On Friday, Dec. 12, the UFC hostedĀ The Ultimate Fighter 20 FinaleĀ from the Pearl at the PalmsĀ in Las Vegas.
In the night’s main event, the promotion crowned its inaugural women’s strawweight champion as former Invicta title holder Carla Esparza squared off with Rose Namajunas. The pair battled their way through the TUF 20 tournament for the right to fight for UFC gold. Esparza entered the contest riding a four-fight winning streak that included wins over castmates Bec Rawlings and Felice Herrig. The win over Rawlings earned her the Invicta 115-pound title. Namajunas, meanwhile, had just three professional fights on her resume. The 22-year-old fell short against Tecia Torres in her final Invicta appearance, but tore through the opposition on the reality show.
The co-main event of the evening featured a featherweight collision between Brazil’s Charles Oliveira and hard-hitting Jeremy Stephens. Oliveira was looking for his third straight win, while Stephens sought to rebound from a five-round decision loss to Cub Swanson earlier in the year.
The 11-fight event kicked off Friday at 6 p.m. ET with two fights streaming on UFC Fight Pass. Four additional preliminary card bouts followed at 7 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1, with the five-fight main card airing live at 9 p.m. ET, also on Fox Sports 1.
For the full results of the event, clickĀ here.
Above are video highlights of the preliminary card bout between Clark and Rawlings (courtesy of the UFC).
Charles Oliveira vs. Jeremy Stephens
Daron Cruickshank vs. K.J. Noons
Yancy Medeiros vs. Joe Proctor
Jessica Penne vs. Randa Markos
Angela Magana vs. Tecia Torres
Joanne Calderwood vs. Seo Hee Ham
Heather Jo Clark vs. Bec Rawlings
Angela Hill vs. Emily Kagan