The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale. Tonight’s card was headlined by a bantamweight contender’s bout between “The California Kid” Urijah Faber and Scott “Young Guns” Jorgensen.
In the TUF 17 middleweight final, highly-touted rising star Uriah Hall battled unbeaten prospect Kelvin Gastelum. Former Strikeforce champion Miesha “Cupcake” Tate took on “Alpha” Cat Zingano in a featured women’s bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the TUF 17 Finale main card.
“The California Kid” Urijah Faber vs Scott “Young Guns” Jorgensen
Round 1:
Jorgensen closed the distance right away and Faber countered with a combination. The fighters clinched and Jorgensen took Faber down, but Faber used an impressive sweep to reverse into top position. He tried to take Jorgensen’s back, but Jorgensen scrambled up. Faber landed a quick one-two and a hard knee. Jorgensen dove for a takedown and Faber took his back.
Faber landed elbows to the sides of Jorgensen’s head and followed with a knee as Jorgensen stood. Faber slammed him back down and tried for a guillotine choke from the top. Jorgensen managed to get an arm in and defended. Faber transitioned to Jorgensen’s back once more and he looked to set up a rear-naked choke as time expired. 10-9 Faber. Close to a 10-8.
Round 2:
Time was called right away in round two when Jorgensen was kicked in the groin. The fight continued and Faber pressed forward with a knee and a flurry of punches. Faber scored with a lunging uppercut and used a whizzer to shrug off a takedown attempt. He remained a step ahead with his strikes and landed a nice left hook.
The fighters exchanged punches and Faber mixed up his shots to the head and body. He took Jorgensen down and Jorgensen attempted a Kimura. He used it to sweep and got back to his feet. Right hooks scored for both fighters and Jorgensen clinched. Faber stayed on his feet and the round ended with an exchange of kicks. Closer round. 10-9 Faber.
Round 3:
A right hook from Faber set off an exchange of quick one-twos in round three. Faber landed a step-in knee and Jorgensen replied with a right hook. Two right-left combos scored for Faber, but Jorgensen again answered back with punches of his own. He clinched and took Faber’s back momentarily, but Faber broke free and circled away.
Faber landed a knee and a right hook, but Jorgensen countered with two hooks and easily avoided a takedown. He threw Faber to the ground and landed an elbow after Faber stood up. Jorgensen landed a one-two and a leg kick and he became the aggressor. More punches scored for Jorgensen, but Faber took him down and secured back control as the close round ended. 10-9 Jorgensen.
Round 4:
The fourth round began with both fighters landing leg kicks and punches. Faber scored with a right cross that briefly backed Jorgensen up. Faber stuffed a takedown and attempted a guillotine choke. Both landed left hooks and knees on the feet. Jorgensen snuck in a nice standing elbow in the clinch. He pressed the action, but Faber landed left hook counters. Faber took Jorgensen down and moved to back control. He locked on a rear-naked choke and Jorgensen tapped out.
Winner: Urijah Faber by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:16 of round four. He improves to 28-6-0.
TUF 17 Middleweight Final
Kelvin Gastelum vs Uriah Hall
Round 1:
Hall kept his distance and stood with his hands down against the cage in the opening minute. Gastelum punched his way into a clinch, but Hall stayed on his feet and circled out. Gastelum threw kicks and Hall answered with two of his own. Gastelum backed Hall up with a Superman Punch and flurried against the fence. He took Hall down into side control rained down elbows as Hall regained half-guard.
Gastelum stood over Hall and landed punches, then dropped back down into half-guard. The fighters returned to their feet and Hall landed a leg kick and two straight punches. Gastelum continued to press forward and Hall took him down for a split second. Gastelum stood back up and the round ended in a clinch. 10-9 Gastelum.
Round 2:
Hall picked his shots with jabs and a variety of kicks in the second round. Gastelum took him down and landed short punches from the top in half-guard. Hall reversed into top position and the fighters stood. Hall scored with knees and punches and Gastelum clinched. Hall tripped him to the mat and landed punches as Gastelum got back to his feet. Hall suplexed Gastelum to the ground, but Gastelum sprung right back up again. He landed an elbow in the final seconds. 10-9 Hall.
Round 3:
Time was called early in round three after Gastelum was kneed in the groin. Action resumed and Hall landed leg kicks and a stiff jab. Gastelum took him down and nearly secured back control, but Hall scrambled out the back and punished him with some big punches. Gastelum weathered the storm and got back to his feet. He held Hall against the cage and landed an elbow.
The fighters separated and Hall jabbed. He stayed on the outside to avoid Gastelum’s attempts to take the fight to the ground, but Gastelum landed a looping left hook. He got Hall down and tried to set up an armbar. Hall escaped, but Gastelum punched from his guard. Gastelum continued to punch from the top, but Hall answered with some hard shots from the bottom. Gastelum attempted another armbar just before time expired. 10-9 Gastelum, barely, due to the late rally.
Winner: Kelvin Gastelum by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 6-0-0 and becomes the TUF 17 Middleweight Winner.
“Alpha” Cat Zingano vs Miesha “Cupcake” Tate
Round 1:
Tate clinched immediately and scored a takedown, but Zingano scrambled back to her feet. Tate attempted a guillotine choke and worked for another takedown. Zingano countered with a tight guillotine choke of her own, but Tate escaped and she landed some solid punches. Tate took Zingano down and looked to set up a choke, but Zingano swept into side control. She landed an elbow and the fighters stood.
Zingano scored with a head kick and the fighters teed off with big punches. Tate appeared to stun Zingano and she briefly took her down. Zingano stood back up and landed a hard knee and punches. Tate returned fire with a combination and she took Zingano down once more. From half-guard, Tate landed short elbows. She postured up with hammerfists shortly before the bell. Good round. 10-9 Tate.
Round 2:
Tate tripped Zingano back down to the mat in round two and held her against the cage. She scored with short elbows and postured up with harder punches. Tate spun into an armbar, but the cage prevented her from pulling back on it all the way. Tate briefly moved to mount and settled for side control. Zingano swept and wound up on top.
Tate locked on a heel hook and Zingano tried to punch her way free. Tate continued to work for the submission until Zingano escaped into half-guard. Zingano landed elbows and rained down punches. She landed more strikes as the fighters stood with 15 seconds to go. A combination backed Tate up and she dove for a takedown. Zingano stuffed it and punched until the bell. Close round. 10-9 Zingano, barely.
Round 3:
Zingano took Tate down in the final round and avoided an armbar. She tried to pass to mount, but Tate scrambled to her knees. Zingano muscled Tate back down to the ground and punched from the top. She bloodied Tate’s nose and continued to land punches. Tate stood and Zingano landed a hard knee. Tate shot in for a takedown and Zingano sprawled. Tate got back to her feet and Zingano rocked her with two knees and a standing elbow. Tate fell forward and referee Kim Winslow stopped the fight.
Winner: Cat Zingano by TKO (Knees & Elbow) at 2:55 of round three. She improves to 8-0-0.
Travis “Hapa” Browne vs Gabriel “Napão” Gonzaga
Round 1:
Gonzaga clinched right away and tried for a takedown against the cage. Browne defended and stayed on his feet. He landed a series of elbows to the temple and an unconscious Gonzaga fell face-first to the mat.
Winner: Travis Browne by KO (Elbows) at 1:11 of round one. He improves to 14-1-1.
Bubba “The Menace” McDaniel vs Gilbert Smith
Round 1:
McDaniel landed a left hook and clinched early on. He followed with an elbow and more punches in close, but Smith took him down. McDaniel swept into top position and landed short elbows. Smith battled back to his feet and took McDaniel down again. McDaniel was active from the bottom and landed elbows while trying to set up a triangle choke. Smith moved to half-guard, but McDaniel used the cage to try to stand. He locked on a guillotine choke and swept into top position again. McDaniel landed punches and elbows from side control and followed with knees to the body. 10-9 McDaniel.
Round 2:
McDaniel landed a combination early in round two, but Smith clinched and held him against the cage. McDaniel defended with elbows and hammerfists. The fighters separated and both landed hooks. Smith sprawled to defend against a takedown and pulled guard with a guillotine choke. McDaniel escaped and took Smith’s back. He landed punches and Smith rolled forward. McDaniel scored with elbows from the top in half-guard. Smith stood and McDaniel landed two hooks before the bell. 10-9 McDaniel.
Round 3:
Both fighters scored with left hooks early in the final round. McDaniel stuffed a takedown attempt and Smith fell to his back. McDaniel briefly moved to mount and settled for half-guard, where he landed short elbows. McDaniel took Smith’s back, but Smith scrambled and wound up on top. McDaniel immediately trapped him in a triangle choke and switched to a triangle armbar for the tapout win.
Winner: Bubba McDaniel by Submission (Triangle Armbar) at 2:49 of round three. He improves to 21-6-0.
Undercard Fights:
Josh Samman defeated Kevin “King” Casey by TKO (Knees & Punches) at 2:17 of round two. He improves to 10-2-0 with the win.
Luke “Bigslow” Barnatt defeated Collin Hart by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 6-0-0 with the win.
Dylan “The Villain” Andrews defeated Jimmy “Crash” Quinlan by TKO (Punches) at 3:22 of round one. He improves to 16-4-0, 1 NC with the win.
Clint Hester defeated Bristol Marunde by KO (Elbow) at 3:53 of round three. He improves to 8-3-0 with the win.
Cole “Magrinho” Miller defeated Bart “Bartimus” Palaszewski by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 4:23 of round one. He improves to 19-7-0 with the win.
Maximo “Maxi” Blanco defeated Sam Sicilia by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 9-4-1, 1 NC with the win.
Daniel “The Pit” Pineda defeated Justin “The American Kid” Lawrence by Submission (Kimura) at 1:35 of round one. He improves to 18-9-0 with the win.