THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER 23 FINALE
JULY 8, 2016
LIVE FROM LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
The UFC Women’s Strawweight Title is on the line tonight on Fox Sports 1, as Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha finally face off for a second time. Additionally, the 23rd season of The Ultimate Fighter comes to an end with two finals bouts in Tatiana Suarez vs. Amanda Cooper and Andrew Sanchez vs. Khalil Rountree. We’ll have live round by round coverage of tonight’s main card beginning at 10PM ET, with quick results on the prelims from 7PM ET and on. Follow along with us here all night!
Note for App Users: For fastest refresh rate on our fight result updates throughout the event, we recommend you visit our mobile-friendly browser-based website at http://www.mmatorch.com. Our App unfortunately doesn’t update article changes in real time, but our mobile site does, so there will be delays in live results on our app but not on our mobile site during the event.
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=====UFC Fight Pass Prelims Quick Results=====
-Li Jingliang def. Anton Zafir via KO at 2:46 of the first round
-Kevin Lee def. Jake Matthews via TKO at 4:06 of the first round
=====Fox Sports 1 Prelims=====
-Cezar Ferreira def. Anthony Smith via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
-Josh Stansbury def. Cory Hendricks via majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)
-Matheus Nicolau def. John Moraga via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
-Gray Maynard def. Fernando Bruno via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
=====Fox Sports 1 Main Card=====
MAIN CARD FIGHT ONE: JOAQUIM SILVA vs. ANDREW HOLBROOK (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Silva caught a kick from Holbrook, dumped Holbrook on his backside, landed a right hook as Holbrook tried to get up, 5 punches on the ground, and Holbrook is fully unconscious.
WINNER: Joaquim Silva via TKO at 0:34 of the first round.
STAR RATING: (**+) What do you want to hear? Bang Zoom, on to the next fight, right?
MAIN CARD FIGHT TWO: DOO HO CHOI VS. THIAGO TAVARES (FEATHERWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Big step up in Competition for Choi tonight. Choi immediately takes the center of the cage. Tavares ducks under a flying knee and turns it into a takedown along the cage. Choi gets to his feet for half a second but Tavares puts him back down. Tavares has Choi’s legs grapevined. I didn’t see what happened, but Choi’s nose is a little bloody. Choi has his back against the fence and gets to his feet with double underhooks. Choi turns Tavares onto the fence, but the veteran trips Choi back to the mat. Same seated position as before for Choi. Choi back to his geet, with Tavares still pushing him into the cage. Herb Dean is getting bored, and is asking the high caliber athletes to work. Choi separates from Tavares and we’re back to standing. Straight right from Choi and Tavares is dead, figuratively. That came out of nowhere!
WINNER: Doo Ho Choi via KO at 2:42 of the first round.
STAR RATING: (**+) Um, damn? Choi showed patience and poise while Tavares worked harder to keep Choi down than Choi spent trying to get up. That right hand was straight, crisp, accurate, and obviously powerful as hell.
MAIN CARD FIGHT THREE: ROSS PEARSON VS. WILL BROOKS (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Both fighters trade early leg kicks. Brooks lands a kick to the gut. Brooks lands a nice step knee. Pearson comes in tight and eats a knee from a quick little clinch. Pearson is working the jab trying to get inside. Another knee from Brooks. Another clinch knee from Brooks who then tries to get a takedown. He’s pushing Pearson into the cage. Nice clinch elbows from Brooks. Pearso’s doign a good job staying upright, but he’s opened himself up for Brooks to land left hands here and there. Brooks pushes away and we’re back to standing. That elbow cut Pearson’s forhead. Nice body kick from Brooks. Pearson avoids a lunging punch and slips in a nice short hook of his own. Brooks lands a nice left hand. Brooks charges in for a takedown and has Pearson backed into the cage again. Pearson defends well and reverses position, and has double underhooks to boot. Ross is grabbing the fence, and when he lets go Brooks reverses. Pearson lands a good knee. 10-9 Brooks
ROUND TWO: Brooks eats a low kick but is able to land an uppercut as Pearson recoiled. Hard 1 2 from Brooks. Good right hand from Pearson. Brooks shoots and immediately gets Pearson down in the middle of the cage. That was very fast, and very well timed. Full guard. Brooks lands a hard right hand. Pearson is throwing open handed slaps to the ears of Brooks. Pearson gives up his back but can’t quite get up. Now he’s on all fours with Brooks on his back. Pearson gets to the fence at least. Pearson gets up and eats a few left hands before rotating off the fence. Pearson has the underhooks. Brooks with a knee as he rotates off the fence. Brooks is landing swinging elbows. Knee to the body there. Pearson gets off the cage but eats a big right hand to the chest. Another knee from Brooks. Head kick as Pearson retreats. Pearson and Brooks collide throwing knees and Brooks falls back to the mat. 20-18 Brooks
ROUND THREE: Left hook from Pearson and an uppercut. Brooks eats another left hand from Pearson. He’s much more aggressive in the third, probably knowing he needs a finish. Brooks shoots but gets stuffed hard. Brooks gets back to his feet and presses Pearson into the cage. Pearson reverses position. Pearson throws a knee to the privates and Big Dan briefly pauses the fight. Back to action, in the middle of the cage now. Pearson is really turning it on, landing that left hook. Uppercut to the body from Pearson. Short elbow from Brooks. Right hand from Peatson. They’re just trading in the middle of the cage. Another left hook from Pearson and Brooks wobbled a little. Body kick from Pearson. Brooks up high. Peatson lands high and low, seeral punches in a row from Pearson. Pearson presses Brooks into the fence and is putting on a clinic. Brooks is just standing there. Elbow from Pearson. Pearson has been grapevining the top of the cage and not getting called out on it. Back to the middle. Body kick from Brooks almost dropped Brooks. Brooks lands a shot of his own and then shoots a takedown. Pearson is down but pops back up and puts Brooks onto the fence again. Brooks rotates. Pearson eats a knee. Both guys trading short punches in the clinch. Knee from Pearson. Two uppercuts. Both guys throw to the final bell. Great round. 10-9 Pearson. 29-28 Brooks
WINNER: Will brooks via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (++) The third round was very good, but the first two rounds were kind of plodding. A solid debut from Brooks, but I’m not convinced he’s top-10 right now. He’s missing something, but I can’t quite put my finger on what that might be.
MAIN CARD FIGHT FOUR: AMANDA COOPER VS. TATIANA SUAREZ (STRAWWEIGHT TUF 23 CHAMPIONSHIP)
ROUND ONE: No feeling out here. Suarez ducks under an overhand right ang gets a near immediate takedown. Closed guard. Suarez is punching to the body and the head of Cooper as Cooper tries to get to the cage. Cooper throws her legs up from an armbar attempt. Suarez escapes and gets back in top. They’re mashed up against the fence here. Cooper has some space, so Suarez stands up over Cooper and lands some punches. Cooper rolls forward ans sweeps Suarez. Good sweep there. Suarez gets back up, stays engaged, and takes Cooper down. Cooper was looking for a guillotine on the takedown but it wasn’t there. Suarez postures up and is unloading on the diminutive Cooper. Suarez is in total control here, outlanding Cooper in significant strieks 27-2 here. She’s working here for a side choke. Kind of a D’Arce. Japanese Necktie in place here, and Cooper taps. McCarthy missed the tap and Cooper was flailing away. That was something else!
WINNER: Tatiana Suarez via submission at 3:43 of the first round.
STAR RATING: (***) Best fight of the night so far. Suarez dominated, but Cooper showed some skill as well. The finish was officially declared as a D’Arce. Stann called it a Japanese Necktie. Regardless, it was bonkers. Suarez has a future.
MAIN CARD FIGHT FIVE: ANDREW SANCHEZ VS. KHALIL ROUNTREE (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TUF 23 CHAMPIONSHIP)
ROUND ONE: Sanchz shoots after 25 seconds of feints, but Rountree stuffs it.Rountree loaded up on a left that just missed. He doesn’t want anything to do with a third round. Rountree constantly flicking out the right jab. Sanchez shoots a single and gets Rountree down this time. Rountree scoots to the fence. Rountree is carrying a lot of weight in his effort to get back up. He gets up but gets dragged back down. He also earned a fence grab warning from Herb Dean. Rountree gets on his feet, but Sanchez is on his back. He gets another takedown. This time Rountree’s on his butt and is going to really have to work to get back up. Sanchez gets off of Rountree’s legs and works to get on his back. Rountree’s kind of stuck here, but Sanchez isn’t in a position to land anything significant yet. He’s landing right hands here and there, but doesn’t have much power on them. Rountree gets back up finally, and is able to disengage. Sanchez with a high kick into a double leg. Half-guard for Sanchez. He’s got four takedowns in this round. 10-9 Sanchez
ROUND TWO: Both guys were breathing hard on their stools between rounds. Side kick into a takedown from Sanchez, but this one is stiffed. Rountree lands a let hook, Sanchez grabs a single. Rountree is defending based purely on his physical superiority over the mush smaller Sanchez. Sanchez give up the single but still has his weight on Rountree. Sanchez drops down and drags Rountree to the mat with him. Sanchez has Rountree’s legs grapevined, which will force Rountree to work to get back up. This is really, really dull. This is a virtual repeat of round one. Sanchez is a decent chain-wrestler, but hard to say how good because Rountree is so stationary. The crowd is starting to turn here. Rountree doesn’t know what he’s doing, and Sanchez isn’t good enough to tear through him. Feed the winner to Krylov! Rountree lands a stray elbow. Herb Dean is threatening to stand them up, but why bother? Sanchez lands a big right just before the horn. 10-8 Sanchez. 20-17.
ROUND THREE: Rountree lands a high kick early. Rountree avoids a takedown with a good sprawl. Sanchez shoots but eats a bunch of hammerfists. Sanchez got in deeper, though. Rountree stays on his feet, but won’t be for long. Herb Dean is much quicker on the YOU’RE BORING ME LET’S WORK warnings. Sanchez takes the hint and gets a nice inside trip. Full guard. I don’t expcet Rountree to be on his feet again, unless Herb Dean saves him. Sanchez is doing nothing right now, and the crowd is hostile. Rountree just doesn’t know how to move. I don’t know what else to say about it. Watch it and you’ll understand. Sanchez is getting on the back of Rountree and is thinking about a rear naked choke setup. These guys are barely Bellator unstreamd prelim fight caliber, and they’re com-main eventing the night before UFC 200. I keep saying it,but Rountree doesn’t know what he’s doing. If they get any closer to the boom mic, my speakers are going to explode from all of the panting they’re both doing. Herb Dean keeps telling them to work, but, who cares? 10-8 Sanchez. 30-25 Sanchez
WINNER: Andrew Sanchez via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-26)
STAR RATING: (0*) Taking the high road here.
MAIN CARD FIGHT SIX: JOANNA JEDRZEJCZYK VS. CLAUDIA GADELHA (UFC STRAWWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP)
ROUND ONE: Jedrzejczyk and Gadelha declined to touch gloves, and we’re off! Jedrzejczyk landing her jab early, but gets knocked down by a stiff jab from Gadelha. She’s up immediately, but gets taken back down shortly thereafter. Gadelha on top. Half-guard. Jedrzejczyk gets back to her feet but is now being pushed into the fence by Gadelha. Jedrzejczyk reverses position and has underhooks on Gadelha. Gadelha spins out but eats a good combination from Jedrzejczyk. Jedrzejczyk lands a couple jabs, but Gadelha gets inside and puts the champion’s back on the fence again. Gadelha is trying to power Jedrzejczyk to the ground, and she’s got her down again. half guard. Nice elbows from Gadelha. and a left hand to the face there. She’s trying to step over, but Jedrzejczyk rolls to the cage. Back to her feet, and Jedrzejczyk lands an elbow. they trade elbows, and we’re back to the middle. Front kick by Jedrzejczyk. Leg kick from Jedrzejczyk. Jedrzejczyk is working the sharp jabs. Another front kick. Jedrzejczyk hasn’t landed anything really hard yet, but her volume of jabs is impressive. Another front kick. Gadelha is doing a good job throwing right hooks every time Jedrzejczyk jabs. 10-9 Gadelha
ROUND TWO: Gadelha gets stuffed but does get double underhooks and pushes Jedrzejczyk back to the cage. Nice elbow and hook from the challenger. Jedrzejczyk gets taken down by the relentless Gadelha. Gadelha is landing hard shots on the ground. Jedrzejczyk is eating them in a desperat attempt to get up. Gadelha has Jedrzejczyk’s arm trapped and is sitting in the champions right leg. Not a good spot for Jedrzejczyk. She’s up, but still has Gadelha on her. Gadelha gets warned for grabbing the cage behind Jedrzejczyk. Double underhooks from Gadelha as she looks for a trip. Gadelha gets warned again about grabbing the cage. I think that’s four mentions from John McCarthy now. Jedrzejczyk is defending the takedown well, but she is eating stray right hands. This will take its toll as the fight continues. Jedrzejczyk just can’t get off the cage. Gadelha takes her down but Jedrzejczyk lands on top. Gadelha looks to sweep, but eats some elbows. Jedrzejczyk probed for a choke, but it was brushed aside by the supoerior grappler. Gadelha is back up, and is still on Jedrzejczyk like a little pitbull. Jedrzejczyk needs to get out of this clinch or she’s going to be back on the floor soon. Knee from Jedrzejczyk. She gets wrist control and separates. Gadelha retreats until the horn sounds. 20-18 Gadelha
ROUND THREE: Gadelha looks the worse for wear after two rounds, but it’s no surprise that Jedrzejczyk is fresher after ten minutes. Left hook from Gadelha. And another one. Gadelha shoots and drives Jedrzejczyk to the canvas. Jedrzejczyk gets back up, but has Gadelhaa back on her again. Another takedown where Jedrzejczyk lands on top, but this time Gadelha rolls through and gets on top. Jedrzejczyk is back up, but again has Gadelha trying to twist her in knots to get her back down. Nice elbow from Jedrzejczyk. Jedrzejczyk rotates and lands a knee. They separate. Gadelha is sucking wind. Jedrzejczyk is going to the body, wisely. Jabs from the champion. Gadelha is flat footed and getting picked apart. Every shade of red can be found in Gadelha’s face right now. Nice combo from the champion. Jedrzejczyk is landing every thing she throws. Gadelha digs deep and takes Jedrzejczyk down, but she doesn’t have enough left to keep the champ down. Jedrzejczyk unloads on a supine Gadelha and then backs away. Gadelha takes 5 seconds to get up while Jedrzejczyk gains confidence. Hard right left hook combo from Jedrzejczyk. And Gadelha drops Jedrzejczyk with a right elbow! Jedrzejczyk gets back up but has Gadelha pressing her into the fence yet again. Jedrzejczyk reverses position and is landing lethal elbows. Returned from Gadelha! Jedrzejczykbacks off. The champ lands an elbow and eats an uppercut at the horn. 10-9 Jedrzejczyk. 29-28 Gadelha
ROUND FOUR: That was more of a slip than a knockdown at the end of the third, but the judges don’t have the benefit of replay. Jedrzejczyk unloads with a nasty combination of punches. The Jedrzejczyk speed advantage is really something else. Jedrzejczyk has a 95-29 advantage in significant strikes. Jedrzejczyk constantly circling, jabbing, circling, combos, circling, leg kick. Switch kick from the champ. Standing elbow. More leg kicks. Gadelha tries to check these leg kicks and can’t get her leg up in time. v is so much faster right now. Nice left hook from Jedrzejczyk when the champ got in too close. Jedrzejczyk is quite hittable when she’s stationary for any amount of time. Jedrzejczyk is peppering the Brazilian at will. Gadelha’s output is greatly reduced from early in the fight. Jedrzejczykis tearing her apart, just waiting for her opportunity to finish. Big right hands from both fighters. Gadelha’s lead leg is very red now. She’ll be limping for a few days. Jedrzejczyk to the body, then the head. Gadelha is doomed unless she can find a final wind. Jedrzejczyk is a knockdown away from a 10-8 round. Easy round for the champ, and it’s tied going to the final round. 10-9 Jedrzejczyk. 38-38
ROUND FIVE: A reluctant touch of gloves to start the fifth. Gadelha charges forward and eats three fast punches from a retreating Jedrzejczyk. Hard jab by Jedrzejczyk. Jedrzejczyk doesn’t look one bit slower than she was in the first. Nice right from the champ. Gadelha shoots and gets double underhooks, but who knows if she has the energy to finish the takedown. She trips Jedrzejczyk, but she’s still up. Gadelha almost threw her, but Jedrzejczyk avoided it and got free. Front kick from the champ. She’s still bouncing on her toes. Jab. Jab. Jab. Jab. Lft ot the body and a front kick. Nice right hand there from the champion. Gadelha lands a left. Another combo from the champ. Gadelha shoots, but there’s nothing in it. Jedrzejczyk gets Gadelha’s back on the fence. Jedrzejczyk throws Gadelha down. Nice elbows before she backs away. She forces Gadelha to stand. Gadelha lands a right hook. More jabs from the champ. And another that really snapped Gadelha’s neck back. Big right hand followed by a left. Jedrzejczyk is mauling her now. Gadelha gets inside and clinches, but she eats a big right. Great elbow from the champ. Great fight! 10-9 Jedrzejczyk. 48-47 Jedrzejczyk
WINNER: Joanna Jedrzejczyk by unanimous decision (48-46, 48-45, 48-46)
STAR RATING: (****) Great fight. Especially when Jedrzejczyk was able to do what she wanted to do. I don’t get the cards though. there wasn’t a 10-8 round in there, but the judges scored multiple 10-8 rounds. Whatever. It doesn’t at all diminish the quality of the fight we saw tonight.
Note for App Users: For fastest refresh rate on our fight result updates throughout the event, we recommend you visit our mobile-friendly browser-based website at http://www.mmatorch.com. Our App unfortunately doesn’t update article changes in real time, but our mobile site does, so there will be delays in live results on our app but not on our mobile site during the event.
Also for App users, swipe right to view next article, swipe left to view previous article.
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