Bryan Battle showed he was worthy to be The Ultimate Fighter 29 Champion after defeating Tresean Gore at UFC Vegas 47.
Prior to the reality show finale, Gore suffered an injury that prevented him from competing so he was fired up to prove he deserved the victory but Battle had no intention of allowing that to happen. Over three rounds, Battle showcased a volume striking attack that continuously gave Gore problems and that allowed him to secure a unanimous decision win.
The judges scored Battle’s fight 29-28, with Battle moving on to 2-0 at the UFC.
” I won the contest,” Battle stated afterwards. “This is for all the people that said I wasn’t the real champ. People who said Tresean would knock me out.
“Don’t get me wrong, Tresean is a tough motherf*cker but so am I. I’m The Ultimate Fighter and I proved that sh*t tonight.”
Gore was moving aggressively forward, so Battle responded with a string of vicious kicks that hit the legs and bodies. They were always hitting their target. While Gore kept coming after him, Battle was very effective with his striking as he chipped away with those kicks, which then led to him throwing more punching combinations as well.
Gore was finally able to unleash his full power. He showed Battle why Battle needed to be careful in each exchange, but his overall output was low throughout the first round. Gore kept talking to Battle after the whistle blew. The fighters had to be split up before they were sent back to their corners by the referee.
While Battle continued to throw and land with better volume, Gore had the ultimate equalizer whenever he exploded forward with a knee-buckling punch that could have led to a knockout finish. Gore’s ability to hurt Battle with a single-shot helped him throughout the second round and he also snatched a power guillotine choke before the fighters hit the canvas.
Battle was unable to see due to swelling in his right eye. Battle continued to put on pressure despite his impaired vision. He was relentless in his offensive output and had Gore on his heels for the first times all night.
Battle was able to push the pace and increase volume. Gore couldn’t get his power shots, which was the true story of the fight.
After defeating the last remaining man from The Ultimate Fighter’s season, Battle is now ready to face new competition. He arrives in UFC as a potential middleweight prospect. This comes after two impressive performances that began his UFC career.
