Mohammed Usman secured his spot in the grand finals of “The Ultimate Fighter” on this week’s episode of the show, going three rounds to earn a split decision victory over Eduardo Perez.
Usman overcame Perez’s height and reach advantage to win exchanges during their three-round stand-up battle. The fight, which almost entirely took place on the feet, saw Usman land the better punches to take two of the three rounds on a pair of judge’s scorecards.
Usman started the fight with a solid opening round. His output slowed in the second frame, which allowed Perez to take the lead in striking exchanges.
Usman was able to connect with enough shots in the final round to take the fight on scorecards. Even then, he was only picked by two of the three judges.
With his win, Usman is now set to face undefeated heavyweight prospect Zac Pauga in the finals. The exact date for this grand final fight, which will air live, is not known at the moment.
Usman won his quarter-final fight earlier in the season against Mitchell Sipe, beating him via decision.
Perez scored one of the few stoppages of this season in the quarter-finals finishing Bobby Maximus.
Season 30 of “The Ultimate Fighter” will wrap up next week, as flyweight semi-finalists Juliana Miller and Kaytlin Neil will face off. The winner of that bout will go on to face Brogan Walker in the finals.
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