The sixteenth season of the popular mixed martial arts reality series The Ultimate Fighter got underway Friday and 16 welterweights, including Canadians Michael Hill and Mike Ricci, earned spots in the infamous TUF house.
The premiere episode featured 16 bouts between 32 contestants at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Each matchup consisted of two, five-minute rounds with a third sudden death round if necessary.
UFC president Dana White, along with this season’s coaches — heavyweight contenders Shane Carwin and Roy Nelson, who will fight one another at the live finale on Dec. 15 — took in the action cageside.
Here are the complete results from the premiere episode of TUF 16:
— Dom Waters got the episode started with a bang, knocking out fellow 23-year-old Kevin Nowaczyk quickly after landing an uppercut and following up with a series of punches and hammerfists.
— Kelowna, B.C.’s Michael Hill defeated Lev Magen by first-round knockout. Hill came out throwing haymakers and eventually landed a left hook that put his opponent away.
— Bristol Marunde, who fought former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo Souza on short notice in March, submitted George Lockhart by choking him unconscious with a guillotine in the first round.
— Mike Ricci of Montreal dropped Jason South with a straight left hand and followed up with left hands along the cage until referee Steve Mazzagatti was forced to step in.
— Julian Lane won a decision over Diego Bautista in a bout UFC president Dana White called boring.
— Igor Araujo submitted Cortez Coleman with a third-round triangle choke.
— James Chaney showed off some slick ground skills, pulling guard seconds into his bout with Jerel Clark. Chaney earned the first-round submission win after forcing the tap with a triangle choke.
— Cameron Diffley, who was the jiu-jitsu coach for Forrest Griffin’s team during season seven of TUF, submitted Zane Kamaka in the first round with an armbar.
— Frank Camacho and Neil Magny went back and forth for three rounds with Magny coming away with the decision. Camacho won the first round handily, but Magny rebounded and won the last two rounds.
— Jon Manley defeated Ricky Legere Jr. by decision in another bout White disliked.
— Military veteran Colton Smith picked up a one-sided decision win over Jesse Barrett.
— Matt Secor fought through fatigue to earn a submission win over Max Griffin in a grueling affair that went to a third round.
— Eddy Ellis submitted David Michaud to earn his way into the house. Ellis locked up an arm-triangle while he had Michaud in his guard to force the tap.
— Joey Rivera, the oldest cast member at age 32, topped Saad Awad by decision.
— Nic Herron-Webb submitted Tim Ruberg with an armbar after being controlled for most of the fight.
— In the final fight of the episode, Sam Alvey came out smiling ear to ear and knocked out Leo Kuntz with one flush right hook.
Following the fights to get into the house the coaches chose their teams.
Team Carwin: Sam Alvey, Bristol Marunde, Mike Ricci, Neil Magny, James Chaney, Eddy Ellis, Igor Araujo, Matt Secor.
Team Nelson: Dom Waters, Michael Hill, Cameron Diffley, Colton Smith, John Manley, Nic Herron-Webb, Joey Rivera, Julian Lane.
TUF 16 will run for 13 consecutive weeks on Friday nights with every episode airing on Sportsnet. The fighter who wins the tournament will earn a six-figure contract with the UFC as well as a new, custom-built Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
