The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale Results: Joanna Jedrzejczyk Defends Her Title, Will Brooks Debuts

Welcome to Fightful.com’s live results for The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale! Tonight’s viewing party will feature quick results of the prelims, followed by full, round-by-round coverage of the main card. We’ll be back tomorrow night for full coverage of UFC 200!

PRELIM CARD

* Li Jinglian defeated Anton Zafir via KO (punches) Round 1, 2:46

* Kevin Lee defeated Jake Matthews via TKO (punches) Round 1, 4:06

* Cezar Ferreira defeated Anthony Smith via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

* Josh Stansbury defeated Cory Hendricks via majority decision (29-27, 28-28, 29-27)

* Matheus Nicolau defeated John Moraga (#6) via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

* Gray Maynard defeated Fernando Bruno via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

MAIN CARD

Joaquim Silva vs. Andrew Holbrook

Round 1: The two circle briefly, then Silva catches a Holbrook kick and punches him in the face repeatedly until the ref stops it. Well hot diggity damn

Official Result: Joaquim Silva defeated Andrew Holbrook via TKO (punches) Round 1, 0:34

That was a straight up drubbing.

 

Doo Ho Choi vs. Thiago Tavares

Round 1: Tavares manages to take DHC down, but doens’t do anything with it. Tavares scores another inside trip, but Choi works his way up and drops Tavares with a right for the stoppage.

Official Result: Doo Ho Choi defeated Thiago Tavares via TKO (punch), Round 2, 2:42

Doo Ho Choi doesn’t look the part physically, but delivers. 3-0 in the UFC with three first round KOs. 

 

Will Brooks vs. Ross Pearson

Round 1: Pearson opens with a leg kick, and Wlil Brooks returns fire. Both men land punches, and Brooks gets a well-timed knee followed by a punch combo. Brooks scores another knee, but Pearson stifles the trip attempt. Brooks has Pearson against the cage, holding onto a single-leg, but Pearson defends it well. Pearson meets Brooks in the middle with a jab and body punch, but the round ends quietly.

Fightful scores round 1 for Will Brooks 10-9

Round 2: Brooks opens the round with an uppercut, but Pearson isn’t shy about trading punches. Brooks gets a knee and a 1-2 combo, then takes down Pearson. Ross eventually is turtled up, trying to break the hooks of Brooks. He does so, and pushes Brooks against the cage, where both men trade strikes. Brooks gets the best of it with knees as he turns the tides. Brooks is really working Pearson over as he hits a knee and a big punch to the body as they break the clinch. Pearson causes a Brooks slip to close the round. 

Fightful scores round 2 for Will Brooks 10-9

Round 3: We get a couple of nice exchanges after Ross Pearson defends a takedown attempt. Pearson connects with a really nice hook that slows down Brooks. Brooks gets a body kick, but Pearson starts going to down on the body of Brooks against the cage. He’s really letting Brooks have it. Brooks fires back with a knee, it looks like he’s trying to rope-a-dope Pearson. It works, as Brooks takes Pearson down. Pearson is back to his feet and both men slug it out against the cage to close the fight.

Fightful scores round 3 for Ross Pearson, giving the fight to Will Brooks 29-28

Official Result: Will Brooks defeats Ross Pearson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

That fight was a little too close for comfort for Will Brooks. It was a late replacement bout, but not the kind of statement he wanted to make in his UFC debut.

Ultimate Fighter 23 Women’s Strawweight Finals
Amanda Cooper vs. Tatiana Suarez

Round 1: Cooper lands a takedown out of the gate and tries to apply an armbar. Suarez takes top control briefly, but Cooper scrambles. Cooper grabs a guillotine attempt, but she was in side control, so that’s weird. Suarez starts throwing some nasty hammer fists and applies a D’arce choke for the submission

Official Result: Tatiana Suarez defeats Amanda Cooper via submission (d’arce choke) Round 1, 3:43 to become the TUF 23 Women’s Strawweight winner

That was some rough, rough grappling, y’all.

Ultimate Fighter 23 Men’s Light Heavyweight Finals
Andrew Sanchez vs. Khalil Rountree

Round 1: Rountree stops a takedown to start the fight, but Sanchez gets two anyway. He grabs Rountree’s wrist while lacing a leg and throwing punches. Rountree gets up, and gets taken down again. Well, then.

Fightful scores round 1 for Andrew Sanchez 10-9

Round 2: Rountree blasts Sanchez with a couple of punches, but Sanchez tries another takedown. Sanchez finally gets that takedown. Sanchez controls Rountree the whole round, landing punches on the ground.

Fightful scores round 2 for Andrew Sanchez 10-9

Round 3: Sanchez goes for a high kick and has a takedown stuffed. Rountree makes Sanchez pay with a couple of strikes, but gets pushed against the cage, per usual. Sanchez scores an inside trip. This round is exactly like rounds one and two.

Fightful scores round 3 for Andrew Sanchez 10-9, giving him the fight 30-27

Official Result: Andrew Sanchez defeats Khalil Rountree via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-25) to become the TUF 23 Light Heavyweight Winner

That was not a crowd pleaser. Rountree will be moving to 185 after this fight.

 

UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship 
Joanna Jedrzejczyk (c) vs. Claudia Gadelha (#1)

Round 1: Gadelha blasts JJ with a straight that staggers her and follows with a takedown. Jedrzejczyk gets back to her feet and lands a nice combo and a few punches before being pressed against the cage. Gadelha musles Jedrzejczyk to the mat throws elbows to the body from half guard. Jedrzejczyk is back up and the two trade punches. Jedrzejczyk gets an inside leg kick and a front kick. The two exchange to close the round.

Fightful scores round 1 for Gadelha, 10-9

Round 2: Gadelha finds success with the body lock, taking down Jedrzejczyk again. Gadelha laces Jedrzejczyk’s leg and scores some strikes. Jedrzejczyk fires back, but Gadelha has the pressure. Jedrzejczyk ends up on top briefly, but Gadelha quickly regains control. She grinds out Jedrzejczyk, who gets up and lands a body kick.

Fightful sores round 2 for Gadelha, 10-9

Round 3: The two women trade punches, but Gadelha gets two takedowns. Both women connect with elbows to the face. They start throwing down, with Jedrzejczyk getting the better of these exchanges. Gadelha is exhausted, but takes Jedrzejczyk down. Jedrzejczyk switches and makes Gadelha stand. Gadelha blasts Jedrzejczyk with an elbow, but eats several in return.

Fightful scores round 3 for Jedrzejczyk, 10-9

Round 4: Jedrzejczyk comes out dancing around Gadelha, peppering her with strikes. She’s dragging Gadelha into the deep waters and holding her head under. Jedrzejczyk is controlling the pace, dominating Gadelha with footwork and combinations. Gadelha throws a nice left hook that lands, but she’s getting eaten alive here. Jedrzejczyk starts jabbing at the body. She’s hitting whatever she wants, when she wants. Head kick, straight punches, elbows, Jedrzejczyk is doing it all. 

Fightful scored round 4 for Jedrzejczyk, 10-8

Round 5: Round 5 picks up where round 4 left off until Gadelha presses Jedrzejczyk against the cage. Jedrzejczyk breaks free and unleashes a combo. Gadelha gets a nice right hand, but Jedrzejczyk is landing repeatedly, Gadelha lazily goes for a takedown, but Jedrzejczyk stops it and makes Gadelha stand up. More Jedrzejczyk domination on the feet closes the round.

Fightful scored round 5 for Jedrzejczyk, 10-9, giving her a 48-46 win. 

Official Result: Joanna Jedrzejczyk (c) defeated Claudia Gadelha (#1) via unanimous decision (48-46, 48-45, 48-46) to retain the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship

They call them the championship rounds for a reason. The two make up in the cage as Joanna says she wants to fight in MSG this year.