The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen

Cast

Coaches

• Jon Jones, head coach
• Stonehorse Goeman, Muay Thai Coach
• Frank Mir, jiu jitsu coach
• Bubba Jenkins, wrestling coach
• John Woods
• Ricky Lundell, wrestling/grappling Coach

• Chael Sonnen, head coach
• Vinny Magalhães, jiu jitsu coach
• Clayton Hires, boxing coach
• Scott McQuary
• Jamie Huey
• Mike Dolce, nutritionist

Fighters

• Team Sonnen
• *Luke Barnatt, Uriah Hall, Zak Cummings, Tor Troéng, Jimmy Quinlan, Kevin Casey, Kelvin Gastelum
• Team Jones
• *Clint Hester, Josh Samman, Robert "Bubba" McDaniel, Gilbert Smith, Collin Hart, Adam Cella, Dylan Andrews

• Kito Andrews, Lou Bercier, Ryan Bigler, Andy Enz, Nik Fekete, Jake Heun, Mike Jasper, Nicholas Kohring, Fraser Opie, Mike Persons, Scott Rosa, Eldon Sproat, Eric Wahlin, Tim Williams

Episodes

• Dana White greeted the head coaches, Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen, in the Ultimate Fighter training center.
• Unlike previous seasons, the 28 middleweights were allowed to bring family and friends to watch their preliminary fights held in order to see who got into the house.
• The preliminary fights began:
• White announced that there would be a $5,000 bonus per finish during the tournament; additionally, fighters could receive $25,000 for Knockout of the Season, Submission of the Season and Fight of the Season.
• Team Jones and Team Sonnen then picked teams and White flipped a coin. Sonnen won the coin toss and opted to choose the first fighter. The fighters were picked in the following order:

• Jones then matched Smith against Barnatt, feeling that the much shorter fighter taking out Sonnen's first pick would boost a lot of morale for his team.

• The red team voiced their displeasure with Jones' choice to match the 5'9" Gilbert Smith against the 6'6" Luke Barnatt.
• On the ride back to the house, Smith talked about the lack of positive feedback he received during training. After they reached the house, he proceeded to cry when thinking about his family.
• Team Jones called out Smith in the locker room about his emotional condition which left him upset. Jones then entered and reaffirmed his faith in Smith.
• Sonnen visited his team at the house. He took Uriah Hall aside and told him he would rather that he get an easy fight for his preliminary bout. However, Hall disagreed and stated he rather fight the top picks from the opposing team.
• Luke Barnatt defeated Gilbert Smith via KO in the second round.
• Immediately after the fight, Bubba McDaniel called out Kevin Casey who felt disrespected by the sudden call out.
• With the black team now in control, Sonnen selected Hall to fight Team Jones' Adam Cella.

• On the ride back to the house, Kevin Casey continued to voice his displeasure with Bubba McDaniel's call out of him. He explained to his team that he still had a cut healing on his forehead.
• Back at the house, Uriah Hall mentioned to the other members of the house that he had heard that Tor Troeng was a "professional cooker," in which Josh Samman then corrected him by saying that the term is "chef." Hall was then angered about the tone in which Samman corrected him with which left him claiming that he would call out Samman next. He then proceeded to talk about the times he was bullied as a teen.
• After a training session, Hall met with Sonnen in a one-on-one to talk about his inner demons. Sonnen proceeded to explain to Hall about his own similar situation and on how he dealt with his demons.
• On the ride to the gym, Casey told his team that he rather fight McDaniel at a later time. His teammate Jimmy Quinlan then proceeded to tease him for being scared.
• Before the second preliminary match, Casey's picture was already hung on the tournament bracket signaling that he would fight next. McDaniel proceeded to hang his own picture on the bracket to bait Team Sonnen into matching them up.
• Jones visited his team at the house, bringing along food to grill. Each member of the team then talked about what being in the UFC would mean to them.
• Uriah Hall defeated Adam Cella via KO in first round.
• After the knockout, Cella remained unconscious on the canvas for quite some time. He eventually regained consciousness and was taken to the hospital.
• In the locker room, Team Sonnen remarked on how Hall pretty much sealed the deal for getting the "Knockout of the Season" bonus. White entered shortly after and remarked the same thing.
• With Sonnen's team still in control, Casey was matched up against Team Jones' Collin Hart, much to the dismay of McDaniel.

• Kevin Casey, Gilbert Smith, and Clint Hester had a freestyle rap battle in the house.
• During a power outage in the house, Team Sonnen decided to prank the red team by wrapping them up in toilet paper while they were sleeping. However, the joke was unsuccessful when they just threw the rolls of paper into Team Jones' rooms and ran.
• During the weigh-ins, Hart flipped off Casey, which led to an intense staredown between the two.
• Taken by surprise by Hart's actions, Uriah Hall confronted him at the house and asked why he was disrespectful towards Casey and Team Sonnen. Hart replies that he was in the moment of television and was upset that Casey disturbed his sleep.
• Collin Hart defeated Kevin Casey via unanimous decision.
• Now with Jones' team back in control, he announced the next fight: Bubba McDaniel vs. Kelvin Gastelum. At 21 years old, Gastelum is the youngest fighter in the history of the show.

• Sonnen visited the house and they played a game of charades. However, Bubba McDaniel, who is focused on his fight, decides not to join the game.
• Josh Samman begins to emerge as Team Jones' unofficial captain.
• Samman informed the coaches that he preferred to fight later since he had some injuries. Jones was receptive but the other coaches felt Samman was taking too much control over the team.
• Actor Mickey Rourke visited the Team Sonnen fighters at the house to share insights from his days when he was a boxer.
• Sonnen received a call from UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, who wished Kelvin Gastelum good luck on his fight and said that if he won, she would come down to the TUF gym and teach a session.
• Kelvin Gastelum defeated Bubba McDaniel via submission in the second round.
• Now with Sonnen's team back in control, he matched Tor Troeng against Samman.

• During practice, Uriah Hall's hard punching while sparring with Luke Barnatt rubbed him the wrong way, which caused him and the rest of the team to think that Hall was not a team player.
• Hall later ignited a blow-up at the house when he was asked by Gilbert Smith who he wanted to fight next and he answered Barnatt, his own teammate. This caused Team Jones to confront the Jamaican, asking him to join their team. But Hall's remark towards Adam Cella's girlfriend caused a rift between both teams.
• The coaches took their teams bowling at Red Rock Casino. Sonnen then challenged Jones to a bowling match, betting whoever bowls the lowest score after three-frames had to coach a session for the other team while wearing that team's jersey. Jones lost and agreed to the terms.
• Josh Samman told the coaches about almost losing his left leg to a blood clot in the past.
• Josh Samman defeated Tor Troeng via KO in the first round.
• Now with the red team in control, Jones matched his number one pick Clint Hester against Jimmy Quinlan.
• Sonnen liked it, thinking it was a bad match style-wise for Hester.

• After winning his fight, Josh Samman's recurring leg pain landed him in the hospital emergency room.
• The guys got a night out when their coaches took them to Hooters to lift their spirits. However, not wanting outside distraction, Uriah Hall alienated himself from the group because he would rather concentrate on fighting.
• Jimmy Quinlan defeated Clint Hester via submission in the second round.
• After the fight, Sonnen entered the red team's locker room to uphold the bet he and Jones made during bowling three frames. Much to Jones' dislike, Sonnen gave him a black jersey to wear while coaching.
• The final match-up of the opening round by default was Dylan Andrews vs. Zak Cummings.

• Bubba McDaniel was stressed over being picked for the wildcard match-up and vented to Adam Cella.
• This season's "Coaches Challenge" put Jones and Sonnen against each other in three different "dig it" competitions while driving excavators. Sonnen won the competition earning $10,000 for his team.
• Dylan Andrews defeated Zak Cummings via majority decision.
• After the fight, Dana White forced the coaches to decide on a wildcard match-up.
• Jones was left to make a difficult decision when he had to pick between his training partner McDaniel and Clint Hester, whom he calls a cool guy. Jones picked McDaniel because of all the years of hard work, while Sonnen picked Kevin Casey.

• Bubba McDaniel became emotional while talking about his family.
• During a training session, the coaches spent time building up McDaniel's confidence.
• Josh Samman called out Jimmy Quinlan because he wanted to be the next one to do that after McDaniel.
• Both teams celebrated Thanksgiving by having a huge feast at the house. However, McDaniel and Casey were unable to eat due to having to make weight.
• Bubba McDaniel defeated Kevin Casey via TKO in the second round.
• McDaniel celebrated his win while Casey explained that a kidney failure during the fight was the reason that he could not answer the bell.
• The quarter final matchups were announced as:

• Both teams were surprised with the match up between Bubba McDaniel and Uriah Hall, causing McDaniel to stress out over his tough opponent.
• Kelvin Gastelum got a surprise visit from Ronda Rousey, who guest coached Team Sonnen in judo techniques.
• The first two match-ups faced off with four fighters trying to secure a spot in the final four.
• Kelvin Gastelum defeated Collin Hart via TKO in the first round.
• Former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson made a guest appearance and gave both teams motivation as he sat cageside during the quarterfinal matches.
• Dylan Andrews defeated Luke Barnatt via TKO in the third round.
• The latter fight was notable in which Andrews, who was the last overall pick, defeated the first overall pick Barnatt.

• Bubba McDaniel did not participate in team practice due to back pain. This led Jones to tell Clint Hester to stay ready.
• McDaniel told Jones that he still wanted to fight, but felt frustrated because he believed White was putting him on the most difficult route.
• McDaniel went to get his blood tested at the doctor due to back pain.
• Josh Samman defeated Jimmy Quinlan via submission in the first round.
• Regarding Samman's double punch submission, Jones stated that this was not a move that he recommended.
• The doctor visited the gym and told McDaniel that his back pain was most likely a pulled muscle. Feeling motivated with the news, McDaniel got back to practice.
• Uriah Hall told his team in the locker room that he had heard that McDaniel was scared to fight him. Sonnen then remarked on how that type of attention on Hall was well deserved, calling him the most talented and hard working fighter on his team.
• During the weigh-ins, Jones was not happy with McDaniel's submissive body language during the stare-off with Hall.
• Uriah Hall defeated Bubba McDaniel via KO in the first round.
• After the fight, McDaniel remained on the canvas due to a pain in his eye. He then admitted to not remembering what he was hit with. White then stated that Hall was the "nastiest fighter in TUF history."
• The semifinal match-ups were announced as:

• The final four fighters along with both coaches visit the Harley Davidson Motorcycles showroom to customize their bikes as one of the prizes for being The Ultimate Fighter.
• Kelvin Gastelum defeated Josh Samman via submission in the first round.
• Uriah Hall defeated Dylan Andrews via TKO in the second round.
• White was amazed at how Hall had managed to get up to the top position from the bottom, having given up a kimura attempt to unload strikes to Andrews' head.
• The black team had two fighters in the finale; that meant Sonnen, as the winning coach, would get a custom Harley Davidson motorcycle.
• The finalists were announced as Hall and Gastelum, both of Team Sonnen.

Tournament bracket

• Fight of the Season: Dylan Andrews vs. Luke Barnatt
• Knockout of the Season: Uriah Hall
• Submission of the Season: Kelvin Gastelum

The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale

Background

Results

Bonus Awards

• '''Submission of the Night: Daniel Pineda'''

Reported payout

• Uriah Faber: $110,000 def. Scott Jorgensen: $23,500
• Kelvin Gastelum: $16,000 def. Uriah Hall: $8,000
• Cat Zingano: $14,000 def. Miesha Tate: $28,000
• Travis Browne: $40,000 def. Gabriel Gonzaga: $24,000
• Robert McDaniel: $16,000 def. Gilbert Smith: $8,000
• Josh Samman: $16,000 def. Kevin Casey: $8,000
• Luke Barnatt: $16,000 def. Collin Hart: $8,000
• Dylan Andrews: $16,000 def. Jimmy Quinlan: $8,000
• Clint Hester: $16,000 def. Bristol Marunde: $8,000
• Cole Miller: $42,000 def. Bart Palaszewski: $15,000
• Maximo Blanco: $26,000 def. Sam Sicilia: $8,000
• Daniel Pineda: $26,000 def. Justin Lawrence: $8,000

Coaches' fight

• Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen