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Half-Filipino Ricky Turcios is The Ultimate Fighter 29 bantamweight winner
Ricky Turcios defeated Brady Hiestand via split decision in an exciting finale to the bantamweight tournament of The Ultimate Fighter Season 29 held during the UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs Chikadze card on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
Turcios had to battle three hard rounds against Hiestand, winning 29-28, 29-28, 28-29, to claim the title of TUF winner and a UFC contract.
Turcios, whose mother’s side of the family comes from the Philippines and father’s from El Salvador, improved to 12-2 for his MMA career, including 2-0 in The Ultimate Fighter.
He had to weather a strong wrestling performance from Hiestand, who had six takedowns and maintained ground control for over five minutes in the bout.
But Turcios proved to be a threat even off his back, constantly scrambling for submission attempts and position, and landing some big shots in the standup and in the clinch.
A big right hand from Turcios wobbled Hiestand in the third round and another one dropped him, although he would survive as he grabbed Turcios’ legs and brought him down for a chance to recover. Turcios would also land a huge knee on the way up from the ground. The fight ended with Turcios landing several more shots in the standup.
Turcios was announced as the winner while wrapped in a flag that was the Philippine flag on one side and El Salvador's on the other.
PRETTY RICKY TURCIOS! WOW! ????
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) August 29, 2021
???????? @RickyHadouken has outlasted 8 BWs to become THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER! #UFCVegas35 pic.twitter.com/GFFAdBGLbB
“Like a dream come true. I wanna say, Salamat sa Diyos, Thank God, Gracias a Dios, Alhamdulillah,” he said. “God gave me everything. This would not have been possible without the Spirit.”
“I wanna 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.”
—JMB, GMA News
