The end of The Ultimate Fighter 19 came Sunday night, as TUF 19 Finale came live from Las Vegas. It was an entertaining night of fights with knockouts and submissions aplenty.
The card was headlined by a third fight between BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar. Edgar took the bout via TKO, pushing his record to 3-0 against Penn.
Who were the three stars of the event? Let's take a look now at who were the performers of the night.
1. Derrick Lewis
In looking at who boosted his stock the most Sunday night, Derrick Lewis is definitely in contention. Between his drubbing of Guto Inocente and post-fight awesomeness, Lewis probably picked up a few fans in the process.
Lewis is a large heavyweight with a great amount of power. When he gets on top, his ground-and-pound is aimed to break bones and steal consciousness.
Following his massive beatdown of Inocente, which saw several huge ground strikes that put Inocente out, Lewis had a crazy post-fight celebration with gorilla chest bumps and the throat slash gesture. He also called out Cain Velasquez.
Derrick Lewis calls out Matt Mitrione post-fight, Mitrione answers the call in the arena. He wants the fight. #TUFFinale
— UFCONFOX (@UFCONFOX) July 7, 2014
With Matt Mitrione reportedly yelling to fight Lewis from the crowd and Lewis's all-around greatness Sunday night, it's hard not to be intrigued by this new UFC heavyweight.
2. Corey Anderson
TUF 19 was panned by fans for boring fights and a lack of finishes. Corey Anderson must have heard the complaints, because he didn't work for long Sunday night.
Taking on a striker in Matt Van Buren, Anderson came into the fight as purely a wrestler in most people's eyes. However, it was his boxing and power that brought a stop to the fight early in the first round.
Anderson is now a very intriguing prospect at 205, a division that lacks a lot of new blood and prospects. He is a powerful guy who rapidly improved from the first day of TUF.
It will be interesting to see where he goes from here.
3. Eddie Gordon
As stated, TUF 19 was a disappointing season that fans reviewed negatively. Eddie Gordon, like Anderson, must have received that memo because he came out looking to knock Dhiego Lima's head off.
Despite a couple of shots to the back of the head, which were probably accidental, Gordon bullrushed through Lima with power hooks and beat him up bad.
Gordon, who works with trainers Matt Serra and Ray Longo, is a training partner of Chris Weidman. He made things a great weekend for that team, as Weidman retained his title at UFC 175 and Gordon gained the title of Ultimate Fighter winner.
Gordon is well-rounded and a huge middleweight. He is now an exciting fighter to keep your eye on.
