Brian Ortega’s team will have representation in The Ultimate Fighter 29 finals.
Tresean Gore (3-0)*, the sole remaining member of Team Ortega, advanced to the finals of the season’s middleweight tournament with an impressive second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski representative Gilbert Urbina (6-1).
Team Volkanovksi’s Bryan Battle (5-1) will fight Gore for the TUF 29 championship and a UFC contract at UFC Vegas 35 on Aug. 28 at UFC APEX in Las Vegas. The bantamweight finals had previously been set featuring Team Volkanovski fighters Ricky Turcios (10-2) and Brady Hiestand (5-1).
The result snapped a seven-fight losing streak for Team Ortega, who won the first four fights of the season before hitting a skid.
Gore was in control from the beginning of his matchup with Urbina, utilizing a powerful left jab to keep Urbina at bay. One stiff left put Urbina on his knees early and Urbina never figured out how to close the distance without getting stung. A big counter punch at the end of Round 1 had Urbina stumbling, which set the tone for what was to come in Round 2.
Gore hit Urbina with a clean uppercut, then another left hand, then later dropped Urbina again with an accurate counter left. It was that point that the referee waved off the bout 1:14 into the second round.
To earn his finals spot, Gore defeated Urbina and Ryder Newman, the second and first middleweight picks of Team Volkanovski. Gore was Ortega’s second middleweight pick and the fourth middleweight selected overall.
Here are the TUF 29 finals matchups:
Ricky Turcios (10-2) vs. Brady Hiestand (5-1) — bantamweight
Tresean Gore (3-0) vs. Bryan Battle (5-1) — middleweight
Here are the semifinal results:
Ricky Turcios def. Liudvik Sholinian via decision
Brady Hiestand def. Vince Murdock via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:20
Bryan Battle def. Andre Petroski via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 2:05
Tresean Gore def. Gilbert Urbina via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 1:14
Here are the first-round results:
Andre Petroski def. Aaron Phillips via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:42
Liudvik Sholinian def. Mitch Raposo via decision
Tresean Gore def. Ryder Newman via decision
Vince Murdock def. Dustin Lampros via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:40
Bryan Battle def. Kemran Lachinov via decision
Ricky Turcios def. Dan Argueta via decision
Brady Hiestand def. Josh Rettinghouse via decision
Gilbert Urbina def. Micheal Gillmore via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, time unknown
*TUF bouts are considered exhibitions and the results do not affect the fighters’ official records.
Season 29 of The Ultimate Fighter is being coached by UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega. A title fight between the two is set to take place at UFC 266 on Sept. 25.
The finalists of the TUF 29 middleweight and bantamweight tournaments will compete for a six-figure UFC contract at UFC Vegas 35, which takes place at UFC APEX in Las Vegas on Aug. 28.
Here is the TUF 29 roster divided by team:
Team Volkanovski
Middleweights
Bryan Battle
Ryder Newman
Aaron Phillips
Gilbert Urbina
Bantamweights
Brady Hiestand
Dustin Lampros
Mitch Raposo
Ricky Turcios
Team Ortega
Middleweights
Tresean Gore
Miles Hunsinger*
Kemran Lachinov
Andre Petroski
*Micheal Gillmore (short-notice replacement for Hunsinger)
Bantamweights
Daniel Argueta
Vince Murdock
Josh Rettinghouse
Liudvik Sholinian
Advancing to the finals: Turcios, Battle, Hiestand, Gore
Advancing to Round 2: Petroski, Sholinian, Gore, Murdock, Battle, Turcios, Hiestand, Urbina
Eliminated in Round 1: Phillips, Raposo, Newman, Lampros, Lachinov, Argueta, Rettinghouse, Hunsinger, Gillmore