Michael Johnson and Jonathan Brookins are the last men standing. The Team GSP teammates both advanced to The Ultimate Fighter championship with semifinal round wins in a two-hour episode broadcast on Wednesday night. Johnson moved on via a tight split-decision victory over Nam Phan, while Brookins swept all three rounds over Kyle Watson on the way to a unanimous decision.
The fighters will square off for the title and a UFC contract at the TUF 12 Finale on Dec. 4.
The event takes place at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
The Johnson-Brookins matchup ensures victory for Team GSP. Coach Georges St. Pierre outmaneuvered rival coach Josh Koscheck for the right to take Johnson with his No. 1 pick. He selected Brookins with his second pick in the draft.
Johnson was 12-6 in his MMA career before joining the cast of TUF, and defeated Pablo Garza, Aaron Wilkinson, Alex Caceres and Phan during the course of the season to qualify for the finals. Brookins, meanwhile, was 12-3, losing to current UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo back at WEC 36 in his most notable fight. En route to the finals, he beat Ran Weathers, Sevak Magakian, Sako Chivitchian and Watson.
By way of comparison, Johnson finished one of his opponents -- Wilkinson -- during the course of the show, while Brookins stopped both Magakian and Chivitchian via submission.
Johnson certainly had the tougher time advancing to the finals, going to a disputed decision over Phan, a Strikeforce and Sengoku veteran. Johnson seemed to win the first with takedowns and cage control while Phan rallied back in the second with body punches and groundwork. The third was up for grabs, and Johnson might have won it after he ended up on top after Phan attempted a submission but lost position in the process.
The TUF 12 Finale features a main event pitting season 1 finalist Stephan Bonnar against Igor Pokrajac, along with a middleweight tilt between Demian Maia and Kendall Grove.
In addition, a source told MMA Fighting's Matt Erickson that quarterfinalists Cody McKenzie and Aaron Wilkinson would be matched up at the event.
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