TUF 20 Results: Esparza proves to be the best Strawweight

Tonight the cast of The Ultimate Fighter season 20 had their chance to shine on the grand stage at the Pearl Theater inside the Palms Hotel and Casino as part of The Finale. The night would crown the first ever UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion.  Co-finalist Carla Esparza was the former Invicta Champion and wanted to prove that she was the division’s best. Her opponent Rose Namajunas lacked experience but was able to win an opportunity to fight for the vacant title as a result of her performance on The Ultimate Fighter.

Namajunas used an early attack of kicks and footwork to keep Esparza guessing but soon the former wrestler found her shots and scored takedowns with a mix of punches. Her movement allowed for Esparza to continue to outwork Namajunas who was slowing down by round two.

The round ended with Esparza throwing punches over a downed Namajunas who was saved by the bell to avoid a referee stoppage.

In round three the attacking Esparza used more of her wrestling to secure a takedown and control the ground fighting and position. This would lead to Esparza securing a rear naked choke at 1:26 of the third round and forcing Namjunas to tap.

An emotional Esparza was happy to show the public that she was the best strawweight in the world and also took a moment to remember her former teammate Shane Del Rosario who died last year.

In the co-main event of the night featherweights Charles Oliveira (19-4) and Jeremy Stephens (23-11) battled it out before the crowd in attendance and watching on Fox Sports 1 for three rounds. The stand up and well versed submission attack of Oliveira proved too much for Stephens through the first couple of rounds.

Finally in the third round Stephens found some openings to try and land some big punches over an Oliveira who was trying to pull guard the whole round. The referee would have no part of it and kept requesting that Oliveira get back to his feet.

When the scores were announced it would be Charles Oliveira earning a unanimous decision over the veteran Stephens. Multiple times during the fight Oliveira seemed to be on the verge of getting the submission via armbar but the tough Stephens showed his veteran savvy by working his way out and seeing the final round.

An excited Oliveira is now in position to challenge more of the top featherweights in the division after his impressive win. ” I came and struck with him despite an arm injury and I was good on the ground so it’s no doubt to me that I earned this win.”

Other televised results includes lightweights KJ Noons and Daron Cruickshank who battled for two rounds before an accidental eye poke led to the fight being ruled a no-contest. The doctor would check on Cruickshank who had suffered a tear to his eye would say “I knew right it away something was wrong because I couldn’t see and I don’t think the ref realized it so I tried to circle away from KJ and buy some space to get the fight broken up and see what kind of damage I had.”

The news that the injury would require stitches was according to UFC President Dana White who shared the news at the post fight presser.

After the fight Noons voiced his thoughts, “I don’t think I’ve ever eye poked a guy.  Im so bummed right now, especially for Darren.  I totally didn’t mean to do that.  It was going to be fight of the night too I think.”

The most impressive performance of the night had to come from lightweight Yancy Medeiros submission victory over Joe Proctor. The Hawaiian used a hybrid striking attack before he landed a spinning back kick that dropped Proctor in pain and led to the guillotine choke.

With the win Medeiros looks forward to improving his ranking in the division. “After I landed that spinning kick, I smelled blood and smelled victory.   It was awesome Dana White came up to me after the fight to congratulate me because I think he’s starting to realize Im ready for the best competition in weight class.”