Before Michael Bisping and Tim Kennedy get set to settle their beef inside the Octagon in tonight's (April 16, 2014) The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): "Nations" Finale main event from inside Colisee Pepsi in Quebec City, Canada, the under card prelims provided plenty of action.
Airing exclusively on "UFC Fight Pass" and Fox Sports 1, the action began early and often and saw six bouts go to a decision.
Let's dive in to see how it all unfolded, shall we?
Headlining the preliminary card was a welterweight fight between two great strikers in K.J. Noons and Sam Stout that was initially supposed to be contested at lightweight. However, 24 hours before fight night, both combatants agreed in the change of weight class.
It didn't last very long.
After exchanging leg kicks for the opening seconds, Stout landed a nice punch which was answered by Noons with a devastating right hand that knocked the Canadian out cold 30 seconds into the fight.
WOW!
The win gave Noons his second straight inside the Octagon and perhaps reason to move back up to the welterweight division.
The women got into the action right from the jump and didn't disappoint (as usual), as Sarah Kaufman and Leslie Smith met in the center of the cage exchanging punches.
Early on, it was clear Kaufman had the crisper striking, out-landing her opponent in every exchange.
Round two was much of the same, though Smith managed to sneak in a few more strikes. She also managed to get a takedown and land some good elbows from top control.
In the final frame, a visibly-tired Smith was determined to not go out without a fight, as she kept pushing forward despite getting outclassed on the feet. In the end, Kaufman did enough to nab the unanimous decision victory. But Smith proved she was more than game.
Ryan Jimmo gave Sean O'Connell a rude welcome to the Octagon by knocking him out in the very first round. Sean, however, proved to be game from the get-go, coming toward Jimmo and refusing to back down. He even managed to score a good shot which cut Jimmo open before landing a low blow.
That didn't sit too well with "Big Deal," who proceeded to catch Sean with a huge right hand that dropped his foe moments later, and followed up with a few more strikes to force the stoppage with less than a minute remaining in the opening frame.
George Roop returned to his winning ways by defeating Dustin Kimura via unanimous decision. Kimura had success early on with his striking, however, Roop was able to compose himself and control the rest of the fight to earn the nod on the judges' scorecards.
Mark Bocek and Mike De La Torre went at it in an entertaining back-and-forth lightweight scrap that saw both men have their shining moments.
Bocek tried to end the fight in the closing seconds of the bout with a rear-naked choke, but was unable to seal the deal. No matter, he walked away with a split-decision victory to get himself back in the win column.
The rest of the under card action featured decision victories for Richard Walsh and Nordine Taleb. Picking up the first win of the night was Mitch Gagnon, who earned a unanimous decision victory over Tim Gorman in a back-and-forth affair, giving the Canadian his third straight win inside the Octagon.
Here are the entire TUF: "Nations" Finale "Prelims" quick results:
K.J. Noons vs. Sam Stout -- Noons def. Stout by knockout (punches) at 0:30 of round one
Sarah Kaufman vs. Leslie Smith -- Kaufman def. Smith by unanimous decision (30-27x3)
Ryan Jimmo vs. Sean O'Connell -- Jimmo def. O'Connell by knockout (punches) at 4:27 of round one
George Roop vs. Dustin Kimura -- Roop def. Kimura by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-26)
Mark Bocek vs. Mike De La Torre -- Bocek wins by split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
Vik Grujic vs. Nordine Taleb -- Taleb def. Grujic by unanimous decision (30-27x3)
Chris Indich vs. Richard Walsh -- Walsh def. Indich by unanimous decision (30-27x3)
Mitch Gagnon vs. Tim Gorman -- Mitch Gagnon def. Tim Gorman by unanimous decision (30-27x3)
That's it for all of the undercard action. Make sure you get full Ultimate Fighter (TUF): "Nations" Finale results and live play-by-play RIGHT HERE.