Nelson & Smith Reign Supreme At TUF 16 Finale From Hard Rock In Vegas

Nelson Stops Mitrione in 1st Round of TUF 16 Finale Main Event

For the first time ever the TUF Finale made its way to The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. But as usual, the action inside the cage delivered as a new TUF winner for season 16 was crowned and the main event sizzled with a fantastic heavyweight collision. In the headliner of the evening power houses Roy Nelson (18-7) and Matt Mitrione (5-1) traded punches as only the giants of the weight classes could. Both fighters circled one another before unleashing heavy leather in the middle of the Octagon in what clearly looked to be a short night for the main attraction.  Roy set up his patented over hand right with his jab as Mitrione threw leg kicks to set up his solid 1-2 combination.

The Ultimate Fighter season 10 alumni both had their moments until a lead right uppercut from Nelson caught Mitrione flush on the chin before he was leveled by a follow up left hook from Roy. After Mitrione went down to the canvas, Nelson inflicted more pain with some serious ground and pound prompting the referee to step in to call a stop to the action. The official time of the highlight reel TKO stoppage was (2:58) of the 1st round. With the finish, Nelson improves to (19-7) as he continues his quest towards UFC gold while Mitrione drops to (5-2) suffering only the second loss of his pro career.

Colton Smith Decisions Mike Ricci To Win The Ultimate Fighter 16

In TUF 16 Finale, welterweight finalists Colton Smith (5-1) and Mike Ricci (8-2) went to battle to determine who would be the next TUF winner. During the first round, Ricci had the most success as he managed to rock Smith with a left high kick as Smith was shooting in for a takedown. Ricci swarmed him with some ground and pound but Smith kept his cool and got back to his feet then managed to get a takedown on Ricci. He controlled his foe the rest of the round and transitioned to Ricci’s back and sinking in his hooks in hopes of getting a rear naked choke before the round came to an end. Smith followed that blueprint for the next 2 rounds,  closing the distance on Ricci and driving him to the mat, controlling the Canadian standout from the top as he  again locked in a rear naked choke attempt but failed to slide his forearm under his foe’s chin due to Ricci’s slick defense.

Heading into the 3rd, Smith appeared the fresher of the two welterweights and proved it by getting another great takedown on Ricci, smoothly taking his back, yet again sinking in his hooks and going for that rear naked choke finish that alluded the active Army ranger in the previous 2 rounds. Smith negated any hope of Ricci getting the fight back to the feet with his tremendous wrestling for the next few minutes until the last 20 seconds of the 3d round when Ricci managed to turn into his opponent and go to work out of Smith’s guard. The crowd went wild hoping for a thrilling come from behind win as Ricci seemed eager to deliver when he transitioned to an armbar on Smith. The US military representative defended the attack, popped his arm out from the possible submission just before the round came to a close.  The official scores read (30-27) twice and (30-26) for the TUF 16 winner by unanimous decision, Colton Smith. With the win, Smith looks to a bright future in the stacked 170-pound weight class while Mike Ricci might contemplate a move back down to 155 pounds.

Pat Barry (7-5) vs. Shane Del Rosario
(11-1)

3-Round Heavyweight Bout

The other heavy hitters of the night besides the main event went to war in a bout that started off with Del Rosario immediately looking for the takedown on Barry for the majority of the 1st round. Once he finally got him to the ground with about a minute left, he went for a rear naked choke before transitioning to an armbar attempt. Barry held his own and defended the submissions well moving into Del Rosario’s guard before the round ended.

The second round looked completely different from its predecessor. Barry used movement in order to counter his opponent’s strikes and did so with a looping left hand that caught Del Rosario on the temple, making him slightly stumble backwards. Barry smelled the blood in the water and pursued his hurt foe by moving forward, landing a combination before catching Del Rosario with his back against the cage with a picture perfect right hook that folded him up like a lawn chair along the Octagon as Barry walked away triumphantly.

Result: The winner by KO at (0:26) of the 2nd round, Pat Barry.

Dustin Poirier (12-2) vs. Jonathan Brookins (14-5)

3-Round Featherweight Bout

The two southpaws kicked off the main card for the TUF 16 Finale by wildly exchanging power punches at close range alongside the cage for the opening minute of the 1st round. The furious featherweight fireworks prompted a roar from the grateful fans at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino who were loving every second of the fury. Both warriors backed up for a bit in search of another opening  before again throwing caution to the wind as both combatants stood in the pocket and threw vicious leg kicks and straight punches or hooks. Suddenly, a right hand counter from Poirier caught Brookins flush on the face sending him to the canvas. Brookins attempted to regroup shooting in on Poirier to prevent further damage. Nonetheless, Poirier was opportunistic as he wrapped up a darce choke as soon as his foe went for the shot. It was in tight and The Ultimate Fighter season 12 winner was forced to submit to the move as Poirier applied the pressure.

Result: The winner by darce choke submission at (4:15) of the 1st round, Dustin Poirier.