The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale took place Friday night live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event, undefeated former WSOF lightweight champion Justin Gaethje was set to make his promotional debut against 155lb stalwart Michael Johnson. Earlier in the night, however, on the UFC Fight Pass Preliminary portion of the card, fans were treated to a key strawweight bout, and a former title challenger taking on a charismatic Japanese fighter.
In 115lb action, potential title contender Tecia Torres returned, entering the night with a record of 8-1 and coming off a win in February against Bec Rawlings. Opposite her in the octagon was Juliana Lima, the inaugural UFC victim of strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Lima last fought in December, picking up a win over JJ Aldrich at UFC Fight Night 102. With Torres taking the fight on short notice as a replacement for Amanda Ribas, this was a high risk, high reward bout for her.
In the featured Fight Pass prelim bout, Gray Maynard (12–6–1 (1)) was looking to get things back on track against Japan’s Teruto Ishihara (9–3–2). Maynard, known for his trilogy of lightweight battles with Frankie Edgar, had gone 1-1 since dropping to featherweight. Ishihara, meanwhile, entered the night coming off a loss to Artem Lobov.
Prior to the start of the event, the UFC announced that a Fox Sports 1 Prelim bout between Jessica Eye and Aspen Ladd was off the card after Ladd took sick. As a result, the Torres vs. Lima fight was bumped up to the Fox Sports 1 Prelim card.
Gray Maynard vs. Teruto Ishihara
A touch of the gloves and they were off. Ishihara secured the center of the octagon early. Maynard, however, got off the first combo, then looked to shoot but thought better of it. A second takedown moments later was successful, however, and Ishihara began scooting back to the fence, and wall walked up. Maynard, however, dropped him right back down sweeping his leg from underneath him. Ishihara powered up again, but was planted back down once more. That had to be tiring for the Japanese fighter. Maynard controlled for another minute or so, winning the grappling exchanges, but Ishihara was able to land a solid knee once he worked back to his feet.
That, however, led to another Maynard takedown, and it looked like the Bully was going to be able to have his way with Ishihara in the first thanks to his wrestling prowess. Any time Ishihara did get things back on the feet, it wasn’t for long, and he looked exhausted by the end of the round.
The secound round started with one clear idea: Teruto Ishihara needed to keep the fight standing. Still exhausted from the first round, however, Maynard took him down with ease thanks to a quick shot early in the frame. Ishihara did work his way up quickly, but was planted on his back almost immediately. As in round one, the action was yo-yo like, up and down but with little happening on the feet. Maynard would try to take the back next, but Ishihara again escaped to his feet only to be tripped back to the mat. Maynard then opted to work from half guard, adding in a few shots for good measure. For the remainder of the round Maynard lived up to his moniker and bullied his opponent where ever the fight went, with Ishihara managing just brief seconds of offense as the round wore down.
No question, Ishihara needed a finish to win heading into the third and final round. Maynard, however, once again scored first landing a takedown within the first thirty seconds thanks to a powerful double leg. Against the fence, The Bully was able to continually pull the Japanese fighter’s legs out from under him, keeping him planted on the canvass. This time out, Maynard was able to take his opponent’s back with ease, add in some knees to the body, and pretty much drag him where ever he wanted him. He then locked in a kimura, which Ishihara was able to deftly defend. What he was not able to do, however, was get the fight back to the feet. Ishihara was warned a couple of times for illegal upkicks, but there was little else he could manage in the way of offense. Maynard would ride out the round, maintaining control along the way to a one-sided unanimous decision.
Gray Maynard def. Teruto Ishihara by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale UFC Fight Pass Prelim Results:
Gray Maynard def. Teruto Ishihara by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Tecia Torres vs. Juliana Lima (bumped to Fox Sports 1 Prelim card)
