A new grudge is forged when the fighters are forced to make a decision that will change the tournament. Alfredo Escalera and AK Laleye finally settle their differences in the ring.
Troy Ross does it again... 2 minutes and 38 seconds into the first round Troy Ross knocks out Felix Cora Jr., the former Blue teams’ strongest fighter.
Back at the loft, the fighters in the loft are impressed. With 2 knockouts under his belt, Troy is the man to beat. With AK and Alfredo being in the same bracket as Troy for the semi-finals, the pressure is on them. In an interview, AK warns, “to the naked eye, Troy may seem like the man to beat but don’t sleep on the little guy”.
With only 2 remaining fighters left from the original Blue team, Alfredo and Ryan, the mood is somber. For Ryan, despite this lost, he is focused on healing from his cut and preparing for his fight with Rico Hoye, he will not let Felix's loss be a distraction.
The next day, Ryan has a check-up with the doctor. His cut is not healing as it should, it’s looking worse then the day before and the doctor is worried. The doctor’s final word is that he thinks Ryan shouldn’t fight and should be removed from the tournament.
While packing his bags, Ryan tells Alfredo “they’re sending me out, I knew it could come to this”. “It could’ve been any of us” Alfredo replies. With that, they say a somber goodbye and Ryan walks out the door leaving Alfredo as the last man standing in the Blue room.
Ryan Coyne walks out of the Contender loft with his held high, waiting to fight another day.
The fighters are called out to the bracket board and Tony breaks the news to them... Ryan is out and somebody has to come back to tournament to fight Rico. Of the eliminated fighters there are only 3 medically cleared to fight and they are; Joell Godfrey, Erick Vega and Mike Alexander. The fighters get to decide who they want to bring back. Tony sends them off to decide.
In the Gold room, the remaining fighters deliberate between two choices, Mike Alexander and Joell Godfrey. Deon, AK, and Alfredo are in favor of bringing back Mike because he had the closest decision. Troy and Rico favor bringing Joell back. When it comes to Hino’s decision, he says “I don’t pick nobody, I just say whoever Rico says he wanna fight... Let him choose his destiny”. The fighters suddenly all agree except Alfredo. “Of course Rico ain’t gonna say 'bring Mike back, I want another close fight!” As he walks out the room disgusted, Rico fires back, “You’re stretched tomorrow anyways!” Enraged by Rico's insult, Alfredo has to be held back by the other fighters. After exchanging insults, he storms out of the gold room. Alfredo has just sealed his lonely fate in the house, but vows to stay focused on his task to defeat AK Laleye.
Tony reassembles the fighters and asks for their decision. Deon speaks up for them and tells Tony that Joell will be Rico's new opponent.
The next morning, Joell re-enters the Contender loft. Joell is pleased to see the fighters again, and to have another shot in the tournament. Troy tells Joell it was Rico’s decision to bring him back. In interview, Joell warns “regardless of him picking me for strategy-wise or friendship-wise, I’m here for business and I’m coming back with a different attitude.”
During training, Joell is having a hard time getting back into rhythm. The time spent away from the loft has made him rusty. Rico watches from a distance and feels confident with his decision to bring Joell back.
Fight night arrives, and Alfredo prepares himself for five rounds against AK. In the other locker room, AK is predicting victory against his bigger opponent.
In the first round they seem equally matched. Alfredo fires strong uppercuts and jabs with AK returning them in quick successions. During the round break, Tommy warns AK, “I gave him that round cuz he was jabbing and connecting, now we need the next round!" Sitting ringside, Rico is the most vocal in his support for AK.
In round 2, the fighters keep up the pace but Alfredo is visibly losing steam. AK wears him down with shots to the body. “There you go AK! There you go!” Rico shouts from the sidelines. In response, Alfredo lands a left hook that shakes up AK.
During the 3rd and 4th rounds both fighters are winded, but AK lands the cleaner, bigger shots that tire Alfredo out further. The rounds go to AK.
By the fifth round, the end seems inevitable. Alfredo is tired and can barely stand up. AK has worn him down. With one final devastating right, AK knocks the exhausted Alfredo through the ropes and onto the canvas. The referee calls the bout a knockout without even counting to ten. AK wins, securing his place in the semi-finals.
After the fight, Alfredo talks about his disappointment in himself. He admits to being mentally exhausted, which “led to my body being exhausted”. "You have to learn the discipline of controlling your emotions” John councils him in the locker room.
Alfredo hangs up his gloves and leaves the Contender Tournament.
6 fighters remain…who will be the next Contender?
