The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned | |
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Genre | Reality, Sports |
Created by | Frank Fertitta III, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White |
Starring | Dana White, Anthony Pettis, and Gilbert Melendez |
Country of origin | United States |
Production | |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | Fox Sports 1 |
Release | September 10 December 10, 2014 | –
The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned (also known as The Ultimate Fighter 20) is the twentieth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter. This season is the first to feature only female fighters and was used to determine the first UFC Women's Strawweight Champion.[1]
The series was officially announced by the UFC in December 2013.[1] The coaches were announced in February 2014 after Gilbert Melendez re-signed with the UFC and stated he would coach opposite the current UFC Lightweight Champion, Anthony Pettis.[2][3] This move drew criticism from MMA critics and fans, as some felt it was establishing a significant delay in Pettis' first title defense.[4]
This season aired on Fox Sports 1.[1]
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Eleven fighters were initially announced as already having been cast for the show in December 2013;[1] however, Cláudia Gadelha, Juliana Lima, and Paige VanZant were eventually removed from the cast due to being unable to stay on weight throughout the program, not speaking English, and being too young, respectively. They got a direct contract with the UFC despite their removal from The Ultimate Fighter.[5] Auditions were held in April 2014 to find the remaining eight contestants.[5] The eight remaining fighters were announced on July 3, 2014.[6]
Prelims | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finale | |||||||||||
1 Carla Esparza | SUB | |||||||||||||
16 Angela Hill | 1 | |||||||||||||
1 Carla Esparza | MD | |||||||||||||
3 Tecia Torres | 2 | |||||||||||||
8 Bec Rawlings | 2 | |||||||||||||
3 Tecia Torres* | UD | |||||||||||||
1 Carla Esparza | UD | |||||||||||||
4 Jessica Penne | 3 | |||||||||||||
5 Aisling Daly | TKO | |||||||||||||
12 Angela Magana | 3 | |||||||||||||
5 Aisling Daly | 3 | |||||||||||||
4 Jessica Penne | UD | |||||||||||||
4 Jessica Penne | SUB | |||||||||||||
13 Lisa Ellis | 1 | |||||||||||||
1 Carla Esparza | SUB | |||||||||||||
7 Rose Namajunas | 3 | |||||||||||||
6 Felice Herrig | UD | |||||||||||||
11 Heather Jo Clark | 2 | |||||||||||||
6 Felice Herrig | 1 | |||||||||||||
14 Randa Markos | SUB | |||||||||||||
3 Tecia Torres | 3 | |||||||||||||
14 Randa Markos | UD | |||||||||||||
14 Randa Markos | 1 | |||||||||||||
7 Rose Namajunas | SUB | |||||||||||||
7 Rose Namajunas | SUB | |||||||||||||
10 Alex Chambers | 1 | |||||||||||||
7 Rose Namajunas | SUB | |||||||||||||
2 Joanne Calderwood | 2 | |||||||||||||
2 Joanne Calderwood | MD | |||||||||||||
15 Emily Kagan | 2 | |||||||||||||
* 9th seed Justine Kish had to leave the competition due to an injured knee and was replaced by Torres who had previously lost her first round fight. Torres moved from Team Melendez to Team Pettis as Kish had been on Team Pettis.
Team Pettis | ||
Team Melendez | ||
UD
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Unanimous Decision | |
MD
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Majority Decision | |
SUB
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Submission | |
(T) KO
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(Technical) Knockout |
Fans voted to award the following $25,000 bonus awards to fights that took place during the TUF 20 season:[7]
Main article: UFC 181 |
UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler II was held on December 6, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned | ||||
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Information | ||||
Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
Date | December 12, 2014 | |||
Venue | Palms Casino Resort | |||
City | Las Vegas, Nevada | |||
Attendance | 1,800[8] | |||
Total gate | $143,000[8] | |||
Event chronology | ||||
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The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned Finale (also known as The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale) was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It took place on December 12, 2014, at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.[9]
The event featured the finals of the Women's Strawweight tournament between finalists Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas, which crowned the inaugural UFC Women's Strawweight champion.[9]
The rest of the contestants from the show, with the exception of an injured Justine Kish, filled out the remainder of the card.[10][11] Filling in for Kish was Seohee Ham,[11] the first Korean female fighter in the promotion.[12]
Oliveira came in at 147 pounds at the weigh ins and was given one hour to cut an extra pound to make the featherweight limit, but he could not make the weight and weighted in at 146.5 pounds. He forfeited 10 percent of his purse to Stephens. Also, Daly originally came in at 118 pounds and did not elect to cut the remaining weight. She forfeited 20 percent of her purse to Chambers.[13]
Main Card (Fox Sports 1) | |||||||
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Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
Women's Strawweight | Carla Esparza | def. | Rose Namajunas | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 3 | 1:26 | [a] |
Catchweight (146.5 lb) | Charles Oliveira | def. | Jeremy Stephens | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Lightweight | K. J. Noons | vs. | Daron Cruickshank | No Contest (accidental eye poke) | 2 | 0:25 | [b] |
Lightweight | Yancy Medeiros | def. | Joe Proctor | Submission (guillotine choke) | 1 | 4:37 | |
Women's Strawweight | Jessica Penne | def. | Randa Markos | Decision (split) (28–29, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1) | |||||||
Women's Strawweight | Felice Herrig | def. | Lisa Ellis | Submission (armbar) | 2 | 3:05 | |
Women's Strawweight | Heather Jo Clark | def. | Bec Rawlings | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Women's Strawweight | Joanne Calderwood | def. | Seo Hee Ham | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Women's Strawweight | Tecia Torres | def. | Angela Magaña | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
Catchweight (118 lb) | Aisling Daly | def. | Alex Chambers | Submission (armbar) | 1 | 4:53 | |
Women's Strawweight | Angela Hill | def. | Emily Kagan | Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–26, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 |
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[15]
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses.[16]
^ Although not recognized on the official pay sheet, Oliveira was fined $5,400, or 10% of his pay for missing weight for the fight. That money was issued to Stephens, an NSAC official confirmed.[13]
< Both fighters earned show money; bout declared No Contest.[16]
> Although not recognized on the official pay sheet, Daly was fined $3,200, or 20% of her pay for missing weight for the fight. That money was issued to Chambers, an NSAC official confirmed.[13]