Theodorou (photo) is TUF Nations champion. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
The UFC met, this Wednesday (16), two more champions of the reality show The Ultimate Fighter. The TUF Nations Finale, held in Quebec City, Canada, crowned Chad Laprise and Elias Theodorou, the winners of the dispute between Canada and Australia.
The fact that the Canadians would prevail in the program's finals was already known, as the country reached the four finalists of the tournament. In the welterweight category, Laprise fought a tight three-round battle against Olivier Aubin-Mercier, in a fight that marked the difference in style between the fighters.
Aubin-Mercier tried to impose his ground game on his opponent, who, in turn, tried to keep the action standing. Laprise connected good blows, but clearly didn't let up on his game for fear of being taken down. After 15 minutes of action, Laprise was named the winner in a split decision by the judges.
Laprise (photo) was the welterweight champion. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
In the fight between middleweights, Sheldon Westcott started out getting the better of Elias Theodorou, getting a takedown and dominating his rival's back in the opening seconds. However, Theodorou escaped Westcott's submission attempts and began to dominate the fight from then on.
Visibly tired, Westcott was unable to resist Theodorou's attacks, who was gaining confidence. In the second round, Theodorou began a more forceful attack on the ground and pound and achieved the technical knockout at 4:41.
Canada also wins with Côté's victory over Noke
Côté (photo) beat Noke in the TUF Nations Finale. Photo: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
Canada's victory over Australia at TUF Nations had its icing on the cake in the confrontation between the coaches. Canadian Patrick Côté, former middleweight title challenger, got the better of the leader of the Australian team, Kyle Noke.
Known for his tough chin and good striking game, Côté needed his ground game to nullify Noke. The Canadian managed to get takedowns at important moments and threw good blows, especially elbows, to undermine the Australian.
Noke had a good moment at the beginning of the second round, when he landed a knee that Côté clearly felt. However, it was not enough, and, at the end of the three rounds, the Canadian was named winner in the judges' decision.
Poirier and Corassani open the main card with a mind-blowing fight
The first fight on the TUF Nations Finale main card, at approximately 20pm Brasília time, left nothing to be desired in terms of action. Dustin poirier and Akira Corassani had a very aggressive fight, with good moments from both fighters.
READ TOO: Tim Kennedy beats Michael Bisping via judges' decision at TUF Nations Finale
In the first round, Poirier struggled with some of Corassani's blows, but managed to survive the attacks. Shortly afterwards, the North American got back at him and also almost took down the Swede. At the end of the first round, Poirier almost got the submission through a D'Arce Choke , but Corassani survived.
However, Poirier didn't let the opportunity to decide the fight slip out of his hands in the second round. At 42 seconds, he hit a powerful upper into his opponent's nose, which he clearly felt. Corassani fell, defenseless, which led to the referee's interruption.
Jimmo and Noons stand out in a warm preliminary card in Quebec City
The TUF Nations Finale fight night started with little action in the arena in Quebec City, whether between new fighters or some more experienced ones. The first five fights of the night had to be decided by the judges, with some of them ending with boos from the fans.
In the first fight of the day, local Mitch Gagnon defeated newcomer Tim Gorman in a unanimous decision. Then, former TUF Nations Richard Walsh and Nordine Taleb beat Chris Indich and Vik Grujic after 15 minutes of competition. Veterans Mark Bocek and George Roop found their way back to victory by defeating Mike de la Torre and Dustin Kimura, respectively.
The first to not need the judges' score was Canadian Ryan Jimmo, who managed a beautiful knockout over Sean O'Connell. The fight started off tight, but towards the end of the first round, Jimmo landed a direct hit on O’Connell, who almost surrendered. The technical knockout was declared at 4:27 of the first period. Thus, Jimmo recovered from the defeat he suffered in his last fight, against Jimi Manuwa, last October.
Ryan Jimmo won by knockout in the TUF Nations Finale. Photo: Disclosure/UFC
In the penultimate fight on the preliminary card, Sarah Kaufman and Leslie Smith had a rematch of the duel held a year ago, at Invicta. In a fast-paced fight, Kaufman overcame the disadvantage in her wingspan and dominated the action both on the feet and on the ground, being named the winner by all the judges in all rounds. With that, the Canadian won her first victory in the UFC.
To close the preliminary card, the experienced exchangers Sam stout and KJ Noons had a quick fight. After a few seconds of study, Noons connected with a powerful right cross to Stout's chin, who fell stunned. Afterwards, the American finished the job on the ground, securing the victory by knockout after 30 seconds. It was Noons' second consecutive victory in the UFC, as he had beaten George Sotiropoulos in October last year. The occasion also marked Stout's first knockout loss in his long MMA career.
Check out the results of the TUF Nations Finale:
MAIN CARD:
Tim Kennedy defeated Michael Bisping by unanimous decision of the judges (49 x 46, 49 x 46, 50 x 45);
Patrick Côté defeated Kyle Noke by unanimous decision (29 x 28, 29 x 28, 30 x 27);
Elias Theodorou defeated Sheldon Westcott via TKO in R2;
Chad Laprise defeated Olivier Aubin-Mercier via split decision (28 x 29, 29 x 28, 30 x 27)
Dustin poirier defeated Akira Corassani via TKO in R2;
PRELIMINARY CARD:
KJ Noons defeated Sam stout by knockout in R1;
Sarah Kaufman defeated Leslie Smith via unanimous decision (30 x 27, 30 x 27, 30 x 27);
Ryan Jimmo defeated Sean O’Connell by knockout in R1;
George Roop defeated Dustin Kimura via unanimous decision (29 x 28, 30 x 27, 29 x 26);
Mark Bocek defeated Mike de la Torre via split decision (28 x 29, 30 x 27, 29 x 28);
Nordine Taleb defeated Vik Grujic via unanimous decision (30 x 27, 30 x 27, 30 x 27);
Richard Walsh defeated Chris Indich by unanimous decision (30 x 27, 30 x 27, 30 x 27);
Mitch Gagnon defeated Tim Gorman via unanimous decision (30 x 27, 30 x 27, 30 x 27)
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