Lorain’s Martinez takes step back in ‘Ultimate Fighter’

If there’s one thing that can be said about the 27th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” it is that you’re never truly out of the running.

Unfortunately for Lorain resident Jose Martinez, his standing on the hit UFC reality show took a hard hit during the eighth episode.

The episode, which featured the final quarterfinal featherweight bout between Team Daniel Cormier’s Tyler Diamond and Team Stipe Miocic’s Dulani Perry, ended with Miocic selecting replacements for a pair of Cormier’s injured fighters who had won their quarterfinal bouts but were unable to continue in the tournament due to injury.

Martinez, who lost his fight with Luis “The Violent Bob Ross” Pena, was one of the fighters considered to reenter the competition in the lightweight bracket.

The choice came down to Martinez and fellow Ohio resident John Gunther for Pena’s vacated spot in the semifinals.

Miocic selected Gunther, who lost his preliminary bout to Joe Giannetti in 17 seconds via technical submission.

Gunther, who trains at Strong Style in Independence, the home gym of Miocic, will fight Team Miocic member Mike Trizano in a semifinal.

It has been a rough season for Miocic and his team so far. In the eight quarterfinal bouts, Team Miocic claimed only two victories, with one coming because a member of Team Cormier was unable to compete.