Turcios and Hiestand went to war in tonight's UFC TUF Finale at bantamweight, this split decision was a fight that neither guy truly lost as they battled closely to the finish. Turcios saw his hand raised after getting the nod from two of three judges octagon side but Hiestand proved is metal in defeat. As a boxing writer who enjoys UFC my depth of knowledge and amount of fights studied and followed is not as great but I will say this was the best cage fight I have seen in quite some time. Hiestand wasted no time in taking Ricky down early in round one before the two fought to the horn on their feet. Both men dug in face to face and loaded up their best shots drawing the APEX crowd to their feet. In the second round Brady rocked Turcios with a left hook and got another takedown with some time on top. However, he did not do much in the way of damage. The risk taking Turcios attempted a leaping guillotine choke and despite the failed attempt it was a courageous try. Early in the third round Turcios dropped Hiestand with a textbook one-two that sent out the mouthpiece as well. Hiestand far from finished latched on to Ricky's leg and ate short strikes and a hard knee once there was separation. This was all without his mouthpiece! Once the two got back to their feet Ricky attacked in close range with short punches and elbows to the bloodied Hiestand who was dripping blood from his nose. The card is not over at my time of typing but this is the fight of the night unless something crazy follows. This fight deserves a rematch and I hope Dana makes it a reality.

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