The Independent Voice of Mixed Martial Arts
ProMMAnow.com reporter Daniel Theodore caught up with TUF 17 winner Kelvin Gastelum this past week at RFA 9 where he was there supporting his Ultimate Fighter teammate Kevin Casey. Gastelum talked about his upcoming fight with Brian Melancon which takes place Wednesday, Aug. 28, at UFC Fight Night 27 LIVE on FOX Sports 1.
UFC officials have announced that TUF 17 finalist Uriah Hall will be taking on Nick Ring on the UFC on Sports 1 event that’s set for August 17 in Boston at the TD Garden.
The Ultimate Fighter season 17 wonder kid Uriah Hall was the odds favorite to defeat his Team Sonnen teammate Kelvin Gastelum at the TUF 17 Finale earlier this month to become the next Ultimate Fighter. Hall went the distance with his teammate but the split decision nod went to Gastelum.
It’s Sunday and you know what that means. Pro MMA Now Radio returns with another stacked show as we welcome Sam Alvey and Kurt Southern, who will both be competing at MFC 37 on May 10 LIVE on AXSTtv. Also, coming off a huge win in his UFC debut last week at the TUF 17 Finale, Ultimate Fighter 17 participant Bubba McDaniel will stop by. And last but not least, Strikeforce veteran Ovince Saint Preux joins us as he prepares to make his UFC debut this coming weekend at UFC 159.
Urijah Faber showed a renewed energy in the octagon, taking out the very game Scott Jorgensen with a fight-ending rear naked choke at 3:16 of the fourth round.
It was the overwhelming favorite against the ultimate underdog. Most fans expected Uriah Hall to continue his unstoppable run and earn the title of “The Ultimate Fighter,” but someone forgot to tell that to Gastelum, who derailed the hype train of Uriah Hall with a split decision victory (29-28, 28-29, and 29-28).
With everything on the line for both Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano, including a “TUF” coaching gig and a shot at UFC bantamweight kingpin Ronda Rousey, both fighters left it all in the cage during an exciting bout that brought the crowd to their feet. Zingano turned the tables on the takedowns of Tate in the third stanza, unleashing a furious knee attack before putting Tate away with an elbow to win by TKO at the 2:55 mark.
“Bubba” McDaniel had some shaky performances during his time on this season’s The Ultimate Fighter but he lived up to the hype in his UFC debut, dominating Gilbert Smith for nearly three rounds before locking up a fight-ending armbar to secure his first UFC victory.
Josh Samman found himself in deep water right out of the gate in his UFC debut, fighting off a series of submission attempts to come back and finish Kevin Casey with a brutal knee attack in the clinch to win by TKO at 2:17 of the second round.
Luke Barnatt and Collin Hart engaged in a battle of attrition that saw both fighters inflict their fair share of damage over three full rounds of action. In the end it would be Luke Barnatt that came out on top with scores of 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27 to earn his first UFC victory by unanimous decision.