TUF 16 Finale – Prelims Recap & Results

Mike Pyle (23-8-1) vs. James Head (9-2)

3-Round Welterweight Bout

Head looked for a clinch early but Pyle used it to sneak in a knee to the body. Once the fighters separated, Head lit Pyle up with a 4-punch combination that made Pyle quickly back up.  He pushed the pace again but this time around Pyle used a Thai clinch to deliver a devastating right knee in to the face of Head that sent him toppling to the mat. Pyle followed up with some ground and pound before the referee  stepped in to prevent any further punishment to the fallen warrior.

Result: The winner by TKO at (1:55)
of the 1st round, Mike Pyle.

Johnny Bedford (18-10-1) vs. Marcos Vinicius (20-4-1)

3-Round Bantamweight Bout

To get things going in the 1st round Bedford ate a shot coming forward in order to secure a takedown on his opponent. However, Vinicius instantly went for a guillotine attempt as soon as his back hit the mat. Beford defended the attack therefore the two fighters returned to their feet to stand and bang. During an exchange a Bedford right hand caught Vinicius on the chin sending him to the mat. He weathered the storm before the round came to an end.

In the 2nd round a Vinicus low kick strayed south and stopped the action temporarily as Bedford took the time from the referee to regroup from the low blow. The strike must have fire him up because Bedford immediately walked his man down and landed a clean right hand that dropped Vinicius along the cage. A little bit of ground and pound rained down on the fallen fighter courtesy of Bedfor and the referee had no choice but to step in to call the fight off.

Result: The winner by KO at (1:00) of the 2nd round, Johnny Bedford.

Vince Pichel (7-0) vs. Rustam Khabilov (14-1)

3-Round Lightweight Bout

A minute into the 1st round Khabilov used the clinch to close the distance  on his foe and drive him to the ground. The top notch wrestling didn’t stop there as he closed the distance again and used a belly to back suplex to send Pichel flying down to the mat. Pichel attempted to create space but Khabilov now used an underhook to force a 3rd slam on his foe. Following the relentless assault, Khabilov then employed a body lock to secure a belly to back suplex that sent Pichel crashing to the floor so hard that as soon as his head met the canvas he was unconscious. After some follow up punches from Khabilov the referee quickly stepped in calling a halt to the action.

Result: The winner by KO at (2:15) of the 1st round, Rustam Khabilov.

TJ Waldburger (15-7) vs. Nick Catone (9-3)

3-Round Welterweight Bout

Waldburger welcomed Catone from the middleweight division to the 170-pound class in style starting with multiple takedown attempts in the 1st round. The two welterweights looked for control with no one finding a way to assert themselves in the 1st round.
Going into the 2nd round Catone got caught coming in by a counter from Waldburger that sent Catone stumbling to the canvas. From their, Catone took some punches from his foe before going right into Waldburger’s guard. This turned out to be the beginning of the end for Catone as he first got caught in an arm-in guillotine attempt before Waldburger nicely transitioned to a triangle choke. Walburger positioned himself and locked the move in tight. Catone opted not to tap but luckily referee Herb Dean called a stop to the fight once he noticed Catone was unconscious.

Result: The winner by triangle choke submission at (1:04) of the 1st round, TJ Waldburger.

Reuben Duran (8-3-1) vs. Hugo Viana (6-1)

3-Round Bantamweight Bout

Both men traded hard shots right out of the gate for the first 2 minutes of the bout. Viana landed his right hand twice, stunning Duran who slipped backwards along the cage but maintained his composure. The 135-pound fighters continued looking for heavy shots but slightly at a slower pace. With about a minute left Viana landed the hay maker he was searching for sending Duran to the canvas. He didn’t finish him then and let his foe back up but patiently waited for the perfect shot and shortly  it came. Duran went for a left hook but Viana perfectly timed his shot landing first with a beautiful right hand that crashed unto his opponent’s ear instantly shutting out the lights.

Result: The winner by TKO at (4:05) of the 1st round, Hugo Viana.

Mike Rio (8-1) vs. John Cofer (7-3)

3-Round Lightweight Bout

Rio drove for a shot to open up the round, he was unsuccessful and the two lightweights then exchange strikes in the middle of the Octagon. Cofer doubled up his left hook landing flush on Rio who was temporarily on wobbly legs. He kept his wits about him and used a single leg to take Cofer down. Cofer reversed the position with less than a minute left and stayed in Rio’s guard for the remainder of the round.

The two 155ers kicked off round 2 by further testing each other’s beards landing hard punches on one another. Cofer threw a punch but Rio slipped it, shot in, lifted him up and slammed him down. Nothing much happened on the mat so the referee stood them up but shortly thereafter Rio got another takedown on Cofer. He fished for a rear naked choke but had no luck and Cofer used the move to plant him face first on the canvas. The two made it back to their feet without much damaged as the round ended.

Going into the 3rd Cofer used leg kicks to chop away at Rio, a bad idea since Rio absorbed a kick to the leg in order to secure another takedown. He immediately looked for side control out of half guard then transitioned to an armbar attack. Cofer defended well ending up in Rio’s guard with about a minute left in the round. Alertly Rio turned his hips and went for the move again, this time locking it and forcing the tap.

Result: The winner by armbar submission at (4:11) of the 3rd round, Mike Rio.

Jared Papaizan (14-8, 1 NC) vs. Tim Elliot (8-3-1)

3-Round Flyweight Bout

The flyweights kicked off the action from The Joint at the Hard Rock in a bloody 125-pound battle. The two traded leather from the opening round before Elliot was able to get the fight to the ground locking in a tight guillotine. Papaizan survived the attack but around the halfway mark of the round pushed his foe along the cage landing an illegal knee which resulted in a point deduction. Elliot was checked on by the doctor but opted to fight on and once the match was restarted both men pushed the pace of action with various strikes and leg kicks.

Elliot used his strikes to secure a takedown in the 2nd and keep his foe at bay. Papazian’s mouth was a bloody mess and might have affected his cardio seeing as how his offense slowed down. In the 3rd round, Elliot clipped Papazian with a shot that sent him to the canvas. From their Elliot maintained top control and looked for a rear naked choke to seal the deal. No luck but once Papazian returned to his feet Elliot used a double leg takedown to easily put his back on the mat on his way to a points victory.
Result: Two judges see it (30-25) with the last judge having it (30-26) for the winner by UD, Tim Elliot.