Diego Brandao (left) and Dennis Bermudez square off at the TUF 14 Finale weigh-ins. Photo by ProMMAnow.com

Diego Brandao proved during this season of “The Ultimate Fighter” that he can dispatch his opponents in brutal fashion, as he ran through the competition with several knockout performances. Tonight however, it would be his slick ground game that would earn him a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Dennis Bermudez by way of armbar at 4:51 of the first round.

After some exciting exchanges early in the bout, Brandao connected with a big right hand that dropped Bermudez against the cage. Bermudez quickly scrambled to his feet as he looked to recover from the big shot. Brandao stayed aggressive, earning a takedown, and then a suplex after Bermudez made his way back to his feet.

It appeared that Brandao was well on his way to taking control of the bout until he waded into range looking to engage and got blasted with a right hand. He dropped to the mat and tried to defend as Bermudez advanced to deliver some big shots from the top. Brandao tried to kick his opponent off, but Bermudez showed good top control as he started to implement some brutal ground-and-pound.

The fight seemed to be on the verge of a stoppage just as  Brandao managed to swing his hips and clear the head of Bermudez, locking up an armbar. Brandao rolled to a more dominant position, and continued to extend the arm past the breaking point as his opponent desperately tried to tap from the submission.

After the stoppage, Bermudez remained on the mat grimacing in pain and holding his injured arm.

With the impressive win, Brandao takes the featherweight “TUF” crown, moving to 14-7 overall (1-0 UFC).

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