A disappointing TUF Nations season came to an end for the Australian team with the Aussie team coach Kyle Noke losing to opposing Canadian coach Patrick Cote in the TUF Nations finale event.
The event which was held at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec, Canada also featured Australian fighters Vik Grujic who went down, while in an all Aussie bout, Richard Walsh defeated Chris Indich.
We start our recap though in the coaches fight. Based out of Albuquerque in New Mexico, Australian Noke came into the fight again Patrick Cote having not competed since September 2012. Cote himself has spent some time out of the Octagon, having last competed back in March 2013. Both were eager stamp a mark in the welterweight division.
Cote immediately put Noke on the back foot was able to put the Australian on his back where he landed with some big punches and elbows. Noke came back in the second-round as he countered a takedown attempt with a perfectly timed knee. Noke attempted to pile on the pressure, but Cote was able to recover and in the final frame again got the fight to the ground where he was able to grind out the decision.
All judges agreed unanimously awarding Cote the fight 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27. The win was Cote’s third in a row as he took his professional record to 20-8 (UFC 7-8). Noke drops his record to 20-7 (UFC 4-3).
After losing his bouts in both TUF Nations and TUF 19, Nordine Taleb was again given another opportunity to show his worth to UFC officials when he came-up against fellow TUF nations competitor, Victorian based Vik Grujic.
A Tristar Gym trained fighter, Taleb showed his dominance both standing and on the ground to take home the unanimous decision. Taleb dominated from the top, landing heavy elbows and punches from the top throughout the majority of the fight as Grujic stayed game and attempted to unsuccessfully put up an offense on his feet. In the end, all three judges unanimously awarded Taleb the decision 30-27.
In what was only the second ever all Australian match-up in the UFC, Sydney based Richie Walsh beat Perth fighter Chris Indich in a battle of TUF nations team-mates. In what was his first professional bout since December 2012, Walsh showed little sign of rust as he battered Indich to a unanimous decision victory. All three judges awarded him the fight, 30-27. The fight took place on the preliminary portion of the card.
In the main event, Tim Kennedy continued his rise up the UFC middleweight ranks with a unanimous five-round decision over Michael Bisping.
In the all Canadian TUF nations finals, the welterweight tournament was won by Chad Laprise, as he defeated Olivier Aubin-Mercier via split decision while Elias Theodorou scored a second-round TKO over Sheldon Westcott to take out the middleweight tournament.
Main Card:
- Tim Kennedy def Michael Bisping via Decision (Unanimous)
- Patrick Cote def Kyle Noke via Decision (Unanimous)
- Elias Theodorou def Sheldon Westcott via TKO (Punches & Elbows), Rd 2, 4:41
- Chad Laprise def Olivier Aubin-Mercier via Decision (Split)
- Dustin Poirier def Akira Corassani via TKO (Punches), Rd 2, 0:42
Preliminaries:
- KJ Noons def Sam Stout via KO (Punches), Rd 1, 0:30
- Sarah Kaufman def Leslie Smith via Decision (Unanimous)
- Ryan Jimmo def Sean O’Connell via KO (Punches), Rd 1, 4:27
- George Roop def Dustin Kimura via Decision (Unanimous)
- Mark Bocek def Mike de la Torre via Decision (Split)
- Nordine Taleb def Vik Grujic via Decision (Unanimous)
- Richard Walsh def Chris Indich via Decision (Unanimous)
- Mitch Gagnon def Tim Gorman via Decision (Unanimous)
