TUF21: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians Finale – Prelims Results Recap

‎Josh Samman vs. Caio Magalhaes

(Middleweight Bout – 3 Rounds)

A pair of 185ers locked horns in Samman and Magalhaes. The Ultimate Fighter season 17 alum Samman opened up the stanza attacking with low and body kicks to his man. Magalhaes stood his ground absorbing the vicious strikes then answered back landing some clean left and right hooks. They both aimed to fight at close quarters taking the fight to the mat via grappling after some quick strikes on the feet. Samman worked his way into his foe’s guard landing some great ground and pound that busted up his opponent’s nose, making Magalhae’s face a bloody mess. Maybe it was Samman’s relentless pressure or maybe it was the streaming blood that threw Magalhae’s off of his game but whatever it was, it left his neck exposed enabling Samman to sink in a rear naked choke after taking his back. The choke was tight and Caio had but one option to get out of the predicament before passing out.

Result: Josh Samman defeats Caio Magalhaes via rear naked choke submission at (2:52 ) of the 1st Round .

Russell Doane vs. Jerrod Sanders

(Bantamweight Bout – 3 Rounds)

A pair of 135ers took center stage in what would be the second biggest odds difference in the match as Doane came in as an almost 5 to 1 favorite against Sanders. Sanders did not follow the script from the oddsmakers however, as he drove his man to the mat and kept him there with superior control for more than half of the round. Doane was able to fight his way back working his wrestling and getting control of his own, but he didn’t do anything to command the judges to give him that round back.

Going into the 2nd Round Doane again was powered down to the canvas by Sanders. The Oklahoma native transitioned from top control to the back, putting his foe in a real tough spot taking his back looking for a rear naked choke. Doane did not allow for this round to slip away as he managed to defend the choke then land some strikes of his own and get the better of the stand up.

Going into Round 3 Sanders charged at his man with a 5-punch combination, Doane masterfully side stepped the assault landing a clean check-hook on his Sanders. The momentum shift let Doane take control for a bit as he took his foe to the mat applying his own brand of top notch wrestling seeing how the Oklahoma fighter seemed wobbled but fought well out of guard to keep the judges on their a-game as to who truly controlled the round. With less than a minute left Sanders had just defended a choke attempt from Doane before reversing and keeping everyone in attendance on the edge of their seat. Sanders was clearly the more aggressive fighter thanks to his amazing wrestling, top control and submission attempts for the better half of the final round. Doane landed some clean punches that drew the “ooh’s” and “aah’s” from the crowd but it was too little, too late.

Result: ‎Jerrod Sanders defeats Russell Doane via unanimous decision. The judges scored it 29-28, 30-27 and 29-28‎.

Dan Miller vs. Trevor “Hot Sauce” Smith

(Middleweight Bout – 3 Rounds)

A pair of 185ers in Miller and Smith collided for the first middleweight match of the night. There wasn’t much of a feeling out process as both men threw heavy leather at close range from the opening bell. Smith used a 3-punch combo to drive Miller back pushing him along the cage, holding him up along the wall using the clinch. From there Smith maintained control standing up using some short shots and knees at close range. Miller circled out with 2 minutes left bringing the fight back to the center of the Octagon. He threw some punches of his own before pulling guard dropping down to a guillotine attack. Smith defended well ripping his man’s arm from around his neck before muscling him back over to the cage, working out of Miller’s guard landing some punches before the round came to an end.

‎Going into the 2nd Round Miller put together a great combo to open up the stanza, punch-punch-low leg kick. Shortly thereafter Smith used some offense of his own to cut his foe down driving him along the cage. Miller wound up in his guard with 3 minutes remaining in the battle with Smith throwing hard shots to his head or chest sneaking in an elbow or two along the way. Miller managed to creep over to half guard but Smith would not stop smothering him via tight elbows or punches to the ribs. With almost a minute left Miller attempted a leg lock in order to maybe work his way back to his feet but Smith defended it. He escaped the hold before leaping into his man’s guard with a solid over hand right before the round came to an end with Smith still maintaining top control.

Heading into Round 3 it seemed that the layoff had really caught up to Miller. He had stalled to walk to his corner in-between the 60 second break, laying on the canvas for an extra few seconds. Once the round kicked off Smith threw another punch-kick combination which enabled him to close the distance driving for a takedown in order to get the fight to the ground. Miller did his best to prevent the inevitable from happening but found himself on his back, fighting out of his guard for the bulk of the round. Smith racked up about 11 minutes of control time and it was clear that it was rounds 2 and 3 which he banked with ease. Smith came in as the underdog but cruised to the win via his phenomenal top game which let him throw some good punches, clean elbows and avoid any dangerous submissions as the final round came to a close.

Result: Trevor Smith upsets Dan Miller via unanimous decision. The judges saw it 30-25, 30-25 and 30-26.

George Sullivan vs. ‎Dominic Waters

(Welterweight Bout – 3 Rounds)

The second bout of the evening opened up the televised portion of the event in 170ers Sullivan and Waters. ‎Waters, a California native, was making his debut against Sullivan but looked the more aggressive of the two as he landed a grocery list long of 1-2 combinations during the opening 2 minutes of the match. Once he closed the distance the Californian used a body lock to slam Sullivan to the mat. Sullivan managed to return to his feet later landing a nice uppercut of his own which turned the tide bringing the momentum back on his side. With less then a minute left the New jersey fighter was landing hard shots along the cage wall as he pinned Waters up landing vicious elbows to his head and body. During the break Waters was not responsive to his corner making fans wonder if the match should’ve continued if he was possibly out on his feet.

He opened the 2nd round with a spinning back kick, then blocked a kick from Sullivan which took Sullivan off balance enabling Waters to drive him to the ground once he fell. Sullivan reversed the position working now out of Water’s guard. He was able to work his ground and pound before passing guard getting the full mount at about the halfway point of the round. Waters reversed the position momentarily using under hooks to drag the bout back to their feet. Instantly , Sullivan changed levels using a take down to bury his foe back into the mat. Sullivan worked for a kimura submission twice before the round ended unable to finish a very game Dominic Waters.

Going into Round 3, Waters’ corner told him that he was down 2 rounds. He obliged throwing a punch then getting the taken down on Sullivan during the first 30 seconds of the round. From there he snaked his way to his foe’s back taking it, sinking in a body triangle as well as a rear naked choke attempt. Sullivan defended the choke very well as he was stuck along the cage wall while Waters looked for the finish. Waters landed a few punches to open up Sullivan but the New Jersey native would not be denied this win.  He trapped one of Waters’ arms, using it as a modified seat belt by holding on to the wrist as the arm was across his head then turning into Waters’ guard. He managed to work some ground and pound staying in top control for the final minute of the round landing a few punches and hammer fists before the final bell sounded.

Result: George “The Silencer” Sullivan defeats Dominic Waters via unanimous decision. ‎The judges had it 29-27, 30-25 and 29-28‎.

Darrell Montague vs. Willie Gates

(Flyweight Bout – 3 Rounds)

Kicking off the ferocious festivities from inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena were 125ers Montague and Gates. Montague and his foe met in the center of the cage keeping the action there for the majority of the opening round. Montague was trying to counter the faster hands of his man by pumping his jab but came out flat ‎footed lacking upper body movement. Gates worked angles gliding along the pocket as he strung together nicely put together punching combinations. He stepped up the assault closing the distance with a solid 1-2 combination that hurt Montague sending him on wobbly legs to the canvas. Gates knew that the hook and straight punch landed flush and knew the end was near, swarming his downed opponent with some mean follow up punches. Montague covered up on the defensive without much answer to the attack prompting the referee to step in calling an end to the action.

Result: Willie “Whoop Ass” ‎Gates defeats Darrell Montague via 1st Round TKO at (1:36).