The Ultimate Fighter 9 Results: TUF 9 Finale Results & Recap
The Ultimate Fighter season 9 came to a close on Saturday, June 20th, 2009 as two new TUF winners were crowned with James Wilks and Ross Pearson earned the title of The Ultimate Fighter. Click or scroll to the bottom of this page for all of the TUF 9 fight results.
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Saturday night at the Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada, Diego Sanchez (21-2 MMA) laid claim to the most important win of his career in one of the best fights of the year with a Split Decision victory over a man some have dubbed the “TUF Slayer.”
Coming off of consecutive decision victories over TUF 6 winner Mac Danzig and TUF 5 winner Nate Diaz, Clay Guida (25-10 MMAA) was riding a ton of momentum and confidence into his main event showdown with the original Ultimate Fighter, Diego Sanchez. Both fighters looked intense during the preflight stare down, and their mutual aggression came to a boil in the very first exchange of the fight, as Sanchez sprinted across the cage and tagged Guida with a series of stinging hooks and uppercuts, dazing him early on.
The rest of the fight was a back and forth war with Guida largely dominating the wrestling while Sanchez fired powerful shots on the feet as well as razor sharp elbows from his back, which opened up a cut on Guida’s forehead.
The verdict was expected. It was a close fight, but Sanchez ultimately came away with the Split Decision victory, possibly earning himself the number one contender’s spot after Kenny Florian in the lightweight division.
Joe Stevenson (30-10 MMA) bounced back from a UFC 95 main event loss to Sanchez the same night with a by-the-book three round wrestling clinic on TUF 5 winner Nate Diaz (10-4 MMA), whose unorthodox striking and submission attempts were thwarted by his shorter, more powerful opponent.
Stevenson frustrated Diaz early with frequent takedowns and brilliant top control, refusing to allow the dangerous submission ace to find his rhythm on the ground. The TUF 2 winner took a Unanimous Decision from the judges, winning two of the three rounds on all three scorecards.
UFC veteran Chris Lytle (27-17-5 MMA) made it exciting as always on Saturday night with a three round war with sturdy welterweight prospect Kevin Burns (7-3 MMA). Lytle survived a punishing series of punches in the first round to take the Unanimous Decision with powerful face and body shots in the second and third rounds. Burns absorbed a brutal cut near his eye during the middle of the fight, but it did not seem to have an affect on his vision or on his performance, as he went toe to toe with one of the toughest men in the welterweight division for fifteen minutes and gave almost as good as he got.
In the TUF 9 finale bouts, the U.K. dominated as lightweight Ross Pearson (9-3 MMA) edged fellow countrymen Andre Winner (9-3-1 MMA) with dirty boxing and clinch work against the cage. The bout was close, but Pearson ultimately came away with the Unanimous Decision and TUF contract with superior damage and tenacity throughout the contest.
Welterweight finalists James Wilks (6-2 MMA) and DaMarques Johnson (9-7 MMA) put on an exciting scrap until Wilks overcame his U.S. opponent with pinpoint striking and a relentless ground assault, eventually tapping out the U.S. favorite with a Rear Naked Choke at the end of the first to take the TUF contract.
All in all, The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale delivered four decisions in five bouts, but three matching Fight of the Night purses awarded to Sanchez/Guida, Burns/Lytle, and Stevenson/Diaz affirmed the torrid pace of the fights and the satisfaction of the fans in attendance and watching at home live on Spike TV.
By Steven T. Kelliher
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer
Main The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Finale 9 Bout Results:
- Diego Sanchez defeats Clay Guida by Split Decision (29-27, 29-28, 28-29)
- James Wilks defeats Damarques Johnson via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) - Round 1 @ 4:51 - TUF 9 Welterweight Championship Bout
- Chris Lytle defeats Kevin Burns by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Ross Pearson defeats Andre Winner by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) - TUF 9 Lightweight Championship Bout
- Joe Stevenson defeats Nate Diaz by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Finale 9 Bout Results:
- Jason Dent defeats Cameron Dollar via Submission (Anaconda Choke) - Round 1 @ 4:46 - TUF 9 Lightweights - Jason Dent recaps TUF 9
- Nick Osipczak defeats Frank Lester - via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) - Round 1 @ 3:40 - TUF 9 Welterweights
- Tomasz Drwal defeats Mike Ciesnolevicz by TKO (Strikes) - Round 1 @ 4:48
- Brad Blackburn defeats Edgar Garcia by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Melvin Guillard defeats Gleison Tibau by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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