Flashback: The Ultimate Fighter 6 Recap
Flashback to the TUF 6 season and finale, featuring a main event of Roger Huerta vs Clay Guida.
Keeping up with the coaches not wanting to be in the same room with each other theme, newly crowned UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra battled former two-time champ Matt Hughes as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 6, and you couldn’t find more opposite personalities than the New Yorker and the country boy.
The contrast made for compelling viewing, but beyond the coaches’ rivalry and the emergence of some diamonds in the rough like George Sotiropoulos and Ben Saunders, everyone gravitated to the drama of Joe Scarola leaving the house after his loss to Mac Danzig, in the process severing his friendship with Serra. As for the fights, the veteran Danzig was a heavy favorite going in, and he didn’t disappoint in winning the season title.
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Premiere Date
September 19, 2007
Coaches
Matt Hughes
Matt Serra
Team Hughes
Dan Barrera
Blake Bowman
Mac Danzig
Paul Georgieff
Billy Miles
Dorian Price
Jared Rollins
Tommy Speer
Team Serra
Matt Arroyo
Richie Hightower
John Kolosci
Troy Mandaloniz
Roman Mitichyan
Jon Koppenhaver (replaced Roman Mitichyan)
Ben Saunders
Joe Scarola
George Sotiropoulos
Winner
Welterweight - Mac Danzig over Tommy Speer
TUF 6 FINALE
Roger Huerta didn’t think defeating Clay Guida was going to be easy, but he didn’t expect it to be this hard either. But after losing the first ten minutes of their fight, Huerta won the next 51 seconds, and those were the ones that counted, as ‘El Matador’ scored a third round submission victory.
Guida got off to a good start on the mat, putting Huerta on his back and working his strikes while trying to improve position. Before the bell tolled, both fighters took turns trading the dominant position, displaying the type of action fight fans expected going into the bout.
There was more of the same in the second, but late in the round, it was clear that Guida’s punches were doing more and more damage, this time dropping the Minnesotan and almost putting him out in the final 30 seconds, but by the end of the round, Huerta was fighting back and ready for the final five minutes.
With the fight on the line, Huerta walked right at Guida. Guida met him with the same hard punches that he had thrown and landed in the early rounds, but this time Huerta walked through them and let loose with his own bombs. And after landing a couple of big shots, Guida was visibly dazed. Huerta moved in for the kill as Guida desperately tried to get a takedown and weather the storm. Huerta wouldn’t be denied though, and as the bout hit the mat, he sunk in a rear naked choke that ended the bout via tap out at 51 seconds of the final round.
Entering the final round, Huerta trailed 20-18 twice, and 20-17 on the judges’ scorecards.
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The Ultimate Fighter season six welterweight finale between Mac Danzig and Tommy Speer was dubbed as a battle of technique (Danzig) versus strength (Speer).
Well, technique won, with Danzig controlling the action from the opening bell to the finish two minutes and one second later, and the California veteran’s long journey to the Octagon was finally complete as he earned the UFC contract he had sought for years with a rear naked choke submission win.
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In an action-packed and back and forth battle that caused the Palms crowd to erupt on a number of occasions, Jon Koppenhaver survived some rocky moments to pull out a stirring third round stoppage victory over fellow Californian Jared Rollins.
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George Sotiropoulos made a successful transition from the TUF6 house to the Octagon, submitting Billy Miles in the first round of their welterweight bout.
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Ben Saunders and Dan Barrera put on arguably the best fight of The Ultimate Fighter’s sixth season, with Saunders rising from the canvas to score a decision win. Their rematch didn’t live up to the standard set by the first one, but the end result was the same, with Saunders earning a clear-cut three round verdict over Barrera in the main card opener.
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Ultimate Fighter teammates Troy Mandaloniz and Richie Hightower didn’t fight like buddies in preliminary action, going toe to toe for much of the opening round until the heavy-handed Mandaloniz finished Hightower late in the first frame of their welterweight bout.
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Matt Arroyo earned his first UFC win with a jiu-jitsu clinic against TUF6 teammate John Kolosci, submitting his foe with an armbar in the first round.
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Roman Mitichyan didn’t get to show what he could do on The Ultimate Fighter due to injury, but he made quite an impression in his first UFC fight by taking Dorian Price to the mat almost immediately and sinking in an ankle lock which forced Price to tap out in just 23 seconds.
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Jonathan Goulet proved that there is no substitute for experience, putting TUF 6’s Paul Georgieff to sleep with a rear naked choke in the first round.
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