Three winners The Ultimate Fighter were in action on the UFC 173 preliminary card and all three emerged victorious.
TUF Live winner Michael Chiesa improved to 4-1 in the UFC with a one-sided decision win over powerful Brazilian Francisco Trinaldo.
After an initial feeling out process, Chiesa got the fight to the ground, moved into mount and began raining down elbows. Trinaldo survived the round and pressed forward in the second, at one point jumping guard and attempting an arm-in guillotine. Chiesa withstood the choke, but quickly found himself defending a heel hook. Trinaldo’s attacks were dangerous but brief and Chiesa was consistently able to gain a dominant position and score points.
Although it was a dominant win, Chiesa expected to have difficulty finishing his durable opponent.
“I knew I had to fight all three rounds. I gutted it out [and] couldn’t be happier,” Chiesa said after the win.
The 26-year-old is now 11-1 as a pro, while Trinaldo fell to 14-4 and has lost two of his last three.
Saskatchewan’s Mitch Clarke upsets Al Iaquinta
TUF 13 winner Tony Ferguson danced his way to the Octagon and was dancing again mere minutes later following a brutal first-round knockout of Katsunori Kikuno.
After landing several damaging punches early, Kikuno attacked flatfooted with his hands low and Ferguson proceeded to pick his opponent apart. Following a slam takedown, Ferguson attempted his patented d’arce choke, but couldn’t finish. When the two got back to their feet, Ferguson sidestepped a Kikuno strike and landed a straight right hand that put an end to the fight. Ferguson (15-3) has won five of his six fights in the UFC.
TUF 18 winner Chris Holdsworth kept his perfect MMA record intact as he outduelled Chico Camus en route to a unanimous decision victory. Holdsworth, a member of Team Alpha Male, is now 6-0 as a pro.
Also on the prelims, Anthony Njokuani was unable to overcome an early eye poke and low blow from Vinc Pichel, as the WEC veteran was dominated from start to finish. This was Pichel’s first pro win since August 2011 following a stint on TUF Live and a loss to Rustam Khabilov in his UFC debut. Njokuani fell to 3-4 in the UFC and has alternated wins and losses since debuting in the promotion in 2011.
Sam Sicilia handed 24-year-old Aaron Phillips his first career loss, earning a unanimous decision in a fight Sicilia was able to control on the ground.
In the opening bout of the night, welterweight Li Jingliang edged fellow UFC newcomer David Michaud by split decision.
