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Credit: UFC

In the action packed TUF 25: Redemption finale, UFC debutant Justin Gaethje knocked out lightweight contender Michael Johnson in the second round.

The event served as the kick off show for the UFC’s illustrious International Fight Week.

From the off, it appeared Gaethje was dominating but his unusual, weaker defence seemed to be his downfall when with 30 seconds left of round one, Johnson found an opening and landed a right hook to the chin of “The Highlight”.

Gaethje, rocked and in all sorts of trouble, held on and managed to see round two. Shortly into round two, Gaethje was clipped yet again, rocked for a second time but showed remarkable recovery for a second time to recompose.

In the last 30 seconds of the round two, Gaethje piled the pressure on and rocked Johnson back to the cage with a brutal uppercut. He pursued Johnson, landing another powerful uppercut before kneeing him in the head and forcing him to the floor and the referee to intervene and stop the fight.

The fight was undoubtedly a contender for fight of the year and went exactly as Gaethje expected it to. For Gaethje, it marks a successful debut and maintains his perfect record. For “The Menace”, he gave a good account of himself and certainly exposed Gaethje. All 196 strikes landed in the fight, were significant.

Elsewhere on the card, Jesse Taylor lived up to the name of the event when he beat Dhiego Lima to claim Ultimate Fighter glory and redeem himself for his actions in 2008.

After a dominant first round, it seemed the fight was only going in one way – in favour of Taylor. However, Lhima then landed a strike early into round two, flooring Taylor and having him in trouble. He then decided to grapple with Taylor, allowing “JT Money” to avert danger and lock in a submission.

Britain’s brightest hope Marc Diakiese faced Drakkar Klose in a battle of unbeaten prospects. Right from the off, the gameplan of Klose was evident; aim for the legs, go for the clinch.

After a close first round, with it being scored for Klose due to the dropping of Diakiese and flurry of punches, Klose asserted his dominance and took the second round with ease.

Diakiese needed a finish in the third round but with a damaged leg and the tank running low, the Doncaster based athlete wasn’t able to find the required finish and fell short with Klose claiming a split decision and an upset victory.

Other notable performances at TUF 25 Finale included Jarred Cannonier‘s demolition of Nick Roehrick, a durable Brad Tavares, a highly improved Angela Hill and a rare, yet impressive win for C.B. Dollaway who engaged in a war with Ed Herman.

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