Welcome to tonight's ongoing coverage of the finale of The Ultimate Fighter Season 6, live from The Pearl at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mac Danzig and Tommy Speer will be vying for the coveted six-figure UFC contract tonight.
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Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan welcomed viewers to the show and said that this would be the biggest fight for all of the participants tonight, with some making their UFC debuts. Also, Dana White would have a big announcement later in the show. As always, Bruce Buffer announced each fight.
(1) Ben Saunders (Team Serra) vs. Dan Barrera (Team Hughes) in a rematch.
Yves Lavigne was the referee. Barrera pushed Saunders up against the fence right away. He broke away and Saunders had Barrera's back. Saunders was on his back and Barrera's was throwing punches. They were up against the fence again as round one ended.
Round two started with Barrera jumping on Saunders' back, but he was able to nullify most of the attack. The ref stood them up, then stood them up a second time moments later. Barrera got rocked with a head kick towards the end of the round.
Round three saw Saunders with a body triangle that kept Barrera at a disadvantage. The ref stood them up and Saunders landed another kick. The round ended and the winner would be in the hands of the judges.
Bruce Buffer announced that Ben Saunders had won by unanimous decision.
Matt Hughes was shown in the audience. Matt Serra was not there, as his doctor would not clear him to travel with his back injury.
Joe Rogan joined Hughes in the audience and asked him his thoughts on his upcoming fight with Georges St. Pierre. Hughes said he'd prayed about it and Georges St. Pierre was the right choice (and as he continued to talk, it sounded like Hughes thought GSP would be easy pickins', since GSP would only have one month to train for the fight). Hughes said he was sure he'd win or he would not have taken the fight.
(2) Billy Miles (Team Hughes) vs. George Sotiropolous (Team Serra).
Big John McCarthy was the referee. George had continued to train with Matt Serra in New York since the series ended. George was all over Miles as soon as the fight began. He had Miles in a deep triangle and won by submission early in the first round.
Buffer announced that George Sotiropolous had won by rear naked choke in his UFC debut.
(3) Richie Hightower vs. Troy "Rude Boy" Mandaloniz
Steve Mazzagatti was the referee. They started throwing punches as the round began, and Rude Boy threw a punch that rocked Hightower, who shook it off. As the round continued, Hightower was getting tired, and Troy Mandaloniz moved in to finish the fight with a jab. The Hawaiian native celebrated with a hula dance.
A commercial aired for the new Rambo movie. Rambo may own the "Eye of the Tiger" theme, but when it comes to letting the bodies hit the floor, that will always belong to ECW.
Forrest Griffin was with the Foo Fighters, who had been rehearsing for the Video Game Awards ceremony on Spike Sunday night.
Actor Kevin James was shown in the audience, as was Rampage Jackson.
(4) Jared Rollins vs. Jon "War Machine" Koppenhaver.
These two had had a scuffle in the TUF House and would get a chance to finish it tonight viewers were told.
Steve Mazzagatti was the referee. It went to the mat for the most part, but even though he was on the bottom, Rollins threw some serious punches as round one ended.
Round two started with both fighters bleeding from cuts. It went back to the mat. Loud "War Machine" chant from the audience. The ref stood them up. Flying knee by Rollins. They continued to roll on the mat, which was pretty bloody by now. Rollins wanted to finish up the fight, but the round ended before he could do so.
As round three began, both fighters got a standing ovation. War Machine tried to finish the fight with elbows. The ref stood them up, and Rollins looked like he was going for the win. But War Machine got a sudden burst of energy, switched positions, and started throwing punches until the referee ended it and Koppenhaver won by TKO. Outstanding fight.
Wanderlei Silva was shown in the audience. He will be facing Chuck Liddell on PPV on December 29.
Rogan interviewed Jon Koppenhaver. For two people who'd almost come to blows in the TUF House, War Machine was in tears wishing they both could have won, since he hated to fight a friend. Guess they made up.
(5) Mac Danzig and Tommy Speer (both of Team Hughes) for the Season 6 Championship.
Danzig is the more experienced and technical fighter, while Speer, like his coach, Matt Hughes, is a big, strong farm boy. Video clips aired of them at their respective homes, training and living their lives. Danzig, who was quite the grump in the TUF House, said he was happy again. He'd found his smile. Speer said he likes to hurt people (another Snitsky only much better looking).
Danzig got the better entrance with lights and music. He also has 17 MMA wins. Will he get one more?
Yves Lavigne was the referee. Danzig got Speer down to the mat and had Tommy's back. The submission came seconds later, and Mac Danzig had won by rear naked choke to become the Ultimate Fighter of Season 6.
Dana White presented Danzig with the six-figure contract and the trophy.
Danzig told Rogan he had been nervous going into the fight with Speer. He complimented Speer on his great future in the sport. Danzig said he will now drop down to lightweight.
(6) Matt Arroyo (Team Serra) vs. John Kolosci (Team Serra).
Arroyo had been in line to fight in the semi-finals, but had been injured. Kolosci had replaced him in that fight.
Big John McCarthy was the referee. At the beginning it looked like Arroyo was going to finish it off quickly. But Kolosci had other ideas. Arroyo kept after Koslosci's arm and Arroyo won it with an arm bar.
Kenny Florian of TUF's Season 1 joined Goldberg and Rogan on commentary.
(7) Main Event - Lightweight Bout: Clay Guida vs. Roger Huerta in the main event.
Guida looks like the Ultimate Warrior. If there had been ropes to shake, he probably would have. That's where the resemblance ended, though, since Guida is very well spoken.
The referee was Big John McCarthy. There was no shortage of action as this match got underway. Guida picked Huerta up and dropped him to the mat. These two were Energizer bunnies when it came to their constant movement. Very impressive.
The second round started with stand-up. Then Guida got a take-down and threw punch after punch. They stood up and had a rockem-sockem robot moment. Guida took Huerta down and followed up with relentless striking. The round ended with Huerta getting absolutely pummeled.
Round three and Guida wanted to take Heurta down. Guida had outshown Huerta in the first two rounds, but things can change in the blink of an eye in MMA. Huerta got Guida's back, and Guida tapped.
It was an exciting fight, especially on Guida's part. There was never a dull (nor still) moment.
Finally it was time for Dana White's big announcement. Season 7 of The Ultimate Figher would be revamped, and one of the coaches would be Forrest Griffin, the original Ultimate Fighter. To find out the name of the other coach, you'll have to tune in to the Video Game Awards tomorrow night.
This was one of the better TUF finales, and most of the dark matches made it onto TV.