The Ultimate Fighter 26, Episode 3 results: Ariel Beck vs. Montana Stewart

The woman named Montana beat an opponent who hailed from Montana.

Sixth-seeded Montana Stewart knocked off No. 11 Ariel Beck in the first round of The Ultimate Fighter 26 women’s flyweight title tournament the third episode of the season, which aired Wednesday night in FS1. Stewart defeated Beck by submission at 2:52 of the first round with a gorgeous D’arce choke.

Beck, who competed on coach Eddie Alvarez’s team, started off strong with her boxing early, landing some hard left hands. But Stewart, a longtime wrestler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor, took things to the ground, got excellent position and threaded through a great choke. Stewart is on coach Justin Gaethje’s team in the competition.

“I felt amazing,” Stewart said. “But back to work and I’m not just fine with one win. I’m ready to go in there, finish all the fights and get that belt.”

Stewart, 22, will now face the winner of the first-round match between No. 3 Lauren Murphy and No. 14 Nicco Montano. The Texas native is a veteran of LFA.

Beck, 26, has fought for both LFA and Invicta FC. She had trouble in the episode prior to her fight with a panic attack and had to be consoled by Alvarez.

“It’s emotional,” Beck said afterward. “It didn’t go how I wanted it to go. That’s the fight game.”

Here are the first-round results so far, and the remaining remaining seeds and matchups:

No. 1 Roxanne Modafferi def. No. 16 Shana Dobson via TKO (ground and pound) in Round 1

No. 4 DeAnna Bennett def. No. 13 Karine Gevorgyan via TKO (ground and pound) in Round 1

No. 2 Barb Honchak vs. No. 15 Gillian Robertson

No. 3 Lauren Murphy vs. No. 14 Nicco Montano

No. 5 Maia Stevenson vs. No. 12 Sijara Eubanks

No. 6 Montana Stewart def. No. 11 Ariel Beck via submission (D’arce choke) in Round 1

No. 7 Melinda Fabian vs. No. 10 Rachael Ostovich

No. 8 Emily Whitmire v. No. 9 Christina Marks

On next week’s episode, Murphy faces Montano.

The season is being coached by former lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and former WSOF lightweight champion Justin Gaethje. Here is the TUF 26 roster divided by team:

Team Alvarez: Dobson, Marks, Eubanks, Bennett, Honchak, Fabian, Beck, Murphy

Team Gaethje: Modafferi, Whitmire, Stevenson, Gevorgyan, Robertson, Ostovich, Stewart, Montano

Advancing to Round 2: Modafferi, Bennett, Stewart

Eliminated: Dobson, Gevorgyan, Beck