Earlier tonight (Sat. Aug. 6, 2022), two athletes were named The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) champion after a pair of bouts on the main card of UFC Vegas 59 from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In the women’s Flyweight finale fight, Brogan Walker took on Julianna Miller. Walker came out pressing, but Miller landed a hard right hand. The fight moved to the clinch, where Miller landed a takedown. She settled in half guard, applying heavy shoulder pressure and landing occasional punches. Walker recovered full guard, but she didn’t do much without it outside of a brief armbar attempt.
Walker’s eye was pretty swollen to start the second. Miller stuck a few nice jabs as Walker kicked. Walker fired back and landed a few big swings, but once again, the two landed in the clinch. For the second time, Miller was able to trip her foe down to the canvas. When Walker attempted a heel hook, a wild scramble ensued, and Miller landed on her opponent’s back! She wrapped the rear naked choke across the face and started cranking, Walker escaped back to the clinch in good position. Miller landed a couple hard shots in the clinch and pressed her foe into the cage, eventually scoring a third takedown. She finished the round in top position, landing some decent ground strikes.
With five minutes remaining, Walker needed a finish to win. Though she swung for some big shots, Miller was just the sharper striker at distance, and her strength advantage in the clinch was considerable. This time, when Miller took her foe down, she landed straight in mount and started dropping really brutal elbows. Walker hung tough for as long as she could, but eventually, the referee was forced to call the contest.
And so the first TUF champion was named!
In the second finale fight of the evening, Zac Pauga battled Mohammad Usman in a Heavyweight clash. Pauga showed off his fast hands early, alongside a lot of feints. He landed an early Superman jab and some hard low kicks. Usman took a high kick to the jawline but shook it off. Finally, Usman landed back with a couple hard shots on the counter. Usman kept looking for counters, but he was often out of range. Pauga did a nice job of kicking at distance and occasionally bursting forward, which was enough to win the volume game in the first five minutes.
Out of nowhere, Usman began the second round with a massive left hook that put Pauga on the canvas! A single follow up hammerfist was more than enough to fully separate Pauga from his senses and earn Usman the TUF contract.
Two knockouts and two new champions — what more can we ask for?
For complete UFC Vegas 59: “Santos vs. Hill” results and play-by-play, click HERE!