Nijem told host Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour” that it was his pride that got in the way, and that, along with a Ferguson left, saw his dream of being a TUF champion go out the window.
“It wasn’t nerves as much as my pride got to me a little bit,” Nijem said of his knockout loss to Ferguson. “Tony’s a really good striker, hits hard and has good head movement. People said, ‘You’ll get knocked out if you stand with him,’ and the critics were right on that. I just learned from that to play to my strengths and not play to their strengths.”
Nijem (4-2, 0-1 UFC), who trains at The Pit Elevated camp in Utah along with TUF 11 champ Court McGee, made his reputation in the TUF house as a fun-loving competitor who would go to just about any length for a laugh – including disrobing, leading to his “Stripper Ramsey” nickname catching on. He said bringing a relaxed attitude to his fight game should help him get back in the win column – but if it doesn’t, he can live with it.
“I’m a much better fighter when I’m just out there having fun,” Nijem said. “As long as I’m just out there for the right reasons, I’ll be successful and won’t have any regrets after the fight. If I execute my game plan and still lose and have fun, that’s all I can expect out of myself.”
Nijem fought at welterweight on Season 13 of TUF, but for his UFC 137 fight Saturday against Danny Downes (8-2, 0-1 UFC), he drops back to lightweight. It’s a weight he believes will be beneficial to him because of his size.
The Palestinian-American fighter, who wrestled collegiately at Utah Valley University, said 155 will be a tough cut for him, but one he thinks will pay off. He fought at lightweight once before moving to welterweight for a shot at the UFC in the spring during his TUF season.
“I was fighting at ’55 before I went on the show, kind of bouncing around between (lightweight and welterweight),” Nijem said. “I just feel my size can make up for my lack of experience in the ring. ’55’s a pretty big cut for me. If I was on the show at ’55 the season before, I don’t think I would’ve performed as well. ’70 was a good opportunity for the show, and be able to drop back down to ’55 after.”
Against Downes, Nijem faces an opponent also in search of his first UFC win. The Duke Roufus-trained fighter lost a unanimous decision to Jeremy Stephens at the TUF 13 Finale in June after going 1-1 in the WEC before the merger.
Nijem said he knew from seeing Downes’ fight against Stephens that he might be hard to finish, but believes his skill set can top Downes’.
“Danny is a tough opponent – he’s the kind of person you can never count out,” Nijem said “He’s in shape, he hits hard and he’s there to fight. He’s not easy to finish. But I feel I’m a better fighter, more explosive, more athletic and I’ll be bigger the day of the fight. I’m obviously the better wrestler and grappler. This is a winnable fight for me, but Danny’s tough and I’m … getting ready for a three-round grind.”
Nijem and Downes fight on the preliminary card of UFC 137 on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Their lightweight fight will be one of four prelims that will stream live on the UFC’s Facebook fan page.
UFC 137 is headlined by a welterweight contenders bout between former lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn and former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz. That fight became the main event when welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre had to pull out of his title fight against Carlos Condit with an injury last week.
Nijem told host Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour” that it was his pride that got in the way, and that, along with a Ferguson left, saw his dream of being a TUF champion go out the window.
“It wasn’t nerves as much as my pride got to me a little bit,” Nijem said of his knockout loss to Ferguson. “Tony’s a really good striker, hits hard and has good head movement. People said, ‘You’ll get knocked out if you stand with him,’ and the critics were right on that. I just learned from that to play to my strengths and not play to their strengths.”
Nijem (4-2, 0-1 UFC), who trains at The Pit Elevated camp in Utah along with TUF 11 champ Court McGee, made his reputation in the TUF house as a fun-loving competitor who would go to just about any length for a laugh – including disrobing, leading to his “Stripper Ramsey” nickname catching on. He said bringing a relaxed attitude to his fight game should help him get back in the win column – but if it doesn’t, he can live with it.
“I’m a much better fighter when I’m just out there having fun,” Nijem said. “As long as I’m just out there for the right reasons, I’ll be successful and won’t have any regrets after the fight. If I execute my game plan and still lose and have fun, that’s all I can expect out of myself.”
Nijem fought at welterweight on Season 13 of TUF, but for his UFC 137 fight Saturday against Danny Downes (8-2, 0-1 UFC), he drops back to lightweight. It’s a weight he believes will be beneficial to him because of his size.
The Palestinian-American fighter, who wrestled collegiately at Utah Valley University, said 155 will be a tough cut for him, but one he thinks will pay off. He fought at lightweight once before moving to welterweight for a shot at the UFC in the spring during his TUF season.
“I was fighting at ’55 before I went on the show, kind of bouncing around between (lightweight and welterweight),” Nijem said. “I just feel my size can make up for my lack of experience in the ring. ’55’s a pretty big cut for me. If I was on the show at ’55 the season before, I don’t think I would’ve performed as well. ’70 was a good opportunity for the show, and be able to drop back down to ’55 after.”
Against Downes, Nijem faces an opponent also in search of his first UFC win. The Duke Roufus-trained fighter lost a unanimous decision to Jeremy Stephens at the TUF 13 Finale in June after going 1-1 in the WEC before the merger.
Nijem said he knew from seeing Downes’ fight against Stephens that he might be hard to finish, but believes his skill set can top Downes’.
“Danny is a tough opponent – he’s the kind of person you can never count out,” Nijem said “He’s in shape, he hits hard and he’s there to fight. He’s not easy to finish. But I feel I’m a better fighter, more explosive, more athletic and I’ll be bigger the day of the fight. I’m obviously the better wrestler and grappler. This is a winnable fight for me, but Danny’s tough and I’m … getting ready for a three-round grind.”
Nijem and Downes fight on the preliminary card of UFC 137 on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Their lightweight fight will be one of four prelims that will stream live on the UFC’s Facebook fan page.
UFC 137 is headlined by a welterweight contenders bout between former lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn and former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz. That fight became the main event when welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre had to pull out of his title fight against Carlos Condit with an injury last week.
(Riley’s last tangle with a TUF winner didn’t work out too well for his face. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)
The UFC confirmed last night that Tony Ferguson — who won last season of the Ultimate Fighter by knocking out four dudes consecutively in the welterweight bracket — will make his Octagon return on the UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage card (September 24th, Denver). Now competing at lightweight, Ferguson is slated to meet Team Jackson veteran Aaron Riley (30-12-1, 3-4 UFC), who hasn’t fought since his unanimous decision win over Joe Brammer last May at UFC 114. Riley was scheduled to face Pat Audinwood at UFC 119 later that year but had to withdraw due to injury.
It won’t be the first time that Riley has been drafted to act as a gatekeeper for a brand-new TUF winner. In November 2009 at UFC 105, he faced TUF 9 lightweight champ Ross Pearson and lost by doctor’s stoppage TKO. Between Riley’s inconsistent performances and long layoff, it seems like the UFC is counting on him to make their new prospect look good. Can ‘El Cucuy’ knock out another one?
The current list of UFC 135’s reported matchups is after the jump…
(Riley’s last tangle with a TUF winner didn’t work out too well for his face. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)
The UFC confirmed last night that Tony Ferguson — who won last season of the Ultimate Fighter by knocking out four dudes consecutively in the welterweight bracket — will make his Octagon return on the UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage card (September 24th, Denver). Now competing at lightweight, Ferguson is slated to meet Team Jackson veteran Aaron Riley (30-12-1, 3-4 UFC), who hasn’t fought since his unanimous decision win over Joe Brammer last May at UFC 114. Riley was scheduled to face Pat Audinwood at UFC 119 later that year but had to withdraw due to injury.
It won’t be the first time that Riley has been drafted to act as a gatekeeper for a brand-new TUF winner. In November 2009 at UFC 105, he faced TUF 9 lightweight champ Ross Pearson and lost by doctor’s stoppage TKO. Between Riley’s inconsistent performances and long layoff, it seems like the UFC is counting on him to make their new prospect look good. Can ‘El Cucuy’ knock out another one?
The current list of UFC 135′s reported matchups is after the jump…
LAS VEGAS – Not yet an hour after winning the biggest fight of his career, on the biggest stage, Tony Ferguson was ready to start thinking about who’s next.
Ferguson knocked out Ramsey Nijem in the first round to win the Season 13 title of “The Ultim…
LAS VEGAS – Not yet an hour after winning the biggest fight of his career, on the biggest stage, Tony Ferguson was ready to start thinking about who’s next.
Ferguson knocked out Ramsey Nijem in the first round to win the Season 13 title of “The Ultimate Fighter.” And with his new trophy in front of him, a few minutes after learning he would get an extra $40,000 for his Knockout of the Night, Ferguson said he wants to face TUF 7 champion Amir Sadollah.
“I saw Amir Sadollah, and I know that he was a pretty big guy from ‘The Ultimate Fighter,'” Ferguson said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I think that would be a pretty good little start, right there.”
But Ferguson, though just one fight into his UFC career, got the next part down pat when he said he would fight whomever the UFC wants.
“It doesn’t matter who you put in front of me,” Ferguson said. “I have great coaches and I’m going to be ready for any kind of fight. It took me a bit to get used to being in front of everybody, but I think I belong here – and I’ve got the trophy now to prove it.”
Ferguson was part of Brock Lesnar’s team on this season of TUF, and after the show finished taping, Lesnar invited Ferguson to his DeathClutch camp in Minnesota to train.
Ferguson said his plan was to utilize takedowns to control the pace of the fight – so even he may have been surprised with his knockout bomb.
“I knew he was expecting me to go for a takedown on him. That’s what we were practicing,” Ferguson said. “I’ve always had hands, but I kind of forgot that I was a wrestler. As you saw on my first fight in the house, I got taken down twice. I knew he was going to put a lot of pressure on me, so I took that inside. I had my takedowns to try and slow it down a little more. He caught me a couple times and I had to shake it off.”
Nijem, too, was taken by surprise with the knockout punch.
“I was ready to take the fight wherever I needed to and felt very prepared for it,” Nijem said. “That shot caught me completely off guard – I didn’t see it coming. If he didn’t land that, then who knows what would have happened. I was starting to rush things and I got myself in trouble, and it gave Tony the opportunity he needed to get the win.”
Ferguson (11-2, 1-0 UFC) said despite the ability to make lightweight, and a willingness to do so, his preference would be to stay at welterweight.
“Lightweight is in my future,” Ferguson said. “Wherever Dana wants me to fight. I wrestled in college at 165. But I’m comfortable where I’m at right now. I like food. I like eating. I could see myself going to lightweight, but I love welterweight.”
Pettis, who was first in line for a lightweight title shot, passed on waiting for a Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard winner after their January draw. He asked for Guida. And Guida made him pay on Saturday night.
Guida steered clear of most of Pettis’ highlight-reel offense, landed takedowns each round and grinded out a unanimous decision 30-27 sweep of Pettis, who was a more than 2-to-1 favorite, at “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 13 Finale.
By knocking off the previous top UFC lightweight contender, Guida, who has now won four straight, likely finds himself as the top contender. But because the Edgar-Maynard rematch is on hold due to injuries for the two, Guida could be on hold for a while, himself – if he were to be given the next title shot and elected to wait.
But on Saturday, UFC president Dana White told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani that won’t be the case. White said despite Guida’s win over Pettis, Jim Miller, who is riding a seven-fight winning streak, is still ahead of Guida in the rankings.
Guida (29-11, 9-5 UFC) said after the fight he, too, believes Miller to be ahead of him – but wanted to make clear he’s ready for a title shot.
“Ben Henderson and Jim Miller, who knows?,” Guida said. “Jim Miller, I think could be the frontrunner. But everyone who sees me fight knows I fight the toughest competition. I’d love to get that shot – I’ve been here five years in October (and) 9-5 in the UFC does not sit well with me. That’s a very average record for me.”
Henderson, the former WEC champ who lost his title to Pettis (13-2, 0-1 UFC) in December, fights Miller in August.
Guida said he wanted an impressive win – a stoppage – to show White and matchmaker Joe Silva he was ready to be next in line.
“I didn’t want to see it go to the judges,” Guida said. “Obviously a dominating finish would’ve looked more highly in the eyes of the UFC.”
Pettis attempted several “Showtime”-type kicks, including one from his back, that kept Guida concerned about distance. But Guida used takedowns in every round to execute his offense and grind out the victory. Afterward, Guida said takedowns were a big part of his game plan in the fight, as well as staving off Pettis’ offense.
“There’s no secret anymore: wrestling wins championships,” Guida said. “He’s the most tricky guy in guard I’ve ever fought. He’s a super talented kid.”
In the main event, Tony Ferguson and Ramsey Nijem met to determine the Season 13 winner of “The Ultimate Fighter.” After a back and forth opening few minutes, Ferguson landed a big left hook that stiffened Nijem immediately, dropping him to the canvas. Ferguson landed one more shot before the fight could be stopped.
Ferguson became Season 13’s villain late in the season, and said coming in to the fight that he regretted how he came off on the show – and that he hoped to learn from it and set a better example for younger fans in the future. He reiterated that sentiment immediately after collecting his trophy from White.
“I learned a lot about myself in (the TUF house),” Ferguson said. “I’ve got a lot of guardian angels up there looking after me. I know (Nijem) caught me a couple times, but I weathered the storm.”
A feel-good story saw Ed Herman return from a layoff of nearly two years – and two knee surgeries – to score a quick 48-second TKO of Tim Credeur, who was also coming back following a long layoff. A short right uppercut from Herman dropped Credeur, and he finished him quickly with three shots on the ground.
In the night’s biggest upset, George Roop, beat Josh Grispi with a third-round TKO from a body shot. Grispi was a 6-to-1 favorite in the fight. The loss is the second straight for Grispi, who was supposed to get a featherweight title shot at UFC 125 in January against Jose Aldo. Aldo got injured, Grispi took a fight with Dustin Poirier, and was upset then, too.
Roop reteamed with coach Shawn Tompkins for the fight after going without him in January for his fight with Mark Hominick – also a Tompkins student and one of Tompkins’ best friends. Roop said he was glad to get his first UFC win out of the way.
“It’s been a struggle here lately, and it feels good to get this behind me,” Roop said. “My game plan worked, and I’m happy about my performance, but there’s still work to do. Finishing the fight that way was incredible. I hadn’t planned for it happen like that.”
Grispi said he’ll have to get past the mental anguish that might hit him after another setback.
“I need to stop overthinking it,” Grispi said. “It’s just a fight. I felt like my submission attempts were solid, but I need to go back to the drawing board. I’m only 22 and I’ve got time to grow in this sport.”
White gave the event’s bonus awards to Kyle Kingsbury and Fabio Maldonado for Fight of the Night, Reuben Duran for Submission of the Night and Ferguson for Knockout of the Night. Each won an additional $40,000 bonus.
(Kyle Kingsbury is wearing that rainbow fanny-pack in honor of all the brave men and women who gave their lives defending our freedom in the Candyland-Disco War of Sissystan. / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle. For more photos from this album, click here.)
TUF 13 reaches its conclusion tonight, with “Stripper” Ramsey Nijem facing off against “Jerkwad” Tony Ferguson for the mythical six-figure contract and glass trophy. Plus: Anthony Pettis makes his official UFC debut against Clay Guida in a guaranteed thriller with lightweight title implications, the suddenly-badass Kyle Kingsbury looks to put Fabio Maldonado’s 11-fight win streak to an end, and much more.
If you’ve got nothing better to do, it’s not a bad way to spend a Saturday night. (If you do have something better to do, count yourself lucky, and come back later to let us know what the outside world is like.) The action is already underway at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas — and streaming live on Facebook — but we’ll save the spoilers until the end of the night, because some of you crybabies get sooooo sensitive. Round-by-round results from the Spike TV broadcast will begin to pile up after the jump starting at 9 p.m. ET; refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest.
(Kyle Kingsbury is wearing that rainbow fanny-pack in honor of all the brave men and women who gave their lives defending our freedom in the Candyland-Disco War of Sissystan. / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle. For more photos from this album, click here.)
TUF 13 reaches its conclusion tonight, with “Stripper” Ramsey Nijem facing off against “Jerkwad” Tony Ferguson for the mythical six-figure contract and glass trophy. Plus: Anthony Pettis makes his official UFC debut against Clay Guida in a guaranteed thriller with lightweight title implications, the suddenly-badass Kyle Kingsbury looks to put Fabio Maldonado’s 11-fight win streak to an end, and much more.
If you’ve got nothing better to do, it’s not a bad way to spend a Saturday night. (If you do have something better to do, count yourself lucky, and come back later to let us know what the outside world is like.) The action is already underway at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas — and streaming live on Facebook — but we’ll save the spoilers until the end of the night, because some of you crybabies get sooooo sensitive. Round-by-round results from the Spike TV broadcast will begin to pile up after the jump starting at 9 p.m. ET; refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest.
“Everybody who saw the Ultimate Fighter knows that Tony is a dick and he does not deserve this,” Ramsey says in the pre-fight reel. Mike Goldberg mentions the beginning of the “Showtime Era” not once but twice, officially cursing Anthony Pettis tonight.
Chris “C-Murder” Cope vs. Chuck “Cold Steel” O’Neil
Round 1: Cope lands the first jab. O’Neil with a leg kick. Somebody in the crowd (or Cope’s corner?) is WOO!’ing like a jackass every time Chris makes contact. They clinch up. Cope gets in a short-range punch, a knee, and they separate. Leg kick from O’Neil. He throws a wide head kick and almost topples over. They trade low kicks. Cope gets in a hook, but eats a body kick. Cope drills that hook, even harder this time, and stalks O’Neil to the cage. They clinch for a bit, trade knees, and break. Leg kick O’Neil. Cope fires back some punches. Leg kick Cope. Cope goes body/head, but O’Neil counters. Cope sticks a spinning back kick. Nice high kick from Cope. O’Neil returns a hard body kick. Cope tries the spinning kick again, and O’Neil mimics him. The horn sounds and they hug it out before returning to their corners. Cope WOO!ing on the stool, and the crowd gives it right back.
Round 2: Leg kick O’Neil. Cope throws a punch combo. He gets in a leg kick. O’Neil returns. Cope presses forward with punches to different levels. I really hope the crowd stops WOO!ing after this fight. They clinch up and trade knees. O’Neil puts Cope’s back against the fence, but Cope shoves him off. Leg kick O’Neil, Cope throws a high one. Cope telegraphs a spinning back kick and hits air. O’Neil lands a left as Cope comes in. Another spinning kick from Cope, and O’Neil tries one too. Come on guys, stop it with that shit. Leg kick Cope. Both guys throwing punches steadily, but not landing anything cleanly. Superman punch/leg kick/superman punch from Cope. Cope throws a superman jab. One last leg kick from Cope, and the round is over.
Round 3: The between-round WOO!ing has to be screwing with O’Neil’s concentration. Cope puts O’Neil against the fence and gets in a sharp short hook. O’Neil shrugs him off. Cope the aggressor with strikes. He lands a big looping left hook. Cope dashes in with a leg kick. He sticks a jab, and a body shot. Cope throws a couple of high kicks, one of them of the spinning variety. O’Neil locks up on him, looking for a takedown against the fence. Cope turns him around. O’Neil gets in a knee to the body. Cope separates and WOO!s, getting the crowd behind him. Cope pouring it on with flashy kicks, punches in bunches, a spinning backfist. An inside leg kick from Cope. Body/head from Cope. Cope presses forward with punches, a head kick. He continues to attack until the horn. Should be a unanimous decision for Ric Flair Jr.
Chris Cope def. Chuck O’Neil via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3). Cope tells Joe Rogan that a lot of people doubted him when he was growing up, but “how do you like me now, in high definition?” Woo, bro. Woo.
Kyle “Kingsbu” Kingsbury vs. Fabio Maldonado
They show highlights of Maldonado absolutely clowning James McSweeney in his UFC debut, and man is it sweet. “My goal is knock out everybody in the light-heavyweight division,” he says. I’m kinda looking forward to this one. Are my ears deceiving me, or did Kingsbury come out to “Power of Love” by Huey Lewis?
Round 1: Leg kick immediately off the bell from Kingsbury, then a punch to the torso. Kingsbu teeing off with kicks to the legs and body. Kingsbury clinches up and gets in a half-dozen knees. Dude’s lookin’ real strong so far. But Maldonando lands with a nice left hook. Left-hand counter for Kingsbury, who clinches up again and drills Maldonado with a knee. Kingsbury shoots and gets a takedown, but almost gets stuck in a guillotine before pulling out and getting up. Another clinch/knee from Kingsbury. Maldonado pushes forward, lands a left hook, backing Kingsbury up. They trade shots. Maldonado lands the left hook again in an exchange. Kingsbury with the thai clinch again, works his knees again. He tries it again but Maldonado shrugs him off. Kingsbury clinches and trips Maldonado to the mat. Kingsbury on top in half guard, throwing down short elbows. He goes for a kimura, but Maldonado escapes. Kingsbury with more clinch/knee punishment. He lands a nasty one to Maldonado’s forehead. Kingsbury slips to the mat during a striking exchange and the round ends. I’d give it to Kingsbu, easy.
Round 2: Body kicks and teeps from Kingsbury. Kingsbury shoots and scores the takedown. Kingsbury on top in half guard for a hot second, but Maldonado slickly reverses the position, and Kingsbury escapes to his feet. Huge head kick from Kingsbury. Kingsbury works the thai clinch again, and Maldonado punches out of it. But Kingsbury is relentless, clinching again, throwing more knees. Kingsbury tries for the trip-takedown, but botches it and falls to the mat. Maldonado lets him up. Kingsbury scores another takedown, but Maldonado quickly gets up, eating a knee on the way up. They clinch up. Knees to the legs from Kingsbury. Maldonado throws a knee of his own and they break. Straight right from Maldonado. Kingsbury tries for a takedown, settles for a knee. Maldonado throwing hooks at the horn, landing one very blatantly after the bell.
Round 3: Kingsbury with a jab. He tries a couple leg kicks, Maldonado returns some counter-punches. Maldonado with a 1-2. And again. Kingbury with the thai clinch and knees, Maldonado gets in some shots when they break. Kingsbury gets a takedown, but Maldonado is up immediately and they jockey for position against the fence. Hard knee to the dome from Kingsbury. Maldonado jabbing to the body. Maldonado teeing off as Kingsbury is visibly slowing. Kingsbury tries for another takedown to slow down the action, but Maldonado defends. Kingsbury’s left eye is swollen shut. Maldonado with a body shot. Kingsbury tries a takedown, but Maldonado reverses it and lands on top. Kingsbury locks him down with rubber guard until the ref stands them up. Maldonado pressing forward, punching. Kingsbury gets in a knee to the face and Maldonado loses his mouthpiece. A brief pause to get it back in. Kingsbury shoots in again, Maldonado defends. Maldonado drags Kingsbury down in the closing seconds but runs out of time to take advantage. There’s the horn. Should be a decision win for Kingsbury. The two fighters embrace and raise their hands, lobbying for that Fight of the Night bonus.
Kyle Kingsbury def. Fabio Maldonado via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3). Kingsbury’s eye is straight-up disgusting. He says it was the hardest fight of his life. Gritty showing from both guys, but Maldonado may want to consider a drop to middleweight; Kyle seemed to dwarf him out there.
Joe Rogan checks in with Shane Carwin via satellite, hyping up next week’s fight against Junior Dos Santos. Carwin is feeling better than ever after getting surgery on his neck and revamping his diet, and thinking about the Dos Santos match gives him goosebumps. He promises some brutal blows.
Ed “Short Fuse” Herman vs. “Crazy” Tim Credeur
Because of injuries, both of these guys have been out of action since 2009. Who’s ready to see some ring rust?
Round 1: They trade jabs. Herman the aggressor, following Credeur around the cage, initiating the exchanges. Herman lands a pair of uppercuts that drop Credeur, and follows up with some savage shots from the top that flip Credeur’s switch to the off position. Damn. Welcome back, Ed.
Ed Herman def. Tim Credeur via TKO, 0:48 of round 1. Herman plugs his new gym in Fort Collins, Colorado, that he’s running with Ryan Schultz. So swing by if you’re in the area.
And now Rogan checks in with Junior Dos Santos. I like how JDS starts every single answer with “Yeah,” even when he’s not being asked yes/no questions. “Thank you guys, and don’t blink!” he says at the end. Terrible advice from a medical perspective, but the sentiment is clear.
Anthony “Showtime” Pettis vs. Clay “The Carpenter” Guida
Line of the night, from Clay Guida: “If you think you’re gonna come into my Octagon with your circus kicks and your flashy moves, you’re gonna pay dearly when I take your legs out from under you and pound your head through the canvas.” #BOOM. Pettis does a little foot-spring off the cage in his warm-up lap around the Octagon. Just getting comfortable with the environment. Protect yourself at all times, Clay. Pettis gives off a little WOO! during the introductions.
Round 1: Clay bouncing around, as he does. He fakes a leg kick, and Pettis pops a pair of punches. Pettis fires his first left head kick. He throws a leg kick and Clay catches it and takes Pettis down. Pettis threatens with an armbar. Clay trying to get to a safer position. Pettis with a very active guard. Clay throws down a punch. And another. Pettis jacks Guida with a punch off his back. Guida gets to his feet, and Pettis throws a roundhouse kick off his back before getting to his feet. Guida puts Pettis on his back again. Pettis looking for the triangle setup. Guida tries to shake out, and finally does. Guida with shoulder-shrugs on top, stuffing Pettis’s head into the cage. The horn sounds, and the judges will probably give it to Guida just for being on top for the majority of the round.
Round 2: Pettis more aggressive with the punch combos now. Guida throws a leg kick, gets countered. Guida grabs a double-leg and dumps Pettis. Guida goes back to humping Pettis’s face against the cage. But he’s not doing much else, and the crowd starts to boo him. Pettis stands, Guida attached to him at the hip. Knees to the leg from Guida. Pettis escapes and pops a couple punches. And a jab. Pettis tries a *reverse* variation of his off the cage kick, but sadly, doesn’t really land it. Will make for a nice GIF, though. Guida scores another takedown. Pettis goes for a triangle, Guida shakes out. Pettis grabs an armbar, Guida somersaults to escape it. Pettis grabs it again but runs out of time.
Round 3: They meet in the middle of the cage and throw punches. Guida fires an overhand right, and pushes forward with a left hook. Another overhand right from Guida, and he shoots for the takedown, landing in Pettis’s dangerous guard, once again. Elbow from the top from Guida. Pettis looking for the triangle, once again. Clay on top in half-guard, jacking his shoulder into Pettis’s face. Punches from the top from Clay. Pettis gets to his feet. Clay tries to dump Pettis, but Pettis reverses it and gets on top. Guida rolls and Pettis takes his back. A minute left. Guida blasts out and gets back on top. Pettis shifts to his knees and now Guida takes Pettis’s back. But time runs out. The look of disappointment on Pettis’s face is obvious as he returns to his corner.
Clay Guida def. Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3). Jason Guida drags a giant Clay Guida fathead into the cage. Rogan has to cut Clay off during a long list of shoutouts, but the Carpenter gets back on message, telling everybody that he’s the real lightweight #1 contender, and 2011 is his year.
Ramsey Nijem’s distance-runner girlfriend in Utah supported his broke ass during his MMA journey, so now it’s time to pay her back. He’s training with Court McGee and Jonathan Brookins at the Pit Elevated in Orem, Utah…not a bad crew if you want to be a TUF winner. Ferguson proposed to his girlfriend right after he got off the show. He actually trained at Brock Lesnar’s Death Clutch gym following TUF, but calls Southern California his home.
Ramsey Nijem vs. Tony Ferguson
Round 1: Nijem jabs, closing the distance. Ferguson scores a quick takedown and gets in half-guard. Ramsey spins out, scrambles to his feet as Ferguson fires punches at his head. Leg kick Ferguson. Nijem with a right, Ferguson with a counter left hook. Another left hook from Ferguson. 1-2 from Ferguson, but a counter from Nijem wobbles him. Nijem attacks, but Ferguson grabs him and takes the fight to the mat. Nijem back on his feet. Quick leg kick from Ferguson. Nijem scores with a straight right. Nijem lands it again. Ferguson responds with a right straight/left hook that drops Nijem cold. Ferguson follows Nijem to the mat and gets in a couple more hard shots from the top as the ref jumps in to end it.
Tony Ferguson def. Ramsey Nijem via KO, 3:54 of round 1. Tony Ferguson is the winner of the Ultimate Fighter Season 13, and has knocked out four straight dudes to get there. He deserves his moment — and has a lot of potential in the sport.
We get the Scott Jorgensen vs. Ken Stone fight from the prelims. Stone making things very difficult for Jorgensen in the early going, using his range and battering Jorgensen with punches. Jorgensen scores a takedown. Stone tries to kick him off, but Scotty gets some space and pounds the damn daylights out of Stone from the top; the fight is called at the 4:01 mark of round 1 via KO.
Other results from the prelims…
– Jeremy Stephens def. Danny Downes via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26 x2)
– George Roop def. Josh Grispi via TKO (liver punch), 3:14 of round 3
– Shamar Bailey def. Ryan McGillivray via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Clay Harvison def. Justin Edwards via split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
– Rueben Duran def. Francisco Rivera via submission (rear naked choke), 1:57 of round 3
Oh snap…well, I guess you know how this Roop/Grispi fight is going to end. Lets put this liveblog to bed. Thanks for coming out tonight. I leave you with this:
How he hangs a hammer from those things we’ll never know.
It’s fair to say that this season of The Ultimate Fighter didn’t live up to expectations. Despite the inclusion of pay-per-view juggernaut Brock Lesnar, this season posted some of the lowest ratings in the franchise’s history. And yet again, the show’s momentum was halted by the revelation that the coaches would not be facing off at the end of the season. But tonight the UFC has a golden opportunity to make chicken salad out of chicken shit with a night of free fights on Spike TV. The UFC announced last night via Twitter that six prelim fights will be aired on Facebook at 6:30pm (Eastern). Tell us who you got in the comments, and if you’re up early enough there still may be time to enter our MMAOutlet.com UFC Fight-Picking Contest.
Results from last night’s weigh-ins are after the jump.
How he hangs a hammer from those things we’ll never know.
It’s fair to say that this season of The Ultimate Fighter didn’t live up to expectations. Despite the inclusion of pay-per-view juggernaut Brock Lesnar, this season posted some of the lowest ratings in the franchise’s history. And yet again, the show’s momentum was halted by the revelation that the coaches would not be facing off at the end of the season. But tonight the UFC has a golden opportunity to make chicken salad out of chicken shit with a night of free fights on Spike TV. The UFC announced last night via Twitter that six prelim fights will be aired on Facebook at 6:30pm (Eastern). Tell us who you got in the comments, and if you’re up early enough there still may be time to enter our MMAOutlet.com UFC Fight-Picking Contest.
Results from last night’s weigh-ins (via BJPenn.com):
MAIN CARD:
Tony Ferguson (169) vs. Ramsey Nijem (170) – “TUF 13″ tourney finale
Clay Guida (155) vs. Anthony Pettis (155)
Tim Credeur (185) vs. Ed Herman (186)
Kyle Kingsbury (206) vs. Fabio Maldonado (203)
Chris Cope (170) vs. Chuck O’Neil (170)
PRELIMINARY CARD:
Danny Downes (155) vs. Jeremy Stephens (156)
Josh Grispi (145) vs. George Roop (146)
Shamar Bailey (171) vs. Ryan McGillivray (169)
Justin Edwards (170) vs. Clay Harvison (171)
Scott Jorgensen (135) vs. Ken Stone (136)
Reuben Duran (136) vs. Francisco Rivera (136)
For young fighters trying to make their names through the UFC‘s “Ultimate Fighter” series, it doesn’t get more pressure-filled than the TUF finals. 
LAS VEGAS – Not yet an hour after winning the biggest fight of his career, on the biggest stage, 
LAS VEGAS — And just like that, 