The Ultimate Fighter 27, Episode 10 results: Brad Katona vs. Bryce Mitchell

Hyped as a UFC-caliber contest, it’s only fitting that Brad Katona vs. Bryce Mitchell ended in a UFC-caliber finish.

Battling for the first spot in The Ultimate Fighter 27 featherweight tournament finals, Team Cormier teammates Katona and Mitchell fought back-and-forth for almost the full 15 minutes before Katona was able to secure a fight-ending rear-naked choke late in round three.

Katona now awaits the winner of the other TUF 27 semifinal matchup between Jay Cucciniello and Tyler Diamond to determine who will compete for a six-figure UFC contract at the live finale on July 6.

The fighters in the house had plenty of praise for Katona and Mitchell, calling it a matchup that would already be perfectly suited for a UFC card. They didn’t disappoint.

Mitchell pushed the pace in round one, though Katona did a good job of not letting Mitchell exploit his size advantage. The Winnipeg native took Mitchell down around a minute in and the two exchanged control on the mat with Mitchell sweeping Katona only to be reversed and put on his back again.

On the feet, Mitchell waded through Katona’s low kicks to repeatedly find a home for his left hook. He ended the round in dominant position with a takedown of Katona.

Round two was another close one. Katona’s nose was busted open by a standing elbow from Mitchell as he lunged in for a strike, but the blow didn’t deter him from his strategy of mixing leg kicks and short combinations. Mitchell ended round two with another takedown, then scored with a slam in round three.

However, the action turned definitively in Katona’s favor as he threw up an armbar attempt from bottom position that forced Mitchell to abandon his offense and focus on defending. Katona used the submission attempt to sweep and get on top with two minutes to work, and as Mitchell scrambled to stand, he left his neck open and Katona snatched it to earn the tap-out victory.

Per the “undefeated” theme of TUF 27, both Katona (6-0) and Mitchell (9-0) entered this bout with perfect records, and technically they will stay that way throughout the season due to TUF bouts being classified as exhibitions.

In other storylines, former TUF champion and current UFC lightweight contender Michael Chiesa showed up at the gym to give Team Cormier some pointers on how to survive the final grueling stretch of the show, and Mitchell crafted an arrowhead necklace as a gift for coach Daniel Cormier.

Here are the semifinal results thus far:

Mike Trizano def. John Gunther via unanimous decision

Brad Katona def. Bryce Mitchell via submission (rear-naked choke) in Round 3

Here are results from the first round:

Joe Giannetti def. John Gunther via technical submission (guillotine choke) in Round 1

Brad Katona def. Kyler Phillips via majority decision

Luis Pena def. Jose Martinez via unanimous decision

Bryce Mitchell def. Jay Cucciniello via unanimous decision

Mike Trizano def. Thai Clark via TKO (ground and pound) in Round 2

Ricky Steele def. Suman Mokhtarian via unanimous decision

Allan Zuniga def. Richie Smullen via disqualification (injury)

Tyler Diamond def. Dulani Perry via submission (guillotine choke) in Round 2

On next week’s episode, Team Miocic’s Allan Zuniga fights Team Cormier’s Joe Giannetti for a spot in the lightweight final opposite Mike Trizano.

Season 27 of The Ultimate Fighter is being coached by UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. Cormier challenges Miocic for the heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 226 on July 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The finalists of the TUF 27 lightweight and featherweight tournaments will compete for a six-figure UFC contract on July 6, also in Las Vegas.

Here is the TUF 27 roster divided by team:

Team Cormier

Lightweights
Thai Clark
Joe Giannetti
Luis Pena
Richie Smullen

Featherweights
Tyler Diamond
Brad Katona
Bryce Mitchell
Ricky Steele

Team Miocic

Lightweights
John Gunther
Jose Martinez
Mike Trizano
Allan Zuniga

Featherweights
Jay Cucciniello
Suman Mokhtarian
Dulani Perry
Kyler Phillips

Advancing to the finals: Trizano, Katona

Advancing to Round 2: Giannetti, Katona, Pena (forced to withdraw due to injury), Mitchell, Trizano, Steele (forced to withdraw due to concussion symptoms), Zuniga, Diamond

Eliminated: Gunther (later selected to replace an injured Pena), Phillips, Martinez, Cucciniello (later selected to replace an injured Steele), Clark, Mokhtarian, Smullen, Perry