Friday night was a good night for a trio of fighters with some of the best nicknames in mixed martial arts. Violent Bob Ross (Luis Pena), Bruce Leeroy (Alex Caceres), and The Last Stylebender (Israel Adesanya) all picked up bonuses at The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale. They helped contribute to a night with a handful of bonus-worthy options, as Roxanne Modafferi and Gerald Meerschaert were also in the running.

💰 50Gs 💰

POTN: @ViolentBobRoss & @Stylebender

FOTN: @BruceLeeroyGlow vs. @BravoToroMartin #TUF27 pic.twitter.com/vz4M5IBAig

— UFC (@ufc) July 7, 2018

Pena (5-0) maintained his perfect record as a professional after being forced off TUF 27 due to injury. The debut of the charismatic lightweight was hotly anticipated, and it did not disappoint. Facing Richie Smullen, a fellow competitor from the Ultimate Fighter house forced off the show for health reasons, Pena lit his opponent up on the feet, and on the ground, sunk in a rear-naked choke for the win.

Israel Adesanya’s turn in the main event, meanwhile, saw the kickboxing star improve to 3-0 in the UFC. Adesanya faced his toughest test to date in Brad Tavares — and passed with flying colors. Improving to 14-0 overall the middleweight picked apart the Hawaiian on the feet, and showed superb takedown defense for a fighter known as a stand-up master.

Fight of the Night honors, meanwhile, went to Alex Caceres and Martin Bravo. Their hotly contested affair went back and forth for the full three rounds, with ‘Bruce Leeroy’ getting the win in the end.

All four bonus-winning fighters will receive $50,000 for their efforts.

The post The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale Bonuses: Violent Bob Ross, Bruce Leeroy, Last Stylebender Cash In appeared first on Cageside Press.

In the first main event of his career, we saw Israel Adesanya take on tenth-ranked middleweight Brad Tavares. Adesanya was looking to leapfrog the Hawaiian. The hyped prospect was undefeated and had won his first two fights in the UFC against Rob Wilkinson and Marvin Vettori.

Round one had Tavares pushing the pace and attempting to get the clinch against Adesanya. However he couldn’t ever truly get a hold of him, and Adesanya was landing many fast and hard kicks at will. The round ended the only way it possibly could, with Adesanya rolling for a heel hook. Adesanya showed great range in the first round.

The beginning of the fight seemed to absolutely show and make apparent that Israel Adesanya belongs in the Octagon. Tavares does many things well but he appeared out-gunned against the former kickboxer Adesanya. Adesanya was warned by Herb Dean for his fingers being out but that didn’t slow him down whatsoever in the second round. He still threw everything at him.

Round three was just brutal for Tavares as Adesanya overwhelmed him and kept moving forward. Looking like the terminator at the start of the fourth, Tavares finally found some success with a takedown and landed some ground and pound. However, Adesanya used a kimura to get out of that position and get back to his feet where he kept piecing Tavares up, as the latter had trouble seeing the punches coming with a cut over his eye.

Tavares throughout the entire fight had trouble getting anything going, and he was forced to play Israel’s game as he couldn’t get him down, and so he ultimately came up short. Adesanya absolutely proved he belonged as a top-tier fighter at 185 pounds and will be fun to see where the 28-year-old prospect goes from here.

Israel Adesanya def. Brad Tavares by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)

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Mike Trizano is a Bellator and Ring of Combat veteran holding an undefeated record of 6-0. The New Jersey native has knocked out two victims and submitted another two. On the show, Trizano advanced through the first round with a second-round TKO, then won a three-round decision to reach the finals.

Joe Giannetti is a jiu-jitsu specialist, winning five of his six career victories via submission. The ground skills carried over to the shows, as he submitted both of his opponents in the first round (a guillotine and rear-naked choke, respectively).

Trizano starts the fight with a leg kick, then Giannetti fires back with a deflected head kick. Early in the fight, both men are opting to lead their attacks with kicks.

Nearly a minute in, Giannetti swoops in with a double-leg takedown and moves to the back as Trizano stands up. Giannetti hangs on to the back of Trizano while pushing him against the cage. Trizano countered with a takedown, but Giannetti is able to bring him back to his feet. Giannetti briefly scored a takedown, but Trizano was quick to his feet.

Giannetti took down Trizano and began to work for an inverted heel hook. Trizano found enough space to posture up and land a punch, but Giannetti stayed on him, attempting a D’arce choke. The submission did not succeed but, Giannetti continued his push by sweeping Trizano onto his back with little to go in the round. The round ended shortly after Trizano attempted a triangle choke.

Each fighter traded low kicks to start the second round, then Giannetti shot for a takedown. Trizano countered effectively, catching Giannetti then shoving him over to take half guard. Trizano worked his way to side control.

Giannetti and Trizano were locked in a stalemate in the latter half of the second round, with Giannetti hanging off his opponent’s back. No progress was made on either side despite the referee’s wishes.

The final round was slower paced. Another series of kicks marked the early goings of the final round. While it was a close fight, neither fighter pushed the envelope to make a statement in the final round. Trizano was content with staying on the outside and firing away shots from distance. Giannetti had a similar goal, but with even less urgency.

Michael Trizano def. Joe Giannetti by Split Decision (29-28 x2, 28-29).

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Alex Caceres and Martin Bravo were one of the middle fights on the TUF 27 Finale main card — but they fought as if they were headlining the show. The featherweights had both struggled of late as were coming off losses. Caceres, last scheduled to fight at UFC 223, was moved to this card after Conor McGregor’s rampage that included his friend and Caceres opponent Artem Lobov.

Round one started with Martin Bravo practically stalking Alex Caceres to start the fight. Both fighters were looking for kicks to start before Bravo moved in and got the clinch and takedown on Caceres. Caceres got up before throwing a kick to the body that got caught, he was promptly taken down again. Caceres tried to roll for a submission to no avail. Caceres then managed to get back to his feet and the round ended with the two standing.

Round two began with Caceres landing a giant shot on Bravo that rocked him! Caceres jumped on his back and looked to lock in the rear naked choke, but he couldn’t secure it. Bravo survived and continued to bring the pressure against Caceres. However, Bravo walked right into a left hand, a strike that was consistently landing for Caceres. Bravo was rocked. Despite all this, ‘Bruce Leeroy’ never rushed the finish and stayed calm, landing combinations.

Bravo pushed with the pace again to start the third and looked for the takedown. Caceres looked for a takedown of his own but couldn’t land it. The third round it seemed like Caceres was tired; Bravo seemed mildly concussed, and they fought like it. Both winged some shots and a lot of technique went out the window. That being said, it was fun to watch as Bravo started to come back after his horrible second round, landing some nice combinations in the third. The fight ended as they were swinging in the center of the cage.

On the scorecards, Caceres had the edge — great scrap!

Alex Caceres def. Martin Bravo by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) 

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In what easily could have been the TUF 26 Finale, Roxanne Modafferi and Barb Honchak met instead at The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale. ‘The Happy Warrior’ was chasing her first UFC win despite having challenged for the inaugural women’s flyweight title in the promotion. Honchak was chasing redemption after also being a top seed on TUF 26, which introduced the weight class. She was also looking to make her career series with ‘The Happy Warrior’ 2-0.

That, however, was not in the cards. Modafferi got her jab going early, throwing two-punch combinations, and moving in and out at angles. Honchak used her right hand to try to stave off the jab, then fired off counters. Both women landed early, but at the midway point of the round, it was Roxanne Modafferi who took the fight to the ground, scoring a key takedown in a close round. In half guard, she began to work to pass. While she couldn’t get to mount, some nasty elbows helped keep Honchak at bay, and ‘The Happy Warrior’ spent the second half of the round in control.

Round two saw a scramble early that allowed Roxy to get on top. She began unleashing a number of elbows as Honchak covered up. Modafferi worked from half guard, with plenty of time on the clock. More elbows and punches to the side of the head followed. Then, Modafferi moved to mount. Honchak gave up her back. The elbows continued to flow, and all Honchak could do was cover up. The ref had seen enough – and The Happy Warrior had her first UFC victory, and an impressive finish!

The 😊Warrior!@RoxyFighter gets the win! #TUF27 pic.twitter.com/wBruvVaZXm

— UFC (@ufc) July 7, 2018

Roxanne Modafferi def. Barb Honchak by TKO, Round 2, 3:32

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A battle of middleweights at the TUF 27 Finale turned into a catchweight as Julian Marquez first lost to the scale on Thursday morning. After missing weight by 3 pounds, the bout was turned into a catchweight and Marquez was fined a percentage of his purse. It was not the start that the former Dana White Contender Series fighter needed. Nor did things get better when his scrap against Alessio Di Chirico went to the scorecards on Friday night.

Marquez started the fight by attempting to bring the pressure, Di Chirico battled back with vicious kicks to the body and landed a nice right hand to the ear of Marquez that rocked him. Marquez survived and appeared to rock Di Chirico with a left hook, he also survived and countered with a takedown. Marquez however managed to get back to the feet. Marquez also appeared to hurt Di Chirico to end the round.

Julian Marquez continued in the second round like he did the first, brawling and moving forward. Marquez looked for a guillotine and looked like he might get his second in a row but couldn’t secure it. Di Chirico took the fight to the ground which appeared to be a mistake as Marquez got dangerously close to locking up an armbar before Di Chirico stepped over and ended the round on the feet.

The third round featured the two middleweights much more tired and labored. Marquez still moved forward but didn’t land nearly as much as he had in the first and second. However near the end of the third, Marquez was moving in and Di Chirico landed the takedown. Marquez got back to his feet and landed some heavy knees in the clinch. The fight ended as the two were swinging on the feet.

It was a very, very close fight, with Di Chirio coming out on top via split decision. Yet the crowd at the TUF 27 Finale certainly didn’t agree, and one judge seeing the fight so vastly different from the other two led to the first scoring controversy of the night.

Alessio Di Chirico def. Julian Marquez by split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)

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In a new flyweight division, one win can put you not far out of a title shot. For Rachael Ostovich and Montana De La Rosa, a bout at the TUF 27 Finale allowed them a chance to get themselves into the rankings and into title contention. The bout went down on the televised prelims of the Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale, and in the end Montana De La Rosa might’ve just made her case to break into the rankings.

In round one, Ostovich struggled with getting in on De La Rosa. Anytime she attempted to move in she’d be tagged by De La Rosa, who was the far taller fighter with longer reach. Ostovich also struggled with putting pressure on her, as De La Rosa just held her ground in the center of the octagon for the majority of round one.

In round two Ostovich looked to land some inside leg kicks and also looked to land the big overhand right, but couldn’t get it to connect. Ostovich threw a kick that was caught by De La Rosa who attempted to bring her to the ground. She couldn’t get her down, and instead put her up against the fence before circling off. Ostovich started to land on the feet which lead to De Le Rosa trying to bring the fight to the ground.

Round three featured both fighters attempting to find a finish, with Ostovich rolling for an armbar. She was unable to complete the submission, and a transition saw De La Rosa land on top. As De La Rosa landed on top she moved into mount and went to the back. There she began landing some ground and pound. De La Rosa eventually locked up a rear-naked choke, and that was all she wrote.

She sinks it in and gets the tap!

2-0 inside the Octagon for @MontanaMarie211! #TUF27 pic.twitter.com/ZdYFNTjzRo

— UFC (@ufc) July 7, 2018

Montana de la Rosa def. Rachel Ostovich by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 3, 4:21

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The Ultimate Fighter 27, coached by Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic, saw a season of undefeated fighters go to battle each week. Two of the unfortunate lightweights who didn’t make the finals were Luis ‘Violent Bob Ross’ Pena and Richie Smullen. With a win against the other at Friday’s TUF 27 Finale in Las Vegas, they could potentially earn a spot in the UFC going forward, and it’s likely Luis Pena did.

The fight opened with Smullen immediately taking Pena down and Pena trying to look for a submission anywhere. Eventually, he got back to his feet after a scramble and briefly took Smullen down himself. After standing back up, Violent Bob Ross started landing hard shots and dropped Smullen. Smullen tried to recover and get a heel hook but couldn’t hang on to it.

As they were rolling, Pena locked up a guillotine and got it in under the chin. As Smullen tried to free himself, Pena got into full mount and cranked on the guillotine. Eventually Smullen was forced to tap.

WOW! @ViolentBobRoss #WithTheGoodHair w/ his first UFC win!!
#TUF27 pic.twitter.com/DRwE0rKbJx

— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) July 7, 2018

After not being able to fight his way to the finale after suffering an injury on the show, Luis Pena made a clear impact at the finale. With such a dominating win it’s hard to think that we won’t be seeing more of Luis Pena, as he will be a lightweight to keep an eye on for the future.

Luis Pena def. Richie Smullen by submission (full mount guillotine), Round 1, 3:42

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If any one fighter stood out on The Ultimate Fighter 27 beyond Luis Pena (a.k.a. Violent Bob Ross) in terms of character, it may just have been John Gunther. Gunther was that weird, wacky character who organized the house talent show — and it turned out to be a lot of fun to watch. Add in Alpaca calls and a raft built from water bottles, and Gunther may have been one of the zaniest characters to come out of the show.

On Friday, however, his focus was solely on TUF 27 cast mate Allan Zuniga. Their lightweight scrap was second in on the TUF 27 Finale’s televised preliminary card.

Gunther worked from the outside early, and when opportunity presented itself, pressed Zuniga into the fence, looking for a takedown. Zuniga would fight him off for a time, but Gunther would complete the double leg. He could not, however, make much happen; Zuniga muscled back up, only to be taken back down. That would repeat, but on the next takedown, Gunther was able to trap the legs and work in some ground n’ pound. He’d control the majority of the frame; back on the feet late, he’d add in a spinning back elbow for good measure.

Round two once again saw Gunther in control. By the ninety second mark, he had the back of Zuniga, looking for a choke. Zuniga would force his way to his feet, but was struggling to find an opening for any offense whatsoever. That would finally change with roughly two minutes left in the frame, as the pair exchanged briefly on the feet. Yet again, however, John Gunther initiated a clinch. Another takedown followed, and he again trapped Zuniga’s legs. Heading to the third, Zuniga clearly needed a finish.

Allan Zuniga opened round three with a body-head combination, and managed to slip a takedown attempt. Fatigue was likely to play a factor, however, and Gunther soon used a trip to drag his opponent to the canvas. They’d spend a little more time standing in the third, and Zuniga would swing away in the dying seconds, but ultimately, it would go the distance, and the winner was never in question. In fact the biggest surprise was a 28-28 score by one judge.

John Gunther def. Allan Zuniga by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)

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A battle of TUF 27 semi-finalists opened up the Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale televised prelims, when Tyler Diamond took on Bryce Mitchell. The featherweight battle went down at the Pearl Theatre at the Palms Casino and Resort Friday night, and would see one of the pair pick up the first professional loss of their career.

Diamond and Mitchell stayed active on their feet to start, with Mitchell landing the first significant strike with a left hand. Diamond fired off a head kick that was blocked; Mitchell answered back with a jumping kick that sailed high. Things got a little wild on the feet, and Diamond was able to latch onto a single leg and take the fight to the ground. Mitchell worked a rubber guard and tried to sneak his leg up across the neck, submission in mind. Instead he powered back up only to find himself in a guillotine; Mitchell scooped up his opponent in a big takedown to break free of the choke. After a low blow by Mitchell paused the action briefly, he scored a takedown, but again Diamond latched onto his neck in a guillotine attempt. They’d finish the round with Mitchell controlling a grappling exchange on the feet.

Round two was active, back-and-forth once again. Yet this time, Bryce Mitchell was able to lock on with a triangle while the pair were on the ground. Mitchell then unloaded with an unholy number of elbows from the bottom while Diamond was trapped in the submission. The ref took a good look, but allowed the action to continue. Mitchell continued to squeeze with his legs, launching elbows, until finally, somehow, Diamond broke free. He moved to side control, and turned the tables on Mitchell as the round wore down, working in some ground n’ pound.

NASTY elbows by @ThugNastyMMA, but @TylerD1amond escapes the triangle and ends up on top!

What a round! #TUF27 pic.twitter.com/Sn2RUA4ged

— UFC (@ufc) July 7, 2018

Mitchell landed a combo early in round three; Diamond returned fire, landing a strike of his own. Mitchell shot for a takedown, landing it but they rolled through and popped right back up. Diamond then dropped levels and scored a double leg of his own. That gave him plenty of time to work, and while he couldn’t find the finish, he controlled the bulk of the round, finishing in full control on Mitchell’s back.

Bryce Mitchell def. Tyler Diamond by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)

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