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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Half-Filipino Turcios wins The Ultimate Fighter finale

Half-Filipino Turcios wins The Ultimate Fighter finale

Published Aug 29, 2021 02:46 pm

Half-Filipino Ricky Turcios scored a hard-earned split decision win against Brady Hiestand to become The Ultimate Fighter 29 winner of the bantamweight division in the UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs Chikadze card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada Saturday. Aug 28 (Sunday in Manila).

Ricky Turcios lands a right hook to Brady Hiestand in the The Ultimate Fighter 29 bantamweight division in the UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs Chikadze card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada Saturday. Aug 28 (Sunday in Manila). (Photo from UFC's Instagram)

With the match going back-and-forth, the third round proved to be instrumental for Turcios as he knocked down Hiestand to turn the favor on his side.

But Hiestand never backed away and leveled Turcios' aggressiveness as the two bantamweights traded blows after blows until the final marker.

“It’s a dream come true," said Turcios, who improved to a 12-2 record. "I want to go ahead and give a message to the children. Believe in yourself. Don’t fear failure, dream big, work hard, stay positive, enjoy the journey."

Determined to put the match down on the canvas with his wrestling, Hiestand scored an early takedown in the opener but Turcios leveled the ground game with his tenacity on defense before proceeding to the offensive.

The 28-year-old fighter from El Salvador did not waver and threw consecutive strikes before taking the match back on both feet.

With momentum on his side, Turcios showed who's boss on power striking which opened a couple of cuts on his training partner at Team Volkanovski.

The victory paved the way for Turcios, who was seen bannering both the Philippines and El Salvador's flag, to secure a contract in the UFC.

Turcios, who was born and raised in the United States, will be joining the likes of current bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, Petr Yan (No. 1), TJ Dillashaw (No. 2), Cory Sandhagen (No. 3), Rob Font (No. 4), and Jose Aldo (No. 5).

Related Tags

The Ultimate Fighter 29 Brady Hiestand Ricky Turcios The UItimate Fighter UFC
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