It’s been a long road to get to the semifinals, but the last four fighters are now poised to face off, with two of them moving on to the finale on November 5 in Mexico City. This week’s episode saw the last quarterfinal match unfold, as Marcelo Rojo from Team Griffin took on John Bedoya from Team Liddell.
Bedoya was drawn back into the competition after Alejandro Martinez was forced out of the tournament due to the cuts he suffered in his win over Fabian Quintanar in the opening round. Bedoya originally lost his fight to advance in the tournament, but when Martinez was unable to continue, he was given a second chance.
While Bedoya is the fighter who was chosen to face Rojo in the quarterfinals, most of Rojo’s training partners from Team Griffin didn’t agree with the decision to give Bedoya the second chance. Most of them believed the nod should have gone to Yasser Castillo, who lost a very close majority decision in his fight as well. The consensus ahead of the rematch is that Bedoya isn’t on Rojo’s level and they believe that the Team Griffin fighter should have no problem exerting his will and getting the job done to move on to the semifinals.
Forrest Griffin constantly yelled at Rojo to stop playing with his jiu-jitsu and instead get up from the ground. Rojo eventually worked his way back to the feet, and this time he was able to plant Bedoya on the mat.
From there, Rojo maintains his top control while tagging Bedoya with some hard stinging shots as the fight came to an end. It was a back and forth battle that really came down to damage done on the ground as both fighters took advantage when they were on top.
When it was all over, Marcelo Rojo was handed the victory, much to the dismay of coach Chuck Liddell, who felt like there should have been a third round. Unfortunately, the judges disagreed and Rojo moved into the semifinals.
With that fight finished, it was time to announce the semifinal matchups that will ultimately determine the two competitors moving on to the finale in November.
The first fight will pit Martin Bravo from Team Griffin against Leonardo Rodriguez from Team Liddell. The other matchup will see top pick Claudio Puelles from Team Liddell take on Marcelo Rojo from Team Griffin.
It all comes down to these final two fights in the last two episodes, and it all kicks off next Wednesday when the new episode of The Ultimate Fighter Latin America debuts on UFC FIGHT PASS.
