LAS VEGAS — HeavyMMA.com is live on the scene in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Palms Casino Resort for “The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale”, as the season wraps up tonight with the battle of the two middleweight tournament finalists Kris McCray and Court McGee.
The main card also features a light heavyweight bout between troubled veteran Keith Jardine, who has lost four of his last five fights, and “Ultimate Fighter” veteran Matt Hamill. The card also includes a bout between Rich Attonito and Jamie Yager, two season 11 contestants who failed to make the finals.
Tune into Heavy.com for full main card results, as well as preliminary card results and a live chat (featuring former WEC bantamweight champ Miguel Torres) that you do not want to miss. The main card begins at 9 p.m. ET and results will be published as they happen.
Check out the full results below.
Jamie Yager vs. Rich Attonito
Yager came into this fight the taller fighter, but that could have just been his afro, which Bruce Buffer probably should have introduced separately. Yager was off to a quick start landing several dynamic shots, throwing at an impressive rate. Attonito worked for an early takedown, but could not keep his athletic opponent down. Yager continued coming forward and got the better of the stand up game throughout the first round, though Attonito landed several nice shots, especially in the second half of the round.
Yager came out the second round and it was quickly apparent that he was fading, and fading fast. Less than halfway through the round, Attonito really began taking control, landing the more powerful, precise strikes, even forcing Yager to shoot for a takedown. When Yager did actually attempt a takedown, Attonito immediately stuffed it, moved to the back, and worked for a choke. When the choke wasn’t there, he simply flattened Yager out and punished him with some violent ground and pound from the back mount. Attonito def. Yager via technical knockout at 4:25 of Round 2.
Spencer Fisher vs. Dennis Siver
The first notable shot in this lightweight bout was Siver catching a leg kick straight to the groin. The two resumed action and continued feeling each other out early. Siver landed a very solid straight front kick, but Fisher immediately began moving forward. Both guys continued bringing it throughout the first round, each landing a fair share of solid combinations. Good action from the 155-pounders, and Siver exited the round with a nasty cut over his left eye from a head butt. The first was close, but Siver seemed to land the more solid strikes.
The second round began with Siver ducking into a head kick from Fisher, but the kickboxer was unfazed by the strike. The strikers continued in the stand up for the entire round, and, much like the first, each fighter managed to land a decent amount of combinations and strikes. However, Siver seemed to take the advantage with both the quantity and quality of strikes.
After two fairly close rounds, Siver and Fisher entered with the desire to finish the fight. Each man started throwing fast, powerful combinations early, and the fight seemed to be picking up from the short lull in action during the second round. Siver continued to take the middle of the cage, mixing up his strikes nicely, and somehow kept the same pace throughout the entire fight, while Fisher seemed to tire a bit. The two finished the round with a solid minute of non-stop striking and went to the judges’ scorecards in what was a very close fight. Unfortunately for Fisher, however, it was not to be, as the judges saw it in favor of Siver. Siver def. Fisher via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
Aaron Simpson vs. Chris Leben
Simpson came out quickly landing several nice shots before picking up Leben and slamming him to the mats. Leben worked his way back up to the feet, but nearly fell into a guillotine choke. Back to the feet, Leben worked solid boxing in the clinch, pushing Simpson up against the cage. However, the two worked free of one another and began to throw their heavy hands in the center before Simpson once again worked for a takedown. Simpson was able to get the fight to the floor a handful of times, but failed to keep it down for any significant amount of time. However, Simpson did land a good amount of power shots, though none seemed to affect Leben whatsoever.
In the second round, Simpson once again looked good on the feet, but made a mistake when he got into a lengthy exchange with Leben. Simpson landed more punches during the mini-brawl, but Leben landed some enormous shots that affected Simpson. With 90 seconds remaining in the round, Simpson looked as though he was wearing down a bit. Leben, however, looked very fresh and continued to stalk his opponent. “The Crippler” landed a big left, and Simpson went to shoot. Unfortunately for him, Leben stuffed it, pounded him out, and earned the stoppage victory when Simpson attempted to run away before falling to the floor. Leben def. Simpson via technical knockout at 4:17 of Round 2.
Keith Jardine vs. Matt Hamill
Jardine entered this fight after dropping four of his last five bouts and, somewhat surprisingly, looked as confident as ever. Not only that, he looked much sharper and quicker than his opponent, Hamill. Jardine used his jab nicely throughout the first round, setting up a handful of combinations with it. Hamill landed several nice combinations of his own, but did not mount the same type of offense as Jardine. He also failed to get the fight to the ground, but he did not exactly try to do so, except maybe once or twice.
However, all that changed at the very start of the second, when Hamill immediately looked to get the fight down. When he failed to do so, he once again began exchanging with Jardine, who was working combinations nicely and landing solid leg kicks. His unorthodox striking, including his timing, really began to baffle Hamill, who was not even attempting to take Jardine to the floor. However, Hamill did finally land some solid shots when he got Jardine in the clinch. His momentum was derailed for a moment when the fight was stopped due to an eye poke. Herb Dean decided to take a point away from Jardine due to the poke, which was entirely accidental. Jardine was fueled by the deduction and came out swinging. Hamill landed some big shots and took Jardine down in the final moments of the round. Jardine worked his way back up and the two slugged it out for the remaining seconds.
Jardine entered the third severely bloodied up and enjoying every second of it. He looked to keep the distance on the feet and avoid the clinch at all costs. Hamill moved forward with a slow, long jab, while Jardine’s striking seemed very crisp. However, Hamill scored the takedown and immediately moved to the back. Jardine, bleeding profusely, looked to stand up, but Herb Dean called a timeout to stop the fight, starting them back on the feet. Jardine immediately landed a nice combination, and Hamill looked for the takedown, but couldn’t get it. Hamill looked like he was slowing down, while Jardine continued putting together nice combinations. Jardine stayed busier as the fight came to a close, and the two went to the judges’ scorecards. Hamill def. Jardine (29-27, 29-27, 28-28).
Court McGee vs. Kris McCray
The two finalists met in the center of the cage and immediately clinched before separating and attempting to feel each other out. When they clinched again, McGee scored the takedown and began to go to work on the ground. McCray worked his way back to the feet and the two continued to work in the clinch. Late in the round, McGee earned the mount, but McCray shook him off to avoid any damage.
The second round began with some early combinations from both fighters, but they clinched again, which yielded yet another takedown for McGee. He moved immediately into the full mount and nearly locked on an arm triangle, but McCray survived. McGee looked to work to the back, but McCray successfully avoided the submission and worked his way to the feet. However, the next time McGee took his back, just a few moments later, he sunk in the rear naked choke and forced the tap for the victory. McGee def. McCray via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:41 of Round 2.