‘The Challenge’: Nelson Thomas Makes The Ultimate Sacrifice For BFF Cory Wharton

MTV’s Nelson Thomas proved his loyalty to Cory Wharton during this week’s episode of The Challenge: Total Madness, according to a recap from Hollywood Life.

The July 8 episode featured six men and five women who already secured their spots in the final challenge by earning a red skull. Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t time for the final challenge just yet, which meant being sent home was still a very real possibility for all the players. During the episode, Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio and Kyle Christie shared their predictions about who would make it into the next Tribunal, while Cory and Nelson bonded after the Teen Mom OG star shared his dreams about winning the prize money.

After the weekly challenge, Johnny and Kaycee Clark landed themselves in the Tribunal and pulled Kyle in as the third member. During deliberations, it became clear that Johnny would be targeting Cory because the two men have never seen eye-to-eye over the years. With this knowledge, Nelson made the decision to volunteer himself to go into the elimination to protect his friend. Nelson told the rest of the house that the money would go a long way for the father-of-two.

“Cory and I have grown so much throughout the years,” he said. “I see him every day being the best father he can be to [his daughter] and I am so proud of him. I know how much this means to Cory and what this money can do for his family.”

In the elimination, Nelson went against Rogan O’Connor, who also volunteered himself to compete. Rogan admitted that he was touched by Nelson’s sacrifice for his friend, but it wouldn’t change his approach to the game and his plan of demolishing the challenge.

The two men went head-to-head in Hall Brawl, which required them to start at opposite ends of a narrow hallway and make their way to the other side to ring a bell. During the first round of the game, it appeared Nelson would take the first point, but he miscalculated his distance from the bell and held on to Rogan a few seconds too long. This mistake gave Rogan enough time to pull away from Nelson and sprint to his bell. In the second round, Nelson again finds a chance to score a point but trips twice on his way to the bell, giving Rogan the win.

After Nelson’s loss, Cory ran down to thank him for the gesture. The two men shared a sweet moment and Nelson encouraged his friend to take home the win for his family.