At the Palms Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, lightweight Jonathan Brookins fought through some early adversity to earn a well-deserved unanimous decision victory over Michael Johnson, becoming the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale. Despite a rough first round that saw Johnson using his superior boxing skills to land a series of combinations that snapped his back time and time again, Brookins weathered the storm and battled back in following two rounds. Scoring a number of takedowns, Brookins was able to control Johnson on the ground, landing a series of good shots from the top position while working for submissions.
Although Johnson avoided any serious damage, Brookins continued to rack up the points, basically putting rounds in the bank. Johnson would have a few moments in the third round, but Brookins would again get the action to the ground where he prevented his opponent from getting any work done while he landed a series of punches and elbows. It wasn't the most exciting fight of the night, but Brookins showed heart and courage as he grinded out a hard-fought win.
OTHER RESULTS:
- Jonathan Brookins def. Michael Johnson via Unanimous Decision
- Stephan Bonnar def. Igor Pokrajac via Unanimous Decision
- Demian Maia def. Kendall Grove via Unanimous Decision
- Ricky Story def. Johny Hendricks via Unanimous Decision
- Leonard Garcia def. Nam Phan via Split Decision
- Dave Branch def. Rich Attonito via Unanimous Decision
- Pablo Garza def. Fredson Paixao via KO in Round 1
- Nick Pace def. Will Campuzano via Submission (Choke) in Round 3
- Cody McKenzie def. Aaron Wilkinson via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in Round 1
- Ian Loveland def. Tyler Toner via Unanimous Decision
- Kyle Watson def. Sako Chivitchian via Unanimous Decision