolls around yet again. Finally, a fight that’s longer than two minutes! 10:31pm and the fight is just starting. Looks like we’re finally in for that war that is promised week after week. The opening bell sounds and the fighters circle, feeling each other out with some light jabs. Sell scores with a stiff right cross, and McCarthy responds with a chopping inside leg kick. Sell takes the fight to the mat, and ends up in guard. After landing some harsh ground and pound, McCarthy rolls for a leg lock, but Sell puts his weight on the leg and pounds away with hammer fists. This process repeated itself for the rest of the round, with Sell imposing some great ground control and delivering a lot of punishment with strikes from the top.

Round two begins with a guillotine attempt from Drago, who rolls over with the choke to McCarthy’s dismay. “Chainsaw” manages to work his way out of it, but not until having much of the air squeezed out of his lungs. McCarthy works to pass the half guard, scoring with some chopping rights to the body. McCarthy manages to secure a kimura, but Drago’s impeccable submission defense allows him to escape. McCarthy yet again secures the arm, but Drago straightens it and does not allow Charles to work anything with it. After a scramble Charles manages to get side control, but is quickly put back into half guard. The round ends with both delivering some light ground and pound, with McCarthy stuck in the half guard on top. Even though there wasn’t a lot of damage in the round, it probably went to McCarthy based upon his securing of the top position.   It looks like this fight is going to round 3.

Drago opens up the final stanza by working some hard hooks and uppercuts. McCarthy steps in to mix it up and bloodies up Drago’s lip, but is then put on the fence by a hard head to body combination. Drago misses with a wild right haymaker and ends up in the clinch, using the opportunity to again ground the fight. Drago throws elbows and hammer-fists to great success from the half guard. Sell passes to mount, pounds a little to force McCarthy to his stomach, and sinks the hooks in. Drago looks for the choke, but McCarthy manages to scramble to the top position. Unfortunately, he scrambles right into an omoplata attempt, which Sell holds to deliver some shots to the body. In an awesome display of ground technique, McCarthy rolls into an omoplata attempt of his own, which has Pete Sell groaning at the bell.

After the fight its revealed that McCarthy popped his knee out in the first round, which is what caused him to turtle up and absorb so much damage for a bit. The decision is announced, and rightfully it goes to Pete “Drago” Sell by unanimous decision. McCarthy doesn’t seem too bummed in his post-fight interview, but next week’s preview reveals a much different story. Team No Love’s members are dropping like flies, and next week Pete Spratt has an incredible challenge in Matt Serra. Will it simply be a repeat of Spratt vs. Lytle? Or will Pete turn the tide and knock Serra’s head into the bleachers? I guess we’ll all just have to wait and see on the next episode of….THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER!