Blog: Thompson, Usman are big winners to close International Fight Week

By Case Keefer (contact)

Published Sunday, July 12, 2015 | 6 p.m.

Updated Sunday, July 12, 2015 | 9:18 p.m.

Stephen Thompson and Kamaru Usman put an exclamation point on one of the most significant weeks in UFC history.

“The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians” finale capped off five days worth of UFC-related events across town Sunday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Thompson and Usman were the final winners on a weekend full of memorable moments and new additions for the UFC.

Thompson knocked out Jake Ellenberger with a spinning heel kick at 4:29 of the first round of the main event. Ellenberger dropped Thompson with a punch early, but the former karate and kickboxing champion was hardly touched after that.

Usman faced far less adversity, stifling Hayder Hassan with his wrestling to win the 21st season of “TUF” for himself and his Blackzilians teammates. Usman wore Hassan out before sinking in an arm triangle choke at 1:19 of the second round and forcing a tapout.

“I’m making sure I have those submissions to go with my takedowns,” Usman said while still in the octagon. “It’s one thing to take them down, but it’s another to finish on the ground.”

Thompson could make a variation of that statement in regards to the differences between hitting an opponent and truly hurting him. He did both against Ellenberger.

Thompson tagged Ellenberger early and often before the tables briefly turned about two minutes into the fight. Thompson re-established control with a spinning heel kick to dropped Ellenberger.

The father and trainer of “Wonderboy”, Ray Thompson, realized the kick was still open when Ellenberger got back to his feet and implored a repeat.

“He was standing right in front of me, not doing a whole lot of movement,” Stephen Thompson said. “I knew I hit right on top of the head the first time, and he told me to do it again so I did it again, man.”

The victory marked Thompson’s fifth in a row, and likely gives him a place among the welterweight division’s top 10. Usman is also someone to watch in the 170-pound class along with two other winners on the card.

Like Usman, Michael Graves utilized his wrestling to snag a victory. Graves wouldn’t let American Top Team go home empty-handed, as he defeated Usman’s Blackzilians teammate Vincente Luque via unanimous-decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Veteran Jorge Masvidal looked like a potential force in his UFC welterweight debut, knocking out Cezar Ferreira via standing elbows at 4:22 of the first round. He called out Matt Brown, who handed Stephen Thompson his only UFC loss, after the win.

“You want to get your ass kicked,” Masvidal said to Brown. “Holler at me.”

Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson had a successful debut, submitting an overmatched Angela Magana via rear-naked choke at 2:38 of the first round. Waterson is potential future contender in the women’s strawweight division.

The main card started in controversy as referee Yves Lavigne intervened right after Maximo Blanco dropped Mike De La Torre with a right hook. The crowd booed the stoppage, but it officially goes down as a TKO 16 seconds into the fist round.

Blanco called out interim featherweight champion Conor McGregor, who defeated Chad Mendes in the International Fight Week’s top attraction last night, but it was difficult to take seriously from a fighter who’s just 4-3 in his UFC career. Thompson had a more realistic request — he wants to fight in another main event.

“I’m excited and ready to do it again,” Stephen Thompson said.

Check below for live coverage of “The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians” finale, including preliminary results at the bottom of the page, and come back later for more at lasvegassun.com.

Pre-main card

The bar is set incredibly high for tonight’s “The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians” finale if the intention is to work as a fitting encore to yesterday’s UFC 189.

The consensus is that the centerpiece of International Fight Week went down as the greatest pay-per-view in UFC history. Everyone remains on a high from watching Conor McGregor and Robbie Lawler win championships as the MGM Grand Garden Arena transitions to host tonight’s’ Fox Sports 1 card.

UFC 189 is more than a tough act to follow for a card that’s mostly full of unknowns. Jake Ellenberger and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson are the closest to household names at the event, which will see the main card start in a matter of minutes.

Ellenberger and Thompson meet in a welterweight main event. It seems like forever ago, but some people once believed the 30-year-old Ellenberger was the best 170-pound fighter in the world.

“The Juggernaut” won six straight fights from 2010-2012, getting extremely close to a shot at then-champion Georges St. Pierre. But he’s gone just 3-4 since, dropping from the top of the division.

The 32-year-old Thompson has more momentum behind him. He’s won four straight fights to improve his UFC record to 5-1 since losing a unanimous-decision to Matt Brown in April 2012.

“Wonderboy” comes from a karate background, with his unique set of skills endearing him to some of the sport’s biggest names. He was a longtime training partner of St. Pierre, and now often works with middleweight champion Chris Weidman.

Weidman was likely a luxury in this training camp to prepare for the wrestling style of Ellenberger.

Thompson isn’t alone as a karate practitioner at the finale card. The UFC sees star potential in Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson, who debuts against the always outspoken Angela Magana in a women’s strawweight bout.

Magana was a cast member on last year’s “The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned”. Two fights to finish off the latest season of the reality show, which featured welterweights, lead up to Ellenberger vs. Thompson.

American Top Team, which won the competition during the season, brings in Hayder Hassan and Michael Graves, respectively, to face Kamaru Usman and Vicente Luque.

A fourth welterweight bout at the top of the card will take place between former Strikeforce lightweight standout Jorge Masvidal and past “TUF” winner Cezar Ferreira.

A catchweight (148.5) showdown comes first with Maximo Blanco and Mike De La Torre. Blanco came in overweight to scratch the scheduled meeting in the featherweight division.

Follow along with the Sun’s round-by-round live blog during the main card and look below for full preliminary results.

Josh Samman notched his third straight finish via stoppage, and did so in bloody fashion. Samman submitted Caio Magalhaes with a rear-naked choke at 2:52 of the first round, after opening a massive cut on his opponent's nose with a head kick.

Jerrod Sanders overcame 4-to-1 odds to perhaps pull the biggest upset of the weekend. Sanders finished strong in the final two rounds to defeat Russell Doane by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in a bantamweight bout.

Trevor Smith spoiled a comeback two and a half years in the making for veteran middleweight Dan Miller. Smith walloped in a unanimous-decision (30-26, 30-25, 30-25) victory.

George Sullivan defeated Dominic Waters by unanimous decision (30-25, 29-27, 29-28) in a welterweight bout. Waters took Sullivan's back in the final round after getting throttled for the first 10 minutes, but couldn't lock in a submission for an unlikely combeback.

Willie Gates probably gained a few new fans in a flyweight bout that opened the night. Gates knocked out former training partner Darrell Montague at 1:36 of the first round, then pleaded to UFC President Dana White for a performance bonus to feed his six children.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.