Las Vegas, Nevada – And then there were two. The Ultimate Fighter® returned to FX on Tuesday night, with the final episode of its seventeenth season, featuring two semifinal elimination fights. New Yorker Uriah Hall and Kelvin Gastelum of Yuma, Ariz. secured their berths in the final and moved within reach of a lucrative contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship® and a brand new Harley Davidson.
Gastelum continued to utilize his impressive wrestling, submitting favored Josh Samman at 4:02 of the first round via rear naked choke. Hall followed in the second semifinal of the evening, spending 9:49 in the Octagon® – more than his two previous fights combined – before securing a TKO victory over Dylan Andrews.
The fighters will square off in the final at The Ultimate Fighter Finale on Saturday, April 13. Given that both fighters were members of Team Sonnen, UFC light heavyweight challenger Chael Sonnen has officially won the Harley Davidson motorcycle, presented to the winning coach.
A full recap is available at ufc.com and below are the season results at a glance:
Team Sonnen – coached by UFC® light heavyweight Chael Sonnen – (8-6)
Luke Barnatt (1-1, TKO win over Gilbert Smith in episode 2, TKOd by Dylan Andrews in episode 10)
Uriah Hall (3-0, KOd Adam Cella in episode 3, KOd Bubba McDaniel in episode 11, TKOd Dylan Andrews in episode 12)
Zak Cummings (0-1, lost a UD to Dylan Andrews in episode 8)
Tor Troeng (0-1, TKOd by Josh Samman in episode 6)
Jimmy Quinlan (1-1, submitted Clint Hester in episode 7, tapped to strikes from Josh Samman in episode 11)
Kevin Casey (0-2, lost a UD to Collin Hart in episode 4, lost via TKO [failure to answer to bell] to Bubba McDaniel in episode 9)
Kelvin Gastelum (3-0, submitted Bubba McDaniel in episode 5, defeated Collin Hart by TKO in episode 10, submitted Josh Samman in episode 12)
Team Jones – coached by UFC® light heavyweight champion Jon Jones – (6-8)
Clint Hester (0-1, submitted by Jimmy Quinlan in episode 7)
Josh Samman (2-1, TKO win over Tor Troeng in episode 6, TKO win over Jimmy Quinlan [tapped to strikes] in episode 11, submitted by Kelvin Gastelum in episode 12)
Bubba McDaniel (1-2, submitted by Kelvin Gastelum in episode 5, defeated Kevin Casey by TKO [failure to answer to bell] in episode 9, knocked out by Uriah Hall in episode 11)
Gilbert Smith (0-1, TKOd by Luke Barnatt in episode 2)
Collin Hart (1-1, defeated Kevin Casey by UD in episode 4, TKOd by Kelvin Gastelum in episode 10)
Adam Cella (0-1, KOd by Uriah Hall in episode 3)
Dylan Andrews (2-1, defeated Zak Cummings by UD in episode 8, defeated Luke Barnatt by TKO in episode 10, TKOd by Uriah Hall in episode 12)
All but two of this season’s cast members will make their return on the Finale card, as Thor Troeng recently submitted Adam Cella at UFC on FUEL TV®: MOUSASI vs. LATIFI. The full fight card is now available at ufc.com.
Tickets for The Ultimate Fighter® Finale are on-sale now. To purchase tickets visit the Mandalay Bay Events Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, www.ticketmaster.com, or charge-by-phone at 800.745.3000.
The Ultimate Fighter® Finale takes place Saturday, April 13, live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nev. The event will air live on FX at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
For more show information, and your chance to play the TUF Fantasy Tournament, visit ultimatefighter.com and follow us on Twitter @TUFonFX or onFacebook.com/TUF.