By TXMMA Staff | Photos by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Texas Fighters go 2-1 at the TUF 18 Finale; Ryan Benoit hits $100,000 jackpot in losing effort
December 1, 2013 – All things considered the Dallas-Fort Worth contingent at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale (TUF 18 Finale) came away with a win. Taking place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, the show also featured the men’s and women’s finals for the eighteenth season of The Ultimate Fighter coached by Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate along with a main event that featured Nate Diaz and Gray Maynard in the third match of their lightweight trilogy. As for Texas based fighters, Sean Spencer, Jared Rosholt and Ryan Benoit also made appearances on the card with the latter two making their UFC debuts.
Sean Spencer of Octagon MMA looked good in leading the DFW contingent as the most experienced Texas fighter on the TUF 18 card. Facing a resilient opponent in debut fighter Drew Dober, Sean would win a convincing three round decision, made even more impressive by the fact his opponent wouldn’t stop coming forward. “Drew is a tough kid,” Spencer said in his post-fight interview. “I threw everything I had at him and he didn’t go down. I knew he was a good wrestler, but I had been training originally for a black belt in jiu-jitsu – so there was a slight change in plans, but I felt prepared. I’m just glad I got a fight in. I’m still growing into my game and getting better every time I’m out there.” With this win Sean now moves to 11-2 overall, winning his last two fights in the UFC.
Next up for the Texas contingent was Jared Rosholt making his UFC debut. A veteran of the Texas-based Legacy Fighting Championship, Rosholt arrives in the UFC with the distinction of also being the most decorated heavyweight wrestler in Oklahoma State University history. He would face another collegiate athlete in former basketball player Walt Harris in his UFC debut. The bout went the distance in this one as Rosholt eschewed his wrestling background to strike with his opponent for the better part of 2.5 rounds. With the fight outcome seemingly hanging in the balance, Jared finally scored his first takedown midway through the third to seal the round and win the unanimous decision.
As for Ryan Benoit, he may not have walked away with a win at the TUF 18 Finale but after taking the fight versus Joshua Sampo on a 10-day notice and with a broken hand, karma still paid him back handsomely. Ryan lost via second round submission after escaping some tough spots throughout his fight with Sampo. The back-and-forth was exciting enough that the two were able to earn Fight of the Night honors. Considering the fact that Josh did not make weight however, not only does Ryan keep a percentage of his fight purse along with his own, he gets to keep the entire $100,000 bonus allocated to FOTN honors as well. Certainly not a bad consolation prize in his UFC debut!
TUF 18 Finale Quick Results (Main Card)
• Nate Diaz over Gray Maynard by TKO, 2:38 of RD1
• Julianna Peña over Jessica Rakoczy by TKO, 4:59 of RD1
• Chris Holdsworth over Davey Grant with a RNC 2:10 of RD2
• Jessamyn Duke over Peggy Morgan by unanimous decision
• Raquel Pennington over Roxy Modafferi by unanimous decision
TUF 18 Finale Quick Results (Preliminary Card)
• Akira Corassani over Maximo Blanco by DQ
• Tom Niinimaki over Rani Yahya by split decision
• Jared Rosholt over Walter Harris by unanimous decision
• Sean Spencer over Drew Dober by unanimous decision
• Josh Sampo over Ryan Benoit by submission (RNC), 4:31 of RD2
