Ryan Bader was enjoying a vacation in Hawaii and celebrating his wife’s birthday when the phone rang. Alexander Gustafsson was injured, and Rogerio Nogueira needed a new opponent to lead the card for UFC in Sao Paulo on Nov. 19.

Bader had fought not long before that, so he was still in fight shape. The will to return to the Octagon was there, too, so why not?

Challenge accepted.

There is history in this fight. In 2008, Bader won The Ultimate Fighter 8 after training under the guidance of Rodrigo Nogueira, „Minotouro’s“ twin brother and legendary heavyweight. In 2010, „Darth“ got the best of Lil’Nog, winning the UFC 119 battle by unanimous decision.

Since then, much has changed. Bader points out that on that first occasion, he was nervous when faced with the „first big name“ of his career, and admits he did not feel comfortable at all in the stand-up department, especially against a skilled boxer. Now, in addition to the technical developments in his game, the light heavyweight is betting on his new-found emotional maturity to overcome the Brazilian once again.

See how Bader matches up against Nogueira ahead of their Nov. 19 clash

Bader said during a recent UFC media day in Rio de Janeiro. „It made me fight a certain way, made me take less risks. To be able to have fun with this means I’m just kind of free out there.

Relaxing might just be one of the fundamental advantages to win in Brazil. The crowd is known for putting extra pressure on the backs of foreign athletes facing the local household names, after all. Bader, however, has been through this before, when he faced Glover Teixeira in Belo Horizonte in 2013.

„My preparation is the experience,” Bader said. „The Brazilian crowd is really passionate, a home team crowd. I know I’m not gonna be cheered on there. It is what it is. I’ll use that as fuel for me. If there is passion and energy, it doesn’t matter if it’s for me or against me, I can feed off of that.

„I enjoyed the last time I fought in Brazil. I enjoyed the interaction with the fans, even though they were obviously going for Glover, there were a lot of cool people. It was definitely a cool experience.“

Coming off an impressive knockout victory over Ilir Latifi at UFC Hamburg in September, Bader is currently the fourth-ranked light heavyweight. With Anthony Johnson set to face the champion Daniel Cormier, Glover coming from a loss and Gustafsson injured, the veteran does not rule out the possibility of fighting for the gold soon.

„I believe I’m one fight away from getting a title shot at all times,” Bader said. „I think I have to beat one of those top 3 guys. … I always believe I’m right there.”

When the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter Latin America started, coach Chuck Liddell immediately pegged Peruvian prospect Claudio Puelles as his top pick and the most likely candidate to make it to the finals on November 5 in Mexico City.

Puelles was definitely one of the most talked about prospects to start the season as he entered the competition with an impressive 7-1 mark and a lot of hype around what he brought to the table as one of the most well rounded fighters in the tournament. So far, Liddell’s faith in Puelles has been proven correct as the lightweight prospect has gone 2-0 with two finishes – one by TKO and the other by submission – but if he wants to make the finale, he still has one more hurdle to jump.

On the last episode of The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 this week, Puelles faces off with Team Griffin upstart Marcelo Rojo, who will look to pull off the upset and ultimately face his training partner Martin Bravo in the finale.

While Puelles has undoubtedly been one of the most talked about and watched fighters on the show this season, he’s also failed to make many friends in the house. During his preparation for the quarterfinals, Puelles was reserved and rarely spent time with his teammates as he prepared for his bout. Many of the other fighters regarded this as Puelles being antisocial and standoffish with them, which immediately made him less of a favorite amongst his peers.

Puelles has chalked it up to anxiety being in a house with 15 strangers while locked away from his friends and family. Puelles has also gone through his own mental battles this season, which hasn’t helped him create many relationships with his fellow fighters. Despite being the odds-on favorite to make it to the finale, Puelles’ own confidence has been rattled throughout the competition and perhaps the pressure will finally get to him this week?

With just days counting down until the fight, Puelles not only has to battle his own mind, but his biggest fight may come against his body.

Puelles is one of the bigger fighters in the competition – a legitimate lightweight – which has worked to his favor thus far, but going through a third weight cut in just six weeks may take its toll. The weight cut was a big concern for Puelles going into his last matchup and now he has to do it all over again this week while also preparing for a three-round fight. The semifinals are all set up to potentially go for 15 minutes and that will undoubtedly test Puelles’ conditioning and readiness if he struggles to get down to the lightweight limit just 24 hours before taking on Rojo.

All of that will combine into another crisis for Puelles this week and he once again faces some tough decisions before stepping into the Octagon. Liddell hasn’t been around his team for several weeks, but he’s continued to pass along messages to get them ready for the upcoming fights. Liddell’s assistant coaches have tried to boost Puelles’ morale as he gets ready for this crucial semifinal matchup because this one is the only fight that matters. Without a win this week, Puelles goes home as another prospect who didn’t live up to expectations.

While Puelles remains distanced from his teammates and fellow fighters this week, Rojo will show off just how close he’s gotten with the other competitors.

Rojo hasn’t faced any of the same social anxiety problems that his opponents have dealt with this season, and instead he’s embraced the situation to get to know a group of fighters with diverse backgrounds from all over Latin America. It also doesn’t hurt that Rojo is probably the best cook in the house, so his culinary skills have been put to the test more than once as the other fighters continue to request his recipes from day to day.

With the hours ticking down until the season comes to a close, the fighters will also enjoy a full barbecue this week provided by a professional Argentinean chef. It’s been a long season for the 16 fighters in the house and they are undoubtedly ready to travel back home to see their families, but this will be one last chance to spend time together before the show is over.

This season has brought competitors from throughout Latin America together, and it’s an experience none of them will ever forget.

From there, it’s time to focus on the final fight between Puelles and Rojo.

As previously stated, Puelles has been ultra impressive with everything he’s done this season despite facing his own anxiety ahead of every fight. Puelles is a complete mixed martial artist, with very good takedowns, a slick submission game and a rapidly improving striking arsenal that gives him a way to win no matter where this fight goes. Puelles is probably best on the ground, where he’s a punishing force on top, especially considering his size and reach that will both be an advantage over Rojo.

Rojo is clearly the underdog, but he’s also more than capable of pulling off a few surprises of his own. Rojo is a very scrappy fighter, who will probably look to draw Puelles into some wild exchanges where he could uncork some unorthodox combinations. The key for Rojo is not giving up too many takedowns where Puelles can control the action on top and maintain his conditioning over three rounds. If Rojo can stave off those attempts and force Puelles to chase him to engage, he could wear the Peruvian down and by the third round really look to take over.

Will Puelles prove that he was worthy of Liddell’s top pick or can Rojo pull off the upset to meet his teammate in the finale on Nov. 5? Watch the final episode of this season of The Ultimate Fighter Latin America tonight to find out.

In cities with a wealth of combat sports talent, it’s inevitable that a collection of those competitors are going to start running in the same circles, training at the same gyms and getting instruction from the same collection of coaches. In many cases, they’ll come together to form a team, whether loosely defined or complete with t-shirts, a logo and maybe a secret handshake.

That’s what happened in Denver, Colorado with the Elevation Fight Team, a collection of athletes that ran together, spending time on the mats at Easton Training Center, High Altitude Martial Arts and three sessions per week at the cavernous MusclePharm facility, with Leister Bowling standing at the helm.

“Three years ago, we started Elevation Fight Team,” said Bowling, a long-time wrestling coach who serves as the outfit’s head coach. “We had three practices a week at MusclePharm, everything else was done at Easton Training Center and High Altitude Martial Arts and one year ago in October is when I reached an agreement with MusclePharm to endorse our team.

In addition to sponsoring the team as a whole, the backing of the supplement company has allowed Bowling and his crew to make the MusclePharm gym its base of operations, bringing the team together under one roof on a daily basis, though Bowling still makes sure everyone on the team is out getting their one-on-one time in as well.

“We have a full pro schedule at MusclePharm and then I tell the guys all the time, ‘You’ve got to get technical work in as well,’ so most of our guys will go to Easton Training Center for jiu-jitsu; High Altitude for jiu-jitsu and striking; some of them go to Ludwig Martial Arts for striking classes.”

For Bowling, the biggest plus partnering with MusclePharm has been creating a completely professional setting where only the team has access. Unlike many gyms, where the pro team practice can come after women’s cardio kickboxing and before the adult open mat session, that isn’t the case with the Elevation Fight Team and their training sessions at their home base.

, explaining where the blueprint for how the Elevation Fight Team conducts business came from. “And then on Monday, you can show up and train alongside some of the best fighters in the world.

“If I was watching Sunday football and said, ‘You know what? I’m going to go play for the Broncos!’ I wouldn’t even be able to find their practice schedule. I’m not playing for the Broncos.

“So I really wanted to model our team on this being a professional fight team and the fact that MusclePharm got behind us helped make that possible. It’s a private facility where you have to have a code to get in the door; you can’t join the gym.”

The fact that there isn’t an open-door policy in place with the team is something Cody Donovan stresses every chance he gets.

Having hung up his four-ounce gloves a couple years ago, the proud new father and former UFC light heavyweight has transitioned into an assistant coaching role with the burgeoning fight team. Currently working with several of the emerging talents on the Denver-based squad, “Donnybrook” was with the group during its itinerant origins and sees a tremendous change from then to now, much of which he attributes to the partnership between the team and its landlord.

“It’s like the thing that Leister said about the locked door – you’ve got to have a code to get in,” said Donovan, who picked up a Fight of the Night bonus for his short-notice debut win over Nick Penner in December 2012. “Something I say on a weekly basis is ‘Look down at your feet because this is valuable real estate.’ There is no sitting at this table unless you’re bringing something to it.

“The major difference now is all MusclePharm – it’s MusclePharm and it’s Ryan Drexler,” he continued. “Ryan has our back. He believed in this team and the idea of what it could be.”

And the impact the formation and development of the Elevation Fight Team has had is evident in its most active member.

“Matt Brown had been out for four camps prior to our team really starting and TJ (Dillashaw) had been out for two and our main group of guys were beginners in the UFC,” Bowling said. “One of those guys was Neil Magny.”

A former TUF contestant, Magny has stepped into the Octagon 12 times in the last 32 months, posting a 10-2 record over that stretch to climb to No. 9 in the welterweight rankings. He’ll pick up fight number 13 in that stretch at the end of December when he shares the cage with former welterweight champ Johny Hendricks at UFC 207.

“Look at how far Neil Magny has come in the last two years,” boomed Bowling, clearly proud of the strides his charge has made. “It’s insane!” He was on the verge of being cut two years ago and now he’s knocking on the door of the Top 5.

“There is not a person in this world that deserves it more, he added. “I know you hear that all the time and it’s a cliché, but it’s not just his work ethic. Nobody wants to help people move, but Neil helps you move.”

December will be a busy month for the Denver-area fight team, as Brown and Brandon Thatch will join Magny on the year-end card in Las Vegas, while prospect Bojan Velickovic will step into the cage two weeks earlier in Sacramento.

Though it would be nice to run the table to round out the year, wins and losses aren’t the most important thing Bowling is looking for from the members of the Elevation Fight Team.

“We’ve had some ups and downs – some huge wins and some very tough losses,” he offered. “I feel like we’ve lost a few fights we shouldn’t have and maybe won a lot of fights that people didn’t think we would win.

“Honestly, we just try to get better every fight and if we can see improvements in our guys on a win or a loss, that’s winning for us.”