Although he suffered a hard loss to Josh Samman on Season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter, Swedish star Tor Troeng made a successful UFC debut in Stockholm.
Facing off against fellow TUF 17 alumnus Adam Cella, Troeng sealed a first-round victory by rear-naked choke in just over three minutes.
“The Hammer” had little trouble with Cella in their UFC on Fuel 9 bout, firmly closing the distance and dragging his opponent to the mat before dishing out some heavy ground-and-pound striking.
Cella eventually wilted from the pressure, giving Troeng just enough space to grab underneath his neck and force him to tap out.
This marks Troeng’s 16th victory as a professional fighter, improving his overall record to 16-4-1.
(Since bouts on The Ultimate Fighter are usually considered exhibition fights by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Troeng is technically on a five-fight winning streak since April 2011.)
Things are more uncertain for Cella, who falls to 4-1 as a professional.
Although Troeng entered TUF 17 with some hype behind him, the Swede was selected as a No. 4 pick by Chael Sonnen after the season’s qualifying rounds.
Troeng would eventually lose to Samman via KO during Episode 6, getting caught looking at a monster hook with his hands down.
Cella also lost early in the TUF 17 tournament by knockout, dropping to a highlight-reel spinning heel-kick from season semifinalist Uriah Hall. UFC president Dana White called it “the nastiest knockout in Ultimate Fighter history” in the aftermath, as Cella was immediately sent to the hospital.
McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania & The L.A. Times.
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