The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 18 Finale, taking place tonight (Sat., Nov. 30, 2013) at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, kicked off its main card on Fox Sports 1 with two teammates in the TUF house, Roxanne Modafferi and Raquel Pennington, squaring off.
Modafferi rode a five-fight losing streak into the TUF house, so a loss here would likely spell the end for her in the UFC.
The bout started relatively slow, both ladies tentative in their striking. Pennington was patient and largely stayed on the outside while Modafferi did the same. A few combos were fired off but the heavy offense didn't come until later in the round.
In fact, had the horn not sounded, Roxanne may have been flat on her back staring up at the lights.
In the second, Modafferi adjusted her game plan to favor grappling. It was a smart play, seeing as Pennington was absolutely blasting her standing. In fact, she scored a knockdown towards the middle of the frame but once she went to the mat, it gave Roxanne a chance to fire off with submission attempts.
None of them were successful.
Heading into the third, it was clear who was ahead on the scorecards, adjusting for competent judging, of course. Nothing changed in that final frame to give Modafferi an advantage in a bout she was obviously losing.
A few last ditch submission attempts failed and that was all she wrote. The judges awarded a unanimous decision to Pennington on scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28.
With apologies to the "Happy Warrior".
For complete TUF 18 Finale results and blow-by-blow coverage of all the night's action click here.