Season 15 of The Ultimate Fighter concluded tonight at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was headlined by a welterweight bout between Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann and Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellenberger, with the winner moving one step closer to title contention.
Tonight’s co-main event featured the lightweight final of The Ultimate Fighter 15, as “Maverick” Michael Chiesa battled Al Iaquinta for this season’s title. In other main card action, Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira faced former TUF winner Jonathan Brookins. MMARising.com has play-by-play for the card.
Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann vs Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellenberger
Round 1:
Ellenberger dropped Kampmann early in the fight with a left-right combo, then swarmed with punches, but Kampmann defended well and recovered. Ellenberger pressed Kampmann up against the cage and Kampmann used a guillotine choke attempt to work back to his feet. Ellenberger escaped the choke and Kampmann stood up. He landed knees to the body and tried for a takedown before the bell. 10-9 Ellenberger.
Round 2:
Ellenberger landed more big punches in round two that bloodied Kampmann’s face and put him on the defensive early on. As Ellenberger pushed forward with two big hooks, Kampmann stunned him with a short counter right hand. Ellenberger stumbled and Kampmann rushed in with punches. He secured a Thai clinch and landed three knees, with the final strike sending a dazed Ellenberger to the canvas. The bout was stopped, giving Kampmann a huge victory.
Winner: Martin Kampmann by TKO (Knee) at 1:40 of round two. He improves to 20-5-0.
Tuf 15 Lightweight Final
“Maverick” Michael Chiesa vs Al Iaquinta
Round 1:
Iaquinta landed two hard right hands early on, then caught a kick from Chiesa and landed more punches. Chiesa tried unsuccessfully for a takedown and had another kick caught by Iaquinta. Chiesa clinched and managed to take Iaquinta’s back. He dragged him to the mat and used elbow strikes to set up a rear-naked choke attempt. Chiesa secured the choke and Iaquinta was soon rendered unconscious. Big win for Chiesa, who becomes the TUF 15 lightweight winner.
Winner: Michael Chiesa by Technical Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:47 of round one. He improves to 8-0-0 and becomes the TUF 15 Lightweight Winner.
Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira vs Jonathan Brookins
Round 1:
The fight began with an exchange of kicks and punches and Oliveira clinched. Brookins broke free and Oliveira landed a flying knee. Brookins dumped him to the mat, but Oliveira quickly worked for an armbar and Brookins stood up to escape. Back on the feet, Brookins landed a left cross and Oliveira answered back with a pair of right hands. Oliveira dropped Brookins with a third right, but allowed him to stand a resumed kicking at his lead leg. A right cross hurt Brookins and Oliveira swarmed with more punches. Oliveira landed a hard leg kick and a flying knee in the final seconds. 10-9 Oliveira.
Round 2:
Brookins backed Oliveira up to the cage with a flurry of punches in round two, but he could not take Oliveira down. Brookins missed with wild punches and ate a counter one-two for his efforts. Oliveira clinched and Brookins attempted a standing guillotine choke. Oliveira took Brookins down and fought out of the choke. He landed elbows from the top and secured a front headlock as Brookins tried to stand up. Oliveira switched to a power guillotine choke and pulled guard, forcing Brookins to tap out.
Winner: Charles Oliveira by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 2:42 of round two. He improves to 16-2-0, 1 NC.
Max “Blessed” Holloway vs “Thrilling” Pat Schilling
Round 1:
Schilling countered early jabs from Holloway by clinching in search of a takedown. He could not initially get Holloway down, but eventually did so. Holloway returned to his feet and landed a body kick and a combination to the body. Schilling tried to roll for a kneebar, but Holloway escaped and landed more punches. Schilling scored with a spinning backfist, but Holloway was unfazed and continued to land right hands. Holloway put together more combinations of punches as Schilling slowed down. Holloway stuffed a takedown, then landed a head kick and a flying knee that prompted Schilling to dive for another kneebar. 10-9 Holloway.
Round 2:
Holloway jabbed in round two and nearly flew over his opponent with a jumping knee. Holloway stuffed a takedown and hurt Schilling with a big flurry of punches. Schilling fell and Holloway allowed him to stand. Back on the feet, Holloway battered Schilling with knees from a Thai clinch. Holloway picked a seemingly helpless Schilling apart with punches and easily avoided his takedown attempts. Schilling managed to catch a kick and briefly got Holloway down, but Holloway stood and landed a series of right hooks to the head and body. Schilling landed a spinning backfist and ate a one-two to the body and a barrage of knees before the bell. 10-8 Holloway.
Round 3:
Holloway continued to dominate the striking exchanges with jabs and body kicks in the final round. He avoided Schilling’s takedown attempts and landed a left hook to the body. Holloway landed a right hook and a knee, then rocked Schilling with a one-two. Schilling fell, but got back to his feet and avoided a Holloway capoeira kick off of the cage. Holloway stood and landed a head kick before the end of the round. 10-9 Holloway. Close to a 10-8.
Winner: Max Holloway by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 5-1-0.
Justin “The American Kid” Lawrence vs John Cofer
Round 1:
Cofer caught an early kick from Lawrence, who worked back to his feet and tripped Cofer to the mat. Cofer stood and the fighters exchanged hard punches. Cofer blocked a head kick and both men came up short with combinations. Cofer landed a left hook and Lawrence replied with a one-two. Cofer pushed forward with more looping punches and Lawrence countered nicely with quick punches in return. Lawrence landed a knee late in the close round. 10-9 Lawrence.
Round 2:
Lawrence scored with a left hook and a one-two combo in the second round. Cofer remained aggressive, but Lawrence’s counterpunches continued to rack up points. Lawrence picked up the pace with a flurry of punches and Cofer kept his distance with kicks. Cofer landed a knee and countered a spinning back kick by slamming Lawrence to the mat. He took Lawrence’s back, but Lawrence scrambled out and landed a diving right hand from the top before the bell. 10-9 Lawrence.
Round 3:
Lawrence pressed forward with punches in the final round. He landed jabs and fired off a devastating head kick that sent an unconscious Cofer crashing to the mat against the cage. Impressive knockout win for Lawrence.
Winner: Justin Lawrence by KO (Head Kick) at 0:19 of round three. He improves to 4-0-0.
Undercard Fights:
“The International Superstar” Daron Cruickshank defeated Chris “Bad Boy” Tickle by Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27) after three rounds. He improves to 11-2-0 with the win.
Myles “The Fury” Jury defeated Chris “The SoCal Kid” Saunders by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:03 of round one. He improves to 10-0-0 with the win.
Sam Sicilia defeated Cristiano Marcello by KO (Punches) at 2:53 of round two. He improves to 11-1-0 with the win.
Joe Proctor defeated Jeremy Larsen by TKO (Knee & Punches) at 1:59 of round one. He improves to 8-1-0 with the win.
Erik “El Goyito” Perez defeated John “Prince” Albert by Technical Submission (Armbar) at 4:18 of round one. He improves to 11-4-0 with the win.