TUF 26 Episode 7 Recap: Rachael Ostovich Submits Melinda FábiánHawaiian prospect Rachael Ostovich-Berdon advanced on with a convincing submission victory during tonight’s seventh episode of The Ultimate Fighter 26: “A New World Champion.” Team Gaethje’s Ostovich-Berdon finished Team Alvarez’s Melinda Fábián with a first-round rear-naked choke.

Fábián was aggressive with her strikes in the opening minute, but Ostovich-Berdon stayed calm and countered with stiff jabs and overhand rights from a distance. After wearing Fábián down on the feet, Ostovich-Berdon took her down in the final minute and earned an impressive submission finish.

Ostovich-Berdon (3-3-0, Ranked #10) stayed on the outside and used jabs to counter combinations from Fábián (4-3-1, Ranked #7) in the early stages of the fight. She fired off a winging overhand right that caused Fábián’s left eye to swell up, then lunged in with a one-two soon after. Fábián found brief success with kicks, but Ostovich-Berdon answered with a flurry and another overhand right. She took Fábián down and transitioned to back control, then used punches to set up a rear-naked choke that forced Fábián to submit at the 4:22 mark.

With the victory, Ostovich-Berdon restored a 4-3 lead for Team Gaethje. The final opening round matchup airs in two weeks when Team Gaethje’s Emily Whitmire (2-1-0, Ranked #8) takes on Christina Marks (8-8-0, Ranked #9) of Team Alvarez.