The Ultimate Fighter 26, Episode 5 results: Maia Stevenson vs. Sijara Eubanks

Other than losing some length on her dreadlocks, Sijara Eubanks came out a big winner on the latest episode of The Ultimate Fighter.

“Sarge” wasn’t happy about being seeded 12th in the TUF 26 tournament to crown the first UFC women’s flyweight champion, and she put that ranking further into question with an impressive win over No. 5-seeded Maia Stevenson.

The week five battle was billed as a grappler vs. striker affair, with Eubanks holding a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Stevenson coming from a boxing background, but Eubanks was able to hang with Stevenson in the striking exchanges long enough for her to find an opening to work her grappling game.

Though Stevenson was able to fend off Eubanks’s attempts to hold her down on the mat in round one, the larger Eubanks stayed glued to her against the fence while battering Stevenson with short shots to the body. Eubanks closed the round strong, getting the fight back to the mat and attacking with ground-and-pound from top and back control.

In round two, the takedown came a lot quicker for Eubanks and she went to work from half guard early on. Stevenson was unable to stop Eubanks from advancing her position, and soon she was forced to tap out to a kimura lock.

Eubanks is just 2-2 as a professional, with losses to UFC bantamweights Katlyn Chookagian and Aspen Ladd. The Maryland-based fighter had to overcome a tough cut to make it to the cage, but after chopping off some of her hair, Eubanks made the weight and got the win to advance in the TUF tournament.

For Stevenson (6-4), this represents her first loss in her last six fights, though it will not count against her pro record as TUF bouts are classified as exhibitions. The wife of MMA veteran and TUF 2 winner Joe Stevenson, Maia joined the show riding a streak of five straight wins, all by knockout or submission.

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

No. 14 Nicco Montano def. No. 3 Lauren Murphy via unanimous decision

No. 12 Sijara Eubanks def. No. 5 Maia Stevenson via submission (kimura) in Round 2

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

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

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

On next week’s episode, Honchak faces Robertson.

The season is being coached by former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and former WSOF lightweight champion Justin Gaethje. The winner of the TUF 26 tournament will be awarded the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight title.

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, Montano, Eubanks

Eliminated: Dobson, Gevorgyan, Beck, Murphy, Stevenson