Lightweight Efrain Escudero, in an upset over Phillipe Nover, and light-heavyweight Ryan Bader were both crowned "The Ultimate Fighter" with mixed martial arts wins at The Palms on Saturday night.
Escudero outwrestled the heavily favoured Nover, a registered nurse and jiu-jitsu black belt, to win a unanimous decision while Bader, a two-time all-American wrestler at Arizona State, knocked out Vinicius Magalhaes in the finale to Season 8 of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality TV show.
Nover took some damage on the ground in the first round from Escudero, a former Arizona high school wrestling champion who came out aggressively. Nover looked to use his jiu-jitsu but Escudero smartly retreated as needed. Nover spent most of the round on his back and on the defensive, eating some blows from above.
Escudero took Nover down again early in the second and did it twice more later in the round, controlling and frustrating Nover. There was more of the same in the third, although Escudero had to fight off a frenzied submission attempt at the fence with the clock winding down.
Nover fainted during the opening episode of the TV show - he blamed the Vegas heat - but emerged as the season's feared fighter. He had tried and failed to make the cast of Season 2 and 7.
But he had no answers for Escudero's savvy game plan.
Escudero dedicated the win to his father who died before the show started taping.
"To everybody that lost somebody special, do the best for them," he said.
Bader floored Magalhaes with a right to the temple and then finished him off with a few more blows before referee Herb Dean stepped in at two minutes 18 seconds of the first round. Magalhaes, a world jiu-jitsu champion, could not handle Bader's power and was unable to show off his submission skills.
"My right hand's pretty powerful, I've just been working on my boxing," said the 25-year-old Bader. "I'm not just a wrestler, I hope people see that."
Bader had friend and roommate C B Dalloway, a finalist in Season 7, in his corner.
Gouveia caught an advancing MacDonald with a left flush to the chin and the 33-year-old from Red Deer, Alta., went down at the fence, absorbing a string of hammer-fists and some 18 elbow strikes that carved open his forehead before tapping out to stop the punishment after two minutes 18 seconds.
Gouveia failed to make weight, tipping the scales four pounds over at 189. So the mixed martial arts bout went ahead at a catchweight of 189, with the Florida-based Brazilian forfeiting 20 per cent of his purse to MacDonald.
Welterweight Anthony Johnson knocked out Kevin Burns with a devastating kick to the head 28 seconds into the third round in the only other fight not involving cast members of the reality TV show. Burns, a former Iowa banker, appeared out as he toppled to the ground.
"It just happened, you know what I mean," Johnson said of the left high kick. "I just decided to throw it and it connected."
Johnson had used his wrestling skills to control Burns earlier in the fight, managing to evade Burns' dangerous submission skills on the ground.
The fight was a rematch of their bout in July when Burns won by TKO after the referee missed Johnson being hurt by an inadvertent poke in the eye.
The TUF winners earn a six-figure contract to fight in the UFC, which perhaps sounds better than it is. The money from the contract is spread out over several years and UFC deals can be terminated by the organization. Plus other fighters from the cast also progress into the UFC.
In essence, the TUF winners gain notoriety and the prestige of joining a select list.
Griffin is now the UFC light-heavyweight champion and will defend his title Dec. 27 against Evans. Stevenson has fought for the lightweight title and Bisping is seen as a future middleweight contender
Browning started training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas after the show and his work there with Tompkins showed as he delivered crisp strikes, cutting Kaplan near the left eye in the first round.
Browning passed guard in the second, got side control, then slickly shifted position and locked in an armbar.
After the fight, Browning - who was almost ejected several times for bad behaviour during the series - apologized to Mir and his cast members.
"I don't think I would have put up with myself either," he said in the cage.
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