Elias Theodorou quelled an early onslaught from Sheldon Westcott, landed huge ground-and-pound strikes and picked up a TKO victory at the TUF Nations Finale to win the middleweight tournament and earn a six-figure UFC contract.
In the first round, Westcott pressed forward aggressively, threw punches in the clinch and managed to take Theodorou’s back. He attempted a rear-naked choke, but Theodorou defended.
Prior to the fight, Theodorou told Sportsnet that this would be a marathon, not a sprint, and that’s exactly how it played out.
After Westcott’s initial surge, his pace slowed as Theodorou began landing powerful shots of his own, including several hard knees.
Theodorou continued that momentum in the next round and battered Westcott with a strong ground-and-pound attack. At one point, as he was raining down blows on his opponent, he looked up and yelled, “Hi mom!” Seconds later, the referee put a halt to the bout at 4:41 of the second round.
“This is honestly the greatest moment of my life,” Theodorou said as he fought back tears.
Laprise win TUF Nations welterweight tournament
The 25-year-old Mississauga, Ont., native won unanimous decisions over Zein Saliba and Tyler Manawaroa to advance to the finals, but received some criticism for fighting safe.
“I’m a mixed martial artist. I can do it all…I can kick butt,” he added.
Theodorou is now 9-0 as a pro.
Westcott, who told Sportsnet he feels most competitive at welterweight, hadn’t lost since his MMA debut in 2007. Westcott was awarded a $25,000 bonus for Submission of the Season for his Von Flue choke of Vik Grujic.
