UFC – The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale
June 4, 2011
Palms Casino Resort,
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Ultimate Fighter Season 13 Final
Welterweight (170 lbs)
Tony Ferguson (11 – 2 – 0) defeated Ramsey Nijem (4 – 2 – 0) by KO due punches at 3:54 of round 1. Ferguson, who is on a 4 fight win streak (all by (T)KO), jumps 17 spots up the ranks from [#114] to [#97]. Ferguson should face someone next who can test his ground acumen, and [#73] Carlos Eduardo Rocha would do that in spades. Nijem, who was on a 3 fight win streak prior to this loss, moves from [#273LW] into the welterweight “Top 500” at [#397]. A bout with [#339] Ryan McGillivray or [#243] Justin Edwards would gauge who deserves another shot and who should probably be cut.
Lightweight (155 lbs)
Clay Guida (29 – 11 – 0) defeated former WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis (13 – 2 – 0) by unanimous decision. Guida, who is on a strong 4 fight win streak, moves 1 spot up the ranks from [#7] to [#6]. Guida stands on the precipice of a title shot, and should face the winner of [#7] Jim Miller vs. [#21] Ben Henderson to see who will earn the privilege. Pettis, who was on a 4 fight win streak prior to this loss, moves 4 spots down from [#16] to [#20]. Should [#23] Donald Cerrone defeat [#571] Vagner Rocha, Pettis and Cerrone should face each other in what would be a guaranteed action bout.
Middleweight (185 lbs)
“Ultimate Fighter season 3” finalist Ed Herman (22 – 9 – 0) defeated “Ultimate Fighter season 7” alum Tim Credeur (12 – 4 – 0) by TKO due to punches at 0:48 of round 1. Herman, who had not fought in nearly 2 years, enters the middleweight “Top 350” at [#55]. A bout between Herman and [#33] Tim Boetsch would send the winner upward towards the top tier of the middleweight division. Another route that could be taken would pit Herman against [#52] Kendall Grove in a rematch from the “Ultimate Fighter 3” Finale back in June of 2006. Both fighters are in a different spot than they were at that time, and it would be interesting to see if the bout played out the same way. Credeur, who had not fought in nearly 2 years as well (0-2 in his last 2), enters the middleweight “Top 350” at [#186]. He could face the loser of the upcoming match between [#40] Aaron Simpson and [#190] Brad Tavares.
Light Heavyweight (205 lbs)
“Ultimate Fighter season 8” alumnus Kyle Kingsbury (11 – 2 – 0) defeated Fabio Maldonado (18 – 4 – 0) by unanimous decision. Kingsbury, who is on a 4 fight win streak, moves 8 spots up the ranks from [#44] to [#36]. He should look to face the winner of [#48] Krzysztof Soszynski vs. [#125MW] Mike Massenzio, which will take place this saturday at UFC 131. If Soszynski wins, it would create an “Ultimate Fighter season 8” rematch. Kingsbury is greatly improved from when he was on the show, and could prove the foil to Soszynski this time around. Maldonado, who was on an 11 fight win streak prior to this loss, moves 8 spots down from [#51] to [#59]. He should face [#29] Brandon Vera, who was brought back into the UFC after his loss to [#13] Thiago Silva was ruled a “No Contest.” One more loss for Vera would surely send him packing this time.
Welterweight (170 lbs)
Chris Cope (5 – 1 – 0) defeated Chuck O’Neil (8 – 4 – 0) by unanimous decision. Cope, who has won 2 in a row, rockets 179 spots up the ranks from [#440] to [#261]. Cope could face fellow victor and “Ultimate Fighter 13” participant [#240] Clay Harvison next. Previously ranked [#298] O’Neil, who was on a 3 fight win streak prior to this loss, drops off the rankings. O’Neil could face either [#339] Ryan McGillivray or [#243] Justin Edwards, if any of these 3 stick around.
Preliminary Bouts
Lightweight (155 lbs)
Jeremy Stephens (20 – 6 – 0) defeated Daniel Downes (8 – 2 – 0) by unanimous decision. Stephens, who is 4-1 in his last 5, moves 6 spots up the ranks from [#25] to [#19]. He should face [#16] Yves Edwards, should he get past [#44] Sam Stout this Saturday at UFC 131. Stephens vs. [#17] Sean Sherk would also be a worthwhile match to make. Downes, who is 2-2 in his last 4, moves 4 spots up from [#150] to [#146]. He should face the loser of [#61] Joe Lauzon vs. [#132] Curt Warburton next.
Featherweight (145 lbs)
George Roop (12 – 7 – 1) defeated Josh Grispi (14 – 3 – 0) by KO due to a punch to the body at 3:14 of round 3. Roop, who is 2-2-1 in his last 5, bounds 32 spots up the ranks from [#57] to [#25]. It would be interesting to see a battle of 2 of the tallest bantamweights in the UFC between Roop and [#41] Pablo Garza next. Grispi, whose considerable hype has been derailed by back to back losses, drops 18 spots from [#26] to [#44]. His next fight is an absolute must win if he is to salvage any of the momentum he had built up. He should look to face someone like [#38] Raphael Assuncao in his next bout.
Welterweight (170 lbs)
Shamar Bailey (12 – 3 – 0) defeated Ryan McGillivray (11 – 5 – 1) by unanimous decision. Bailey, who broke a 2 fight losing streak with this bout, flies 173 spots up the ranks from [#377] to [#204]. McGilivray, who was 3-0-1 in his last 4 prior to this loss (all by submission), plummets 123 spots from [#216] to [#339].
Welterweight (170 lbs)
Clay Harvison (7 – 1 – 0) defeated Justin Edwards (6 – 1 – 0) by split decision. Harvison, who is on a 3 fight win streak, jets 110 spots up the ranks from [#350] to [#240]. Edwards, who has won 4 of his 6 victories via guillotine choke, plunges 60 spots from [#183] to [#243].
Bantamweight (135 lbs)
Scott Jorgensen (12 – 4 – 0) defeated Ken Stone (9 – 3 – 0) by KO due to punches at 4:01 of round 1. Jorgensen, who is 6-1 in his last 7, moves 1 spot up the ranks from [#11] to [#10]. Stone, who is 1-3 in his last 4, moves up 2 spots from [#140] to [#138].
Bantamweight (135 lbs)
Reuben Duran (8 – 3 – 1) defeated Francisco Rivera (5 – 2 – 0) by submission due to rear naked choke at 1:57 of round 3. Duran, who is 5-1 in his last 6, moves 11 spot up the ranks from [#53] to [#42]. Rivera, who is on a 2 fight losing streak, remains unranked.