“The Ultimate Fighter 24: Tournament of Champions” opens with UFC President Dana White recapping the first episode, where Team Cejudo jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the competition after #1 Alexandre Pantoja and #9 Kai Kara-France earned victories over their respective opponents. Team Benavidez will have a chance to rebound in the upcoming fight, though, because #5 Hiromasa Ogikubo , who holds the Shooto Japan flyweight title, is favored over #12 Nkazimulo Zulu of South Africa’s Extreme Fighting Championship. Zulu begins his fight preparation with Team Cejudo. He is praised by White as one of the top strikers in the competition and coach Cejudo agrees, saying he has “some of the nastiest knees I’ve ever seen.” The South African fighter has earned six of his seven career victories by stoppage, but his coaches want to work on his defense. Coach Cejudo says he sees “a lot of holes” in Zulu’s takedown defense and jiu-jitsu skills, so he will work on helping him shore up that part of his game for fight time. Attention shifts to Ogikubo, who is one of the unique characters on the cast due to the language barrier
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Episode No. 2 recap: ‘The Ultimate Fighter 24: Tournament of Champions’ – MMA Junkie