TUF 24 Finale results: Ryan Hall kicks, flops way past frustrated Gray Maynard

LAS VEGAS – Ryan Hall gave Gray Maynard two very frustrating options: Get kicked or go to the ground.

Maynard (12-6-1 MMA, 10-6-1 UFC) had no interest in the latter, so for three cat-and-mouse rounds, he took a bevy of kicks en route to a decision loss to Hall (6-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC).

The featherweight bout closed out the preliminary card of today’s TUF 24 Finale event at The Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. It aired on FS1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on FS1.

The final scorecards were 30-27 twice and 29-28 for Hall, who picked up his first UFC victory after winning “The Ultimate Fighter 23” one year ago.

Hall made no effort to hide his desire to get the fight to the mat, repeatedly somersaulting to the ground as Maynard got within spitting distance of a punch. Eager to land his powerful right hand, Maynard initially played it cool and waited his turn. But as Hall began to unleash more and more kicks, his frustration led to headlong charges, which, of course, allowed Hall to take him to the ground.

Maynard resisted and escaped. Hall’s efforts in his favored 50-50 position. But the exchanges left him even more hesitant to engage when Hall flopped to the mat. Every time Hall went south, he backed away. Several time, he looked to the referee for help, and found none.

It would have been a tactical stalemate were it not for the kicks of Hall, particularly a lead leg hook kick that slapped Maynard in the face and wobbled him on one occasion. His southpaw stance made it doubly difficult for Maynard to close the distance with his right hand, meaning he had almost free reign to land blows with his feet.

The dance wasn’t the most entertaining to watch; the audience certainly wasn’t amused after more than two rounds of it. Finally, Maynard attacked Hall when he went to the mat. But even there, Hall simply intercepted his legs and fired off more push kicks. A healthy dose of butt-scooting burned more time, and by the time Maynard got his arms around Hall, he had almost no time to work – and a 50-50 position to reject.

Two-time title challenger Maynard now goes back to the drawing board after a decision win over Fernando Bruno at The Ultimate Fighter 23 one year ago.

Up-to-the-minute TUF 24 Finale results include:

• Ryan Hall def. Gray Maynard via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Rob Font def. Matt Schnell via TKO (knee, punches) – Round 1, 3:47
• “Maestro” Dong Hyun Kim def. Brendan O’Reilly via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Jamie Moyle def. Kailin Curran via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Anthony Smith def. Elvis Mutapcic via TKO (elbow, punches) – Round 2, 3:27
• Devin Clark def. Josh Stansbury via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

For complete coverage of The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report on site in Las Vegas.)