The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom
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Background
The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom (aka The Ultimate Fighter 9 or TUF 9) is the ninth season of the reality TV show, "The Ultimate Fighter". It premiered on Spike TV on April 1, 2009 at the conclusion of UFC Fight Night 18.
The show featured 16 lightweight (155 lbs.) and 16 welterweight (170 lbs.) mixed martial artists with eight fighters from each weight class coming from the US and the other 16 coming from the UK. Team US and Team UK were coached by former PRIDE welterweight and middleweight champion, Dan Henderson and TUF 3 winner, Michael Bisping respectively.
The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale will be broadcast live on Spike TV on June 20, 2009 and will feature a lightweight main event between TUF 1 winner, Diego Sanchez and former Strikeforce lightweight champion, Clay Guida. The finals of each weight class will serve as co-main events.
Cast
Fighters
Team United States:
- Lightweight: Jason Dent, Santino DeFranco, Cameron Dollar, Richie Whitson
- Welterweight: DaMarques Johnson, Mark Miller, Frank Lester, Jason Pierce
Team United Kingdom:
- Lightweight: Andre Winner, Ross Pearson, Jeff Lawson, Martin Stapleton
- Welterweight: Nick Osipczak, James Wilks, Dean Amasinger, David Faulkner
Fighters Eliminated In Entry Round
- Lightweight: James Bryan (UK), Dan James (UK), Gary Kelly (UK), AJ Wenn (UK), Paul Bird (US), John David-Shackleford* (US), Tom Hayden (US), Waylon Lowe (US), Rob Browning (US)
- Welterweight: James Bateman (UK), Tommy Maguire (UK), Che Mills (UK), Alex Reid (UK), Steve Berger (US), Ray Elbe (US), Christian Fulgium** (US), Kevin Knabjian (US), Kiel Reid (US)
*Wasn't medically cleared to fight, replaced by Rob Browning
**Failed to make weight, replaced by Frank Lester
Coaches and Trainers
- Team USA
- Dan Henderson, head coach
- Cyrille Diabate, Muay Thai coach
- Ricardo Feliciano, Jiu Jitsu coach
- Gustavo Pugliese, Boxing coach
- Heath Sims, Wrestling coach
- Team UK
- Michael Bisping, head coach
- Dave Jackson, Thai Boxing Coach
- Mario Neto, Jiu Jitsu coach
Host
Format
Choosing Teams
Choosing teams varied from previous seasons as the coaches would not select their teams but rather their teams would be decided by an elimination round of fights in each weight class. The winning four fighters from each weight class and the coaches' respective country would make up their team.
Picking the Fights
A coin toss decided which coach would select the first fight, with the matchmaking duties then sorted out by alternating between teams from fight to fight.
Tournament Structure
TUF 9 consisted of two 16 man tournaments (lightweight and welterweight) with the fighters in each class separated into two teams based on their nationality (US and UK).
Fight Results
Episode 1
- Episode 1 featured the qualification bouts for Team UK. The 8 fights were held at the Wolfslair Academy in England. The results were as follows:
- Andre Winner defs. Gary Kelly via KO at 1:48 of round 1.
- Jeff Lawson defs. James Bryan via submission (armbar) at 1:45 of round 1.
- James Wilks defs. Che Mills via submission (heel hook) at :30 of round 1.
- Martin Stapleton defs. Dan James via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:28 of round 1.
- Ross Pearson defs. AJ Wenn via TKO (strikes) at :19 of round 2.
- Nick Osipczak defs. Tommy Maguire via KO at 4:08 of round 1.
- Dean Amasinger defs. Alex Reid via decision.
- David Faulkner defs. James Bateman via submission (heel hook) at 1:47 of round 1.
Episode 2
- Episode 2 featured the qualification bouts for Team USA. The fights weld in The Ultimate Fighter gym.
- Prior to the fights, John David-Shackleford and Christian Fulgium were eliminated from the show because of a medical complaint and failure to make weight, respectively. The fight results were:
- Mark Miller defs. Kevin Knabjian via TKO (punches) at 1:59 of round 2.
- Richie Whitson defs. Paul Bird via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:11 of round 1.
- Santino DeFranco defs. Waylon Lowe via submission (rear naked choke) at :45 of round 2.
- Jason Pierce defs. Steve Berger via unanimous decision.
- Cameron Dollar defs. Tom Hayden via submission (rear naked choke) in round 2.
- DaMarques Johnson defs. Ray Elbe via TKO (strikes) at 3:10 of round 1.
Episode 3
- The last remaining Team US qualifying bouts were held:
- Jason Dent defs. Rob Browning via TKO (strikes) at 3:36 of round 1.
- Frank Lester defs. Kiel Reid via TKO/technical submission (kimura) at 3:16 of round 1. Reid knocked himself out while going for a takedown, Lester also had a kimura applied that he severely torqued. The fight was halted once the referee realised Reid was not conscious.
Episode 4
- Dan Henderson selects Mark Miller to face Nick Osipczak.
- Nick Osipczak defs. Mark Miller via KO (head kick) in round 2.
Episode 5
- Michael Bisping selects Andre Winner to face Santino DeFranco.
- Andre Winner defs. Santino DeFranco via TKO at 3:49 of round 1.
- Dan Henderson selects DaMarques Johnson to face Dean Amasinger.
- DaMarques Johnson defs. Dean Amasinger via submission (triangle choke) at 1:40 of round 1.
Episode 6
- Bisping selects Martin Stapleton to face Cameron Dollar.
- Cameron Dollar defs. Martin Stapleton via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:34 of round 1.
- Henderson selects Frank Lester to face James Wilks.
- James Wilks defs. Frank Lester via submission (armbar) at 3:06 of round 2.
Episode 7
- Bisping chooses Ross Pearson to face Richie Whitson.
- Ross Pearson defs. Richie Whitson via submission (armbar) in round 1.
Episode 8
- Jason Dent is matched up against Jeff Lawson and after some pro wrestling antics in the house, Dent defeats Lawson via submission (anaconda choke) at 2:22 of round 2.
- Jason Pierce is knocked out of the competition by Dana White after its clear he doesn't want to fight.
Episode 9
- With Pierce out of the competition, Dana White replaces him with severley beaten teammate, Frank Lester.
- Lester faces off against the man described as "Team UK's best welterweight" David Faulkner and after Faulkner takes the first round he begins to fade and Lester takes the second. It is announced that it will go to the third round and Faulkner quits on the stool. Lester defs. Faulkner via TKO (exhaustion) at 5:00 of round 2.
Episode 10
- DaMarques Johnson is matched up against Nick Osipczak in the first welterweight semi-final and defeats the Brit via unanimous decision after three rounds.
Episode 11
- In the two lightweight semi finals, Andre Winner defeats Cameron Dollar via submission (triangle choke) in round 1 and Ross Pearson defs. Jason Dent via unanimous decision.
Episode 12
- In the final episode of season nine, James Wilks defs. Frank Lester via TKO (knees) in round three in a rematch to move into the finale.
- After a tight three rounds of clinch fighting, Ross Pearson defs. Andre Winner via unanimous decision (29-28 x3) to become this season's lightweight winnner.
- In the welterweight final, James Wilks dominated DaMarques Johnson on the ground, eventually submitting him with a rear naked choke at 4:54 of round 1.
Ratings
TUF Chronology
Preceded by: The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir
Followed by: The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights
External Links
- Official website
- Spike TV's Ultimate Fighter page
- Ratings for The Ultimate Fighter by MMA Payout
- Ratings for The Ultimate Fighter Finales by MMA Payout
--Wrldchmpnabrvtr 05:37, 15 May 2009 (UTC)
