Underdog Gastelum crashes Hall’s UFC coming-out party
Uriah Hall spent much of the week cautioning everyone who would listen to temper the soaring expectations and out-of-control hype surrounding his official Ultimate Fighting Championship debut on Saturday night.
Then he went out and fought like he believed every glowing thing anyone said or wrote about him.
Hall’s cocky style and seemingly lackadaisical attitude in the cage helped underdog Kelvin Gastelum, 21, become the youngest-ever season champion on “The Ultimate Fighter” with a split-decision victory on the UFC card at Mandalay Bay.
Also on the Season 17 finale card, Urijah Faber submitted Scott Jorgensen in the fourth round of the main event, and Cat Zingano knocked out Miesha Tate in the third round of a women’s bantamweight bout to earn a spot as a coach opposite champion Ronda Rousey on the next season of the reality show.
Gastelum insisted he was not intimidated by Hall, who had sent all four of his opponents during the filming of the season to the hospital.
Hall did little to instill fear early in the season title bout. He dropped his hands on several occasions in the first round and backed against the cage, daring Gastelum to hit him. The underdog obliged and worked his way close enough to impose his will and make the fight a brawl instead of the kickboxing match Hall would have favored.
“I’m speechless right now,” Gastelum said. “Obviously I’m happy, but I’m kind of hurting because it was a tough fight. It’s a great feeling, and I’m just looking forward to taking a little time off and then getting back to training.”
Gastelum controlled position in the first round, landing shots both in the clinch and on the ground. Hall started to find a bit of a rhythm in the second round, but he couldn’t carry the momentum into the third round.
That final five minutes ultimately decided the fight.
Hall was on his back for several minutes in the round, though he appeared to mount more offense from the mat than Gastelum did from the the top.
Hall momentarily appeared to be on the verge of finishing Gastelum in the round, but he was able to escape the danger.
One judge rewarded the damage and gave Hall the round, but the other two felt Gastelum’s superior position was enough to score the round, and the fight, for him.
Hall insisted he wasn’t overconfident or showboating when he was dropping his hands and shuffling his feet.
“I was trying to have some fun,” he said before insinuating it was difficult to mount an attack against an opponent who he lived and trained with for six weeks. “A big part of it is it’s kind of hard, too, because I trained with the guy and I like him.
“There’s no excuse. Kelvin’s a good guy and a tough kid. He’s going to go far in this sport, and I’m happy for him.”
Faber’s win was far less controversial. He controlled the bout against his close friend of nearly 11 years before submitting Jorgensen by rear naked choke in the fourth round.
“It’s just a different intensity level,” Faber said of fighting his friend. “Live fight versus practice is just so much different.”
Jorgensen said it didn’t take long for him to realize he was in a real fight.
“I got hit with a knee to the chest and I was like, ‘Whoa, he’s trying to take my head off,’” Jorgensen said.
The female fight, just the second in UFC history, stole the show.
Tate and Zingano thrilled the crowd as they traded shots and submission attempts over the first two rounds, with Tate coming out ahead in both.
Zingano, who was very emotional as she entered the cage, found a rhythm in the third round and eventually stopped Tate with a series of knees.
Tate was unhappy with the referee’s decision and immediately protested.
“I don’t for one second feel it should have been stopped,” she said at the news conference, adding that replays showed the first knee in the decisive sequence should have been ruled illegal.
Zingano was unaffected and looking forward to the reward, a coaching stint opposite Rousey and an eventual title shot. Filming will begin on Season 18 of the show in a few weeks in Las Vegas.
“First thing I did after the fight was go and call my son. He asked me how I did and I told him I won,” Zingano said. “He was so excited. He said, ‘So we get to go to Vegas? They have a lot of swimming pools there, right?’”
Also, heavyweight Travis Browne took just 71 seconds to knock out Gabriel Gonzaga, and Bubba McDaniel submitted Gilbert Smith with a triangle choke in the third round of a middleweight bout.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.