UFC The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale Main Card Results - Bubba McDaniel vs Gilbert Smith

Bubba McDaniel defeats Gilbert Smith by armbar Round 3, 2:49

by Ben Heather @benheather

In the opening bout on the main card of The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale Bubba McDaniel took on Gilbert Smith at the Mandalay Bay Events Centre in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The two didn't get on in the TUF house and even though they were teammates McDaniel questioned Smith's ability in one of the first episodes of the season.

Smith tried to prove he was a UFC calibre fighter and could hang with the big boys under the bright lights in the big show, however his efforts didn't go as he had wished.

McDaniel looked a lot sharper than he did while on the show, connecting with low kicks and sharp hooks. Smith however kept trying and shot for takedowns often doing his best to take the fight to the canvas where he obviously thought he had the advantage.

However when Smith got McDaniel on the ground, it didn't go to plan as Bubba reversed the position and dropped some heavy ground strikes of his own.

Smith survived some rough situations and initiated some fun scrambles, but he never seemed to get the better of them as McDaniel's experience of a lot more fights put him in the better positions.

In the third round Smith started to fade and Bubba had him in a lot of trouble, taking his back and threatening to finish the bout. Smith though kept fighting back even grabbing a single leg and diving into top position with a nice sweep. Unfortunately for Smith, his aggressive sweep put him directly into a triangle choke. Bubba didn't seem to have control of Smith's posture but he managed to grab on to an arm and finished off the fight with a submission via armbar while in the triangle choke.

In my opinion this may be the last we see of Gilbert Smith in the UFC, but unlike all the other contenders this year to date with the obvious exception of Bubba McDaniel he made it on to the main card.

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