UFC
Michael Chandler completed his takeover of The Ultimate Fighter 31 finals.
With Cody Gibson (19-8) defeating Rico DiSciullo (11-2, 1 NC) on the season finale of TUF 31, it’s now official that all four fighters set to compete in Saturday’s finals at UFC 292 will have originally come from Team Chandler. That caps off a dominant run on the show for Chandler, who won the first seven fights of the season before Conor McGregor fighter DiSciullo upset Hunter Azure.
DiSciullo wasn’t so lucky against Gibson as a disastrous slip in the first round call but cost him the fight. An attempted strike was foiled by DiSciullo getting tripped up and Gibson immediately capitalized, taking DiSciullo’s back and attacking with ground strikes. A hardy DiSciullo attempted to buck and turn his way out of trouble, but Gibson held position while raining down punches and elbows. DiSciullo managed to shake Gibson off of him, only for Gibson to take him down again and secure an arm-triangle choke shortly after.
Gibson now meets former Team Chandler teammate Brad Katona—who switched teams earlier in the semifinals to avoid a training conflict and reunite with McGregor and his longtime coaches—in the bantamweight finals.
In the lightweight finals, Team Conor fighters Austin Hubbard and Kurt Holobaugh face off.
At the end of the show, the four finalists faced off, along with coaches McGregor and Chandler. The two are expected to face off in a welterweight bout at a date still to be determined. However, the matchup is yet to be made official and recent sexual assault accusations against McGregor as well as the former two-division champion still dealing with the USADA have left his future competitive status unclear.
The Ultimate Fighter 31 aired live every Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+.
The finalists of the TUF 31 lightweight and bantamweight tournaments compete for a six-figure UFC contract at UFC 292 this Saturday in Boston.
Here is the TUF 31 roster divided by team:
Team McGregor (prospects)
Lee Hammond (27, 5-0)
Nate Jennerman (29, 16-5)
Aaron McKenzie (34, 11-2-1)
Landon Quinones (27, 7-1-1)
Mando Gutierrez (26, 8-2)
Trevor Wells (27, 8-3)
Carlos Vera (35, 11-3)
Rico DiSciullo (36, 11-2, 1 NC)
Team Chandler (veterans)
Lightweight
Jason Knight (30, 23-7)
Austin Hubbard (31, 15-6)
Roosevelt Roberts (28, 12-3, 1 NC)
Kurt Holobaugh (36, 19-7, 1 NC)
Bantamweight
Hunter Azure (31, 10-3)
Brad Katona (31, 12-2)
Timur Valiev (33, 18-3, 1 NC)
Cody Gibson (35, 19-8)
Here are the quarterfinal results:
Roosevelt Roberts def. Nate Jennerman via first-round KO
Cody Gibson def. Mando Gutierrez via first-round TKO
Austin Hubbard def. Aaron McKenzie via unanimous decision
Timur Valiev def. Trevor Wells via unanimous decision
Brad Katona def. Carlos Vera via unanimous decision
Kurt Holobaugh def. Lee Hammond via second-round submission (guillotine choke)
Jason Knight def. Landon Quinones via first-round submission (triangle choke)
Rico DiSciullo def. Hunter Azure via second-round KO
Here are the semi-final results and matchups:
Austin Hubbard def. Roosevelt Roberts via split decision
Brad Katona def. Timur Valiev via split decision
Kurt Holobaugh def. Jason Knight via second-round TKO
Cody Gibson def. Rico DiSciullo via first-round submission (arm-triangle choke)
Here are the finals matchups:
Austin Hubbard vs. Kurt Holobaugh — lightweight
Brad Katona vs. Cody Gibson — bantamweight
Advanced to semifinals: Roberts, Gibson, Hubbard, Valiev, Katona, Holobaugh, Knight, DiSciullo
Eliminated: Jennerman, Gutierrez, McKenzie, Wells, Vera, Hammond, Quinones, Azure, Roberts, Valiev, Knight, DiSciullo
