The Ultimate Fighter 27, Episode 3 results: Luis Pena vs. Jose Martinez

Three fights, three wins so far for Team Cormier.

This week on The Ultimate Fighter 27, it was Luis Pena a.k.a. “Violent Bob Ross” who picked up the victory for Daniel Cormier’s squad, winning a competitive and entertaining lightweight bout against Team Miocic representative Jose Martinez via two-round unanimous decision.

Listed at 6-foot-3 with an afro that adds at least another two inches, the rangy Pena took full advantage of his long limbs, battering Martinez with high kicks and front kicks to the body throughout their fight. Martinez closed the distance as much as he could and his aggressive style occasionally paid dividends, but it was Pena who landed clean shots with more consistency.

Even when Martinez managed to get in Pena’s face, it was Pena who did most of the damage with short counter punches and knees in the clinch.

Both men entered the bout with 4-0 professional records, as the theme of TUF 27 is that all contestants are undefeated. This season’s fighters entered the show with an unblemished record and will technically remain that way until the finale on July 6, due to TUF bouts being classified as exhibitions.

The win came after a difficult episode for Pena in which he was seen complaining about his gear and butting heads with Team Miocic’s Suman Mokhtarian while dealing with the stress of his weight cut. We also see Martinez in a similar situation as he worked to coexist with loudmouth teammate Dulani Perry.

Here are the first-round results so far:

Joe Giannetti def. John Gunther via technical submission (guillotine choke) in Round 1

Brad Katona def. Kyler Phillips via majority decision

Luis Pena def. Jose Martinez via unanimous decision

On next week’s episode, Team Cormier’s Bryce Mitchell fights Team Miocic’s Jay Cucciniello in a featherweight bout.

Season 27 of The Ultimate Fighter is being coached by UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. Cormier challenges Miocic for the heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 226 on July 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The finalists of the TUF 27 lightweight and featherweight tournaments will compete for a six-figure UFC contract on July 6, also in Las Vegas.

Here is the TUF 27 roster divided by team:

Team Cormier

Lightweights
Thai Clark
Joe Giannetti
Luis Pena
Richie Smullen

Featherweights
Tyler Diamond
Brad Katona
Bryce Mitchell
Ricky Steele

Team Miocic

Lightweights
John Gunther
Jose Martinez
Mike Trizano
Allan Zuniga

Featherweights
Jay Cucciniello
Suman Mokhtarian
Dulani Perry
Kyler Phillips

Advancing to Round 2: Giannetti, Katona, Pena

Eliminated: Gunther, Phillips, Martinez