The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale took place on Wednesday night at the Colisee Pepsi in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada and the card was headlined by Tim Kennedy winning his fourth straight fight with a decision over Michael Bisping.
Kennedy opened the fight by getting the fight to the ground but Bisping was able to work his way up. As Bisping worked his way up, Kennedy kept a grip on Bisping and got the fight back to the ground. He would end up passing to the mount position and Bisping would give up his back.
He went for a rear-naked choke submission but Bisping defended the choke and Kennedy would end the round in the half guard. Bisping would have his best round in the second as he was able to keep the fight on the feet and stop the takedown attempts of Kennedy.
However, that would be the best offense for Bisping in the entire fight as Kennedy was able to get takedowns in the final ten minutes of the fight and stay away from any significant strikes from Bisping. The fight would go to the scorecards and all three judges scored the fight for Kennedy.
Kennedy (18-4) is now on a four fight winning streak and three of those wins have come in the UFC. Two of his three wins in the UFC have come by decision and he is now 4-3 when the fight goes to the judges.
Cote defeats Noke by decision in battle of TUF Nations coaches
The co-main event of the fight card was a welterweight bout between the two TUF Nations coaches as Patrick Cote scored a decision victory over Kyle Noke.
Cote got off to a great start in the opening round by getting the fight to the ground and controlling the fight on the ground. The fight would take a turn in the second round as Noke landed a knee as Cote was closing the distance. Noke would attempt to finish the fight with strikes on the ground, but Cote would be able to survive.
At the start of the third round, Noke got off to a solid start but Cote would score a takedown with two minutes left in the round and would keep the fight on the ground until the final bell sounded. All three judges would score the fight for Cote (20-8) and he has won three fights in a row.
Theodorou weathers early storms, stops Westcott in 2nd round
Elias Theodorou won the middleweight tournament of TUF Nations as he weathered the early storm of Sheldon Westcott and won the fight in the second round by TKO.
Westcott opened the fight by closing the distance and took the fight to the ground. Once on the ground, Westcott was able to get on the back of Theodorou and looked for a submission. He would be unable to get the submission and Theodorou would take the fight over. He would pick apart Westcott with his strikes for the remainder of the round.
In what would be the final round, Theodorou would take the fight to the ground three times and became clear that Westcott’s gas tank was getting close to empty. After his third takedown, he used his ground strikes to secure the victory as the referee came in to stop the fight. Theodorou (9-0) has now won six of his fights by stoppage and this is his fourth career win to come by TKO/KO.
Laprise wins TUF Nations Welterweight Tournament
Chad Laprise remained undefeated in his career as he defeated Olivier Aubin-Mercier by split decision to win The Ultimate Fighter Nations Welterweight Tournament.
The opening round would would a standup battle as Laprise would keep the fight on the feet as he stopped all three of Aubin-Mercier takedown attempts in the opening round. Aubin-Mercier would be able to get the fight to the ground early in the second round and went for a guillotine choke submission. Laprise would escape the submission and get back to his feet. The remainder of the round would be on the feet with Laprise winning the exchanges.
In the final round, Aubin-Mercier would be able to score a takedown but was unable to keep the fight on the ground as Laprise got up and kept the fight on the feet. They would battle until the final bell and Laprise (8-0) would win the fight by split decision. This is his third straight win by decision and tonight marked the first time that Aubin-Mercier had fought past the first round.
Poirier wins third straight with TKO victory
The opening fight of the main card was a featherweight bout as Dustin Poirier won his third straight fight as he stopped Akira Corassanni in the second round by strikes.
The opening round would primarily be on the feet and Corassanni would land a punch that hurt Poirier. He would not be able to capitalize on the strike and Poirier would recover. As the round was coming to a conclusion, Poirier would hurt Corassanni and went for a submission. Corassanni would survive the submission and make it to the bell.
However, the fight would only last for thirty more seconds as Poirier landed an uppercut at the second round started and finish the fight with strikes on the ground. After the fight was over, Poirier told Jon Anik that Corassanni told him that the uppercut broke his nose. Poirier (16-3) now has eight wins in the UFC featherweight division and he passes Chad Mendes for the most wins in the divisions history.
The complete TUF Nations Finale results are below.
Main Card: (Fox Sports 1)
Tim Kennedy def. Michael Bisping via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45)
Patrick Cote def. Kyle Noke via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Elias Theodorou def. Sheldon Westcott via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:41
Chad Laprise def. Olivier Aubin-Mercier via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
Dustin Poirier def. Akira Corassani via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, :42
Preliminary Card: (Fox Sports 1)
K.J. Noons def. Sam Stout via KO (punches) – Round 1, :30
Sarah Kaufman def. Leslie Smith via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ryan Jimmo def. Sean O’Connell via KO (punch) – Round 1, 4:27
George Roop def. Dustin Kimura via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Preliminary Card: (Fight Pass)
Mark Bocek def. Mike De La Torre via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
Nordine Taleb def. Vik Grujic via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Richard Walsh def. Chris Indich via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mitch Gagnon def. Tim Gorman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)